Ann Arbor DDA TIF: Postponed Again

A revision to the city of Ann Arbor’s ordinance regulating the tax increment finance (TIF) capture of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority has been again postponed – in action taken at the city council’s Oct. 21, 2013 meeting.

Postponement is until Nov. 7 – which is the last meeting of the current composition of the council. City council elections are held Nov. 5.

The revision to Chapter 7 would clarify the existing language of the ordinance. The clarification would disallow the DDA’s preferred interpretation of a restriction on TIF revenue that’s expressed in the ordinance language. This ordinance revision was first considered by the council in February of this year. It received initial approval in April and has been in front of the council several times since then, but always postponed.

A joint committee of councilmembers and DDA board members has been meeting, most recently on Oct. 16. The group appears headed toward an alternative that would enact a “cap” on DDA TIF revenue – that could be set at a high enough level not to have a substantive impact on actual TIF revenue. When that alternative is finalized, it would be brought forward as a substitute proposal.

Depending on the outcome of the Nov. 5 election, the alternative approach might be more or less difficult for the council to enact, if the ordinance revision winds up being postponed again at the Nov. 7 meeting.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]