From a lengthy article in the Indianapolis Business Journal:
Redevelopment of the Massachusetts Avenue fire station could remain in limbo for the foreseeable future, as Mayor Greg Ballard and council Democrats enter a standoff over tax increment financing districts.
The fire station, downtown apartments anchored by a new Marsh grocery, and creation of a high-tech corridor along West 16th Street are all projects Ballard is trying to advance by expanding the downtown TIF. The mayor’s team believes the expansion is essential to getting those projects done, but a proposal allowing it has lingered before the City-County Council for eight months.
Steve Talley, the Democrat who chairs the Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee, said he won’t give the proposal a hearing until the city adopts a new set of policies on TIF districts. Ballard’s top deputies say those policies would make the city less nimble in responding to development opportunities, and the mayor won’t approve them.
Chief of Staff Ryan Vaughn, who was council president before Democrats won control of the chamber in the last election, said he’s frustrated because neighborhood groups and some council Democrats previously expressed support for expanding the downtown TIF.
“No one is telling me this is bad for their neighborhood,” Vaughn said. “The only place I’m hearing this is the second floor,” where the council meets.
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See the full article here:
http://www.ibj.com/article?articleId=35912
