Smithville Redevelopment TIF Hearing extended to April 24th

 

The Smithville, Missouri Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee has extended its public hearing regarding the proposed development project to April 24, 2023, at the courthouse. The proceedings last night were met with criticism from some attendees who deemed it a "smoke and mirrors" show.

The LLC behind the project brought along lawyers and business partners to extol the benefits of the project for the area. However, members of the public were only given three minutes each to rebut the LLC's arguments after the developers were allowed to speak for an hour and a half.

Notably, the school district has caught on to the fact that the money that the LLC touts as benefiting the schools cannot be directly given to the schools. The situation echoes the riverboat casino gambit that was approved years ago, where citizens were promised money for schools, but it ended up in the general fund.

While most agree that the old hospital needs to be addressed, there is a need for an organized anti-TIF organization to combat concerns such as the Parking Fallacy, Economic Detriment, Sales Tax Fallacy, Jobs Fallacy, Rent Amount, Infrastructure Impact, Property Tax Illusion, 23 Year TIF Loan, and more.

The TIF Committee's decision is not the final one; the city aldermen can still vote on the project. A simple majority can approve the proposal if the TIF committee sends it to the aldermen, while a 2/3 majority can override if the TIF committee rejects the proposal. Therefore, members of the public must reach out to the aldermen and voice their opinions.

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