Merriam is raising some objections to the Shawnee Mission School District’s proposed policy on Tax Increment Financing.
“We don’t agree on some of the things that are being said,” Merriam City Administrator Phil Lammers said of the district policy Monday. Merriam is preparing a resolution that takes exception to the new policy on several counts and will bring it to the city council for adoption.
The school board policy, which has not been adopted yet but has been up for first reading, would have “intended and unintended results” for Merriam “that we are never going to get over,” Lammers said.
“I don’t think it is fair. I don’t think you would use TIF in this city if it goes into effect,” Lammers said. Mayor Ken Sissom said other cities, such as Overland Park, are more affected by the policy than Merriam.
The school district sent a letter to each of the cities in its boundary area asking them to review the proposed policy and send comments by March 18. Merriam already had raised concerns about the policy. Merriam Assistant City Administrator Chris Engel told the school board in February that the policy would create an “uneven playing field.”
The school district and the county hold veto power over TIF deals that a city makes for economic development. But the veto only applies to the formation of the TIF district which is often done well before the development agreement and financing numbers are worked out. The policy says that the district will look more favorably on projects that have a property tax impact of 50 percent or less.
A Merriam staff memo prepared for the council Monday read in part: “The attached TIF Policy (the school board’s) was created to address their belief that city-wide gains created by the judicious use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) are actually harmful to their interests. This policy is concerning due to the veiled threat the school board will begin to exercise their statutory ability to veto the establishment of any TIF District they believe will have an “adverse effect” on their interests. To protect those interests, this policy attempts to insert school officials directly into the center of the economic development process traditionally conducted between developers and city leaders. Further, it attempts to dictate the terms to which cities and developers should conform if they are to be allowed to conduct business within the school district boundaries.”
The memo then laid out several bullet points. The first point noted that “Communities in the school district area are aging, that’s why redevelopment is more prevalent now. Redevelopment is usually costly and difficult. Additionally, in order to get significant economic development projects, public/private partnerships are critical.”
