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REGULAR MEETING MARCH 27, 2017
<br />Councilmember Davis stated that he was one (1) of the Councilmembers who asked for the use
<br />of TIF dollars. He explained that his concern was that what is being proposed places too much of
<br />a burden on rate - payers too quickly in an effort to fix too many problems in too short a span of
<br />time. He stated that he would be more at -peace if a plan were proposed to the IURC that would
<br />be easier on rate - payers and would span a greater number of years with smaller revenue levels
<br />per year. He asked, Is there anymore consideration regarding that?
<br />Mr. Horvath responded, I don't control TIF dollars, nor does the Council, nor does the Mayor.
<br />The Redevelopment Commission is the one who is going to make the ultimate decision regarding
<br />TIF dollars. So, to the degree that we want a plan that Voorde is going to pay for your roof to be
<br />fixed, we better have some insurance from John that he's going to pay for your roof. And as
<br />those things change and time goes on, there's less and less certainty, right? People are less
<br />willing to make long -term commitments on something like that when they don't know the future.
<br />Councilmember Davis responded, You make a wonderful point. Councilmember Davis
<br />addressed Mr. Horvath's point about the Redevelopment Commission, stating, for the record,
<br />that the Mayor makes up three (3) out of the five (5) appointees on the Commission and the
<br />Council makes up the other two (2), while the School Board has a non - voting member. He
<br />explained that if the Council voted to pass the bill in question and the Redevelopment
<br />Commission decided to deny the use of TIF dollars, then the way that the City intended to fund
<br />the plan would disappear. This would leave the City and its residents with only the twenty -two
<br />percent (22 %) and forty -three percent (43 %) rate increases to work with. Councilmember Davis
<br />stated, So, my thought is, in the mean time, between now and April— because there will be
<br />another Redevelopment meeting in April —is to have some letter of insurance that if the South
<br />Bend Common Council chooses to use TIF, whether it's for two (2) years or five (5) years, that
<br />the Redevelopment Commission is going to vote for that, and that they are willing to support the
<br />Council with that. Our vote without that is doomed. Exactly what you said about John: making a
<br />plan without his approval.
<br />Mr. Horvath responded, My thoughts are that if you're willing to fund the difference on TIF,
<br />then we wouldn't be talking about this right now, and we should just raise the rates to meet the
<br />needs of the utility. Period.
<br />Councilmember Oliver Davis responded, No, that's not the essence of it. That's the —
<br />Mr. Horvath interjected, No, I'm just saying that if we don't want to use TIF, we don't need to
<br />use TIF. We came into this conversation with the intent to keep the rates what they should be,
<br />but we tried to use them because we were asked by the Council to compromise. And that's what
<br />we have done.
<br />Councilmember Davis responded, And I agree with that. But, with all due respect, I was one of
<br />the ones who asked for that. We put it in the plan—and I thank you for that. But we haven't
<br />gotten a consensus from the Redevelopment Commission that they will be willing to support
<br />that.
<br />Mr. Horvath responded, And we will take that forward to the Redevelopment Commission, as we
<br />do other projects. We are not going to bring projects three (3) years out to the Redevelopment
<br />Commission.
<br />Mr. Julien, addressing Councilmember Davis, stated, The subject you're bringing up with that
<br />line of questioning ties in very closely to the fact that the IURC is going to sit in judgment of
<br />what's ... if, at the time the evidence is presented to the Commission, they don't feel that the
<br />commitment of that revenue is substantial and sustainable over the three (3) year timeframe, and
<br />they agree that you need the revenues to run utility, they are going to order to implement the
<br />rates higher than the ordinance that's presented.
<br />Councilmember Regina Williams- Preston thanked Mr. Horvath for taking the concerns of the
<br />residents who expressed that they could not take another utility rate hike and trying to find a
<br />solution to that problem. Councilmember Williams- Preston stated that she did not think it was
<br />helpful to think of the TIF as a rate subsidy. She stated that it might be better to look at the
<br />$88,000,000 as "something we have to make up for because of a bad judgment, or financial or
<br />economic circumstances." She stated, So, rather than, in my mind, looking at it as a rate subsidy
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