TIF, Property Taxes, Destruction
Why TIF Remains Controversial
At the Pachyderm luncheon, Omaha City Council members Aimee Melton, Brinker Harding, and Don Rowe spoke. During the question time, they were asked about TIF, which is Tax Increment Financing. Even former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub explained the concept of how TIF works.
Most people in the audience understood TIF but were more concerned as to why it has become more common. The reality comes back to high property taxes. At some point, the City must address the damage property taxes do.
For many property owners, particularly east of 90th street where properties are much older, the cost of maintaining a home has gone up, as has the cost of property insurance. With such high costs, owners do not always have the funds to maintain their property as they are paying the high property taxes.
In the end, a developer or other entity will buy the property, only to face similar difficulties. Smarter developers who know how the TIF system works will eventually buy the property and pursue obtaining a TIF to tear down the property and build something else. The end result is the City is basically recycling the property tax problem without addressing the damage it actually does.
The City should be fostering and lobbying the Unicameral legislature to reform the tax structure and encourage other taxing authorities to lower their levies.