It is important that the public have the facts about the Tax In­cremental Financing District (TIF) of the city of Madison and the Madison Redevelopment Committee. It is a fact that TIF takes tens of thousands of dollars that would otherwise go to the school, county government and the city general fund and pays this money over to the City Redevelopment Commission to be used just for improvements within the hilltop Economic Development District. It will take thousands of dollars away from the library and Madison Township as well. The city has argued that the TIF District does not have an adverse effect on the schools etc because most of the funds could be made up by increasing property taxes and a county tax program(CEDIT,CAGIT or COIT). Translated, this means that the school, the county, the city, the library, etc. can make up for this lost revenue by increasing the property taxes for every tax payer in Jefferson County. The best analogy to the TIF District is to look at these payments as subsidies from the county, the school, the library, etc. to the City Redevelopment Commission. Wouldn't you rather have money spent on your children's education than a new road to a new strip mall? Why should school dollars be used to subsidize commercial development with speculatively and personalized vested interest? It is a fact that this TIF District captures tax abatements set up years ago for Arvin-Sango, Rotary Lift, MPP etc. This is money that the schools and other taxing authorities have reasonably anticipated that would be available to them which now goes instead to the "TIF slush fund". It is a fact that the "TIF slush fund" takes money out of the Madison city general fund and pays it to the Redevelopment Commission. Thus causing the city's tax increase for 1994 the largest of any taxing unit in this county. If the city is pressed for money for it's general fund, why take money from the general fund and use it just for the Redevelopment Commission? It is a fact that every construction project identified to be captured by the TIF District is far too speculative as a basis for depriving our school children and increasing everyone's taxes. If we use TIF for speculative purposes, then when we have a real industrial prospect with needs we won't have the ability to provide the infrastructure. The TIF District is used to benefit commercial development giving an unfair competitive advantage which are not enjoyed by either new or existing commercial enterprises outside the TIF District. The mayor and his gang keep repeating that residences have been eliminated from the boundaries of the TIF District to protect the tax base of the school. The fact is that all property is subject to the same tax rates for the schools. Commercial enterprises and industry pay taxes to support our schools like all other taxpayers. Therefore, the lost real property tax revenue lost by Madison Schools to T1F escalates every year by the hundreds of thousands. It is a fact that in the TIF district none of the real property tax from the new commercial development will go to provide essential services like police and fire protection. All new real property tax revenue will go to the Redevelopment Commission. Therefore, all of the other taxpayers of the city of Madison will be providing these services to the new commercial development. There have been statements by certain city officials and consultants that there would be an annual decision as to whether to capture the TIF funds or allow those funds to go to the overlapping governmental districts. These statements are misleading because the fact is that the city plans to~issue bonds and the money will be committed to repay the bonds for the next 20 or more years. The decision on what to do with that money will be made when the bonds are issued. So Who benefits from the "TIF slush fund" the most? Not you The attorneys and financial consultants Speculators and developers of real property in the TIF District The city to the extent that it can spend money that would other­wise educate students in our schools, buy books for the public library or repair county roads. Local industry welfare Not our children Who controls the money? MIDCOR Who controls MIDCOR Al Huntington and John Eckert... How to solve the theft of the childrens school funds and the general fund. It's real simple -- DUMP Al Huntington, MIDCOR, TIF and be sure the next mayor has a contract with the citizens not to bankrupt Madison and the schools.