OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Several projects in the city use tax increment financing or TIF to make them happen, but recently the use of TIF in the City of Omaha has been questioned prompting an independent study.
- Mayor Jean Stothert said since 2015 there have been 196 approved TIF applications at total value of $584 million resulting in $4.6 billion in new investment.
- Stothert said the 2024 TIF report will be presented to City Council by May 1.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
In September state auditor Mike Foley wrote a letter to the legislature about the use of TIF in the state. Not long after, then Senator Mike McDonnell wrote a letter to Mayor Stothert asking for a pause on TIF projects.
In an effort to be transparent and verify what the city believed it was doing correctly, an independent review was completed by a national auditor reviewing the city’s TIF program and process, it found it is in compliance with state law.
"These awards that we do as far as TIF, they would not happen, the development would not happen without the use of TIF and there is no loss in revenue for the tax payers when we award TIF," said Mayor Jean Stothert.
Stothert said since 2015 there have been 196 approved TIF applications at a total value of $584 million, resulting in $4.6 billion in new investment.
If uou've been downtown recently, you've seen the work for the future Streetcar, a project funded by TIF revenue that's expected to come from development along the route.
"The streetcar is progressing and it can't be stopped, and why would anybody want to do that," Stothert said.
"But if it was stopped, here is what would happen, all of these contracts that we have already awarded, all of them would go into default, because without the streetcar there is no TIF and there is no money to pay for all the contracts that are already out there,” Stothert said.
And she says without the streetcar there, the development in progress and future development will stop.
The Mayor said the 2024 TIF report will be presented to City Council by May 1.
