Robbing The Downtown TIF - How Will The Feds Feel About It?

Plans are to rob $38.5 million from the consolidated downtown TIF district, in order to make ends meet for the City in 2012 (see earlier blog entry "Oy Vey! They Are Robbing The Downtown TIF District - AGAIN !").  More details came out during a Council committee meeting week before last.

Turns out that they are not only eyeballing the $38.5 m this year, but have gone to the trouble to determine that another $20 m should be 'available' for the taking in 2013.

The mechanism for extracting the money from the TIF is simple - they just tell the MDC, "by the way, we didn't tell you at the time, but all that roadwork we have been doing downtown, well, it was just a loan to you.  So, give us the money.  We'll figure out how many years we've been loaning you money right after we figure out how much money we need."

If standing the TIF laws on their head isn't enough fun, maybe the powers that be on the 25th floor can rattle the State and Feds up with some details of their loan deal with the MDC.  By that I refer to this administration's intention to declare they are owed not only the City money that was contributed to road projects, but is actually owed the money contributed by the State of Indiana and by the Federal Government through transportation dollars or stimulus money, as well.  Now, I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds like the City is content to launder Federal and State matching dollars for transportation infrastructure projects and turn it into operating dollars.

Wonder how the State and Feds will feel about that?  I sure hope somebody in the Ballard administration thought to ask that question.  Just so one or both don't come knocking at our door in a year or two, wanting all of that money back.