Looking through the East Village Growth Cell (EVGC) TIF materials the City helpfully provided online, one page in particular caught my attention. It’s the one that gives examples of residential TIF districts in Springfield and Decatur. I decided to do a little more research on Springfield’s TIF to see just how successful it has been. (I’ll look into Decatur at a later date.)

The EVGC website states, “The Enos Park Tax Increment Financing District (TIF) was created in 1997. The TIF District generates approximately $450,000 annually. The TIF District contains both residential and commercial properties; however, it is approximately 90% residential.” The most recent TIF report published by the City of Springfield is the one for 2010, available here.

The Enos Park TIF’s equalized assessed valuation (EAV) in 1997 was $13,838,543. The EAV in 2010 was $17,314,380. So between 1997 and 2010 — 13 years — the EAV increased a total of just $3,475,837. That comes out to an average of 1.9% growth per year. According to the EVGC TIF Draft Redevelopment Plan, the proposed TIF area in Peoria had an EAV of $45,021,720 in 2004 which grew to $49,626,980 by 2009, or $4,605,260 in five years. That comes out to an average of 2.05% growth per year. That means that the East Village Growth Cell is experiencing better growth without any TIF at all than Springfield’s Enos Park TIF has experienced over the last 13 years.

Springfield is unhappy with the performance of Enos Park. Just last year they spent $122,500 on a new “master plan study” that recommends pumping $45 million into the area. They’re looking for additional funding sources as the TIF increment would not be adequate to cover an infusion of that much cash.