From the Indianapolis Star:
Greenwood’s plan to build a $10 million aquatic center without a voter referendum by using money from special taxing districts is drawing fire from a local superintendent.
“When cities and towns start finding loopholes like this for tax dollars, the legislature will close them pretty quickly,” said David Edds, Greenwood Community School’s superintendent. “I can’t imagine that the legislature would let a city or town do an end-run around the referendum process.”
Greenwood’s City Council endorsed a plan to use money from two tax increment financing districts — one on the east side and another on Fry Road — to pay for a new aquatic center.
The plan means money that would otherwise go to local schools, libraries and other public services would instead be used to build a new pool, lazy river and other amenities at Freedom Park on Greenwood’s west side.
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Cities typically use these taxing districts for roads, sewers and infrastructure improvements geared towards luring businesses and new residents to a community.
City Councilman Thom Hord acknowledged that this could be viewed as a loophole in the law that lets cities avoid a referendum, but he sees it as a way to make the city better for everyone without a general tax hike.
“It allows us to build a quality attraction, an aquatic center, for the city of Greenwood without raising everybody’s taxes,” Hord said.
He noted that other Indiana cities have used so-called TIF districts to build parks, trails and even aquatic centers.
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Greenwood’s plan, now in the hands of the redevelopment commission, would take $6.2 million from the city’s east side TIF district.
Edds said he’s not necessarily opposed to the plan, but he is concerned.
“You expect the TIF to expire and that money to go back to schools, fire departments and the library,” Edds said. “They weren’t designed to tax the east side of Greenwood to build a pool on the west side of Greenwood.”
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012208140354
