Quincy City Council approve German Village TIF study, but members talk of possibly repealing existing TIF districts

QUINCY – As the Quincy City Council voted 9-4 to approve spending up to $40,000 to study the possibility of establishing a new tax increment financing (TIF) district in the State and Eighth/Calftown/Dick Brothers Brewery area, aldermen didn’t really seem excited about expanding TIF in the city.

Some of the discussion at Monday night’s meeting was about the possibility that if a German Village TIF District is established, one of the two existing ones could be removed. The City of Quincy currently has two TIF Districts; TIF West established in 1998 and TIF East established in 2010. Another TIF that expired assisted in the development of the Holiday Inn Holidome, now the Atrium on Third Hotel.

Aldermen approved having PGAV Planners, LLC, of St. Louis determine an eligibility and redevelopment plan for the German Village TIF District. The cost for the study would be $36,000, with another $4,000 to be spent on mailings, advertising and publications.

“It would be advisable that before we start another one (TIF district) to close one or two,” Aldermen Mike Rein (R-5th Ward) said, citing what he called a loss of tax dollars from existing TIF projects. “We need to realize the benefits so we can return dollars to the other taxing districts.”

Mayor Mike Troup said Rein’s remarks posed “a fair question.”

Aldermen Eric Entrup (R-1) and Jeff Bergman (R-2) said they supported keeping the city at two TIF Districts. Alderman Jack Holtschlag (D-7) disagreed.

“I work with the TIF a lot, and I think it’s a bad thing to get rid of it because we’ll end up with a lot of dilapidated buildings,” Holtschlag said. “You’d better do your homework.”

Quincy Director of Planning Chuck Bevelheimer said he would advise against getting rid of either of the existing TIF Districts, because of many projects currently are in the works, such as the Sixth Street Promenade, the hotel development at Sixth and Hampshire and the townhouses being built at Eighth and Jersey.

Monday’s action merely pays for a study, several other hurdles must be crossed before a new TIF becomes a reality — including a TIF Review Board approval and then a final vote from the City Council.

Bevelheimer said he expected the process to take about three months before the issue came back before the City Council.