Millwood School District and TIF

[Jersey Boss]

It appears Norman is not the only area questioning tthe impact of TIF's on public education.
https://nondoc.com/2024/10/22/northe...sa-volleyball/

[Pete]

It appears Norman is not the only area questioning tthe impact of TIF's on public education.
https://nondoc.com/2024/10/22/northe...sa-volleyball/

It's the same issue I've raised repeatedly for over 10 years about all the OKC TIFs.

OKC has now diverted over a BILLION dollars to developers through TIF, and the number and budgets of districts are growing exponentially.

It was the entire reason for creating the Alliance for Economic Development, which conducts its business in backroom meetings and is not subject to open records. If you read this article, the developer admits he had private meetings and was given a handshake deal for TIF. This is exactly how every one of these grants happens, and by the time it hits a public agenda for formal approval, there has been a 100% approval rate. So effectively, hundreds of millions of tax dollars are being allocated behind closed doors.

As I've repeatedly stated, it's really one person (now Kenton Tsoodle and previously Cathy O'Connor) who decides whether to help the developer or tell them 'no'. No records are kept, so we have no idea who they have met with or how and why the projects are approved or turned down. Privately, I've been told by several developers their proposals were dismissed with a simple head shake by the head of the Alliance, and that's absolutely the end of it. On the other hand, if the Alliance head likes your proposal, they move heaven and earth, help prepare a proforma that miraculously -- over 25 years of doing this -- always end up with about a 7-10% funding gap, and then pass new districts, expand old ones, do carve-outs, then meet in private with City Council to 'brief' them, which is why these things always pass.

And to make matters worse, Cathy O'Connor is now working privately on behalf of developers to help them procure huge TIF grants. She's also working with other communities all over Oklahoma to help them set up new TIFs (Chickasha being one).


The whole thing is completely scandalous. Almost nobody understands how this all works and most see new developments and don't care about the means.


And before someone chimes in with the classic 'but for' argument (these developments would not happen but for TIF grants) I will remind everyone that a huge percentage of development is done without any economic incentives at all. And the 'but for' argument cannot be proven, and when you are talking about hundreds of millions of tax dollars, you shoulder the burden of proof.

[Pete]

It appears Norman is not the only area questioning tthe impact of TIF's on public education.
https://nondoc.com/2024/10/22/northe...sa-volleyball/

All this has been discussed and documented extensively on this site for more than a decade.

If you were really concerned about public schools and the broader implications you would have raised this issue long before you opposed a particular project in Norman.

You can't argue broad philosophies when you've been silent for a decade and only object when you don't like one proposal.

[bombermwc]

Educate me, but i thought that the ad velorum reimbursement fund was there specifically to replace the taxes lost for schools, when tax break incentives were given for business like this.