Many questions need answers before TIF

P Information is vital in setting this important precedent for Cape Girardeau.

The city of Cape Girardeau is considering its first Tax Increment Financing project, the proposed 600-acre Prestwick Plantation, a posh subdivision of homes, condominiums and cottages along Bloomfield Road.

After spending millions on the new adjoining 300-acre Dalhousie Golf Course, the developers of the project are asking the city council to grant them TIF status for the subdivision, which would redirect $12 million to $15 million in property taxes for infrastructure such as streets and water and sewer lines.

That money would be raised as the new Prestwick residents begin to pay property taxes, sending the new revenue into a special fund to pay off bonds that were issued at the outset to pay for the work.

The developers -- headed by Cape Girardeau businessman Cord Dombrowski -- say that without the money, the project cannot go forward. They say that the project is perfect for TIF status and that after the 500 homes, 200 condominiums and 10 to 20 cottages are complete, the development will generate as much as $6 million a year in new property taxes.

They also say they are willing to give money generated from the bonds to the school district and the city. That money would offset a portion of the lost revenue that the schools would get and to help pay to extend city services like fire, trash and police service.

But there are several questions that the newly formed TIF commission needs to answer before it takes this leap.

TIF status generally is reserved for blighted areas, which brings to mind inner cities and poorer parts of smaller towns. This area of rolling green space hardly seems to qualify as blighted. Is this how we want to spend money that is specifically intended to improve neighborhoods?

The timing also seems curious. Why has the development group waited until recently to ask for TIF status? It has known it intended to build this development for years.

Finally, the council needs to determine whether this is the precedent it wants to set with its first TIF. Is this the best example of what a TIF project should be?

It may be. But the council should gather as much information about the circumstances before making a determination.