LaSalle County finance committee: TIF collections largely complete, about $41,000 still owed

Julie, the committee's presenter on TIF collections, told the LaSalle County Finance & TIF Committee that of 37 TIF districts countywide, 31 have intergovernmental agreements and the report covers those 31. She said the county has collected the bulk of the amounts owed for tax year 2024 (payable 2025), reporting totals in the meeting materials and identifying roughly $41,000 still outstanding that she expects to collect by the end of March.

"Most of them are for capital improvement," Julie said, adding that agreements sometimes include an administrative fee—typically $10 per parcel—and some districts have surplus arrangements. She said that adjustments during the year (corrected bills, prior-year sales, trustee redemptions, PTAB decisions and parcels that went to the county trustee) reduced the final totals from earlier estimates.

Committee members pressed Julie on why six TIF districts never entered intergovernmental agreements. Arda said some districts "flat out" never completed agreements during earlier joint review meetings; Julie attributed the gaps to inconsistent follow-through by previous committees and municipal partners and said she handles calculations rather than negotiation of agreements.

Committee members also sought accounting detail. Doug Trager noted a distinction between the reported amount still owing to the county (about $41,469) and the surplus balance; Julie identified the surplus as about $389,000 and confirmed administrative fees and surplus receipts are recorded to Fund 28 and may be prorated to departments that perform work on projects.

The committee voted to place Julie's TIF report on file and asked staff to send letters to the remaining districts that owe payment. Members instructed staff to return next month with any updates if payments are not received by the end of March.