Princeville to share more TIF revenues

By NICK VLAHOS
For The Weekly Post

PRINCEVILLE – It took a little convincing, but the final holdout has agreed to a proposal to receive some Princeville village tax-increment-financing revenues.

Earlier this month, the Akron Township Board approved the plan, which the Princeville Village Board first authorized in November 2024 and revised the following year. It allows nine local and area taxing bodies to share money annually from TIF 4, which covers most of downtown and west-northwest Princeville.

Among other things, the agreement sets aside for the other nine taxing bodies 25% of annual TIF 4 property-tax-revenue increments. They also are to receive all such increments from a new solar farm in TIF 4. Distributions are to be in proportion to each taxing body’s rate.

In order of share, those bodies are the Princeville School District, the Lillie M. Evans Library District, the Akron-Princeville Fire Protection District, Illinois Central College, Akron Township, Princeville Township, Peoria County, the Peoria airport authority and the county soil-and-water conservation district.

Each taxing body had to approve the deal for it to be enacted. All but Akron Township did. Trustees rejected it in a vote last October. But according to Village President Jeff Troutman, they might not have understood the offer. Troutman attended the board’s March meeting to help explain it.

“I pretty much begged them to get some money back,” he said. “If they didn’t sign it, it wouldn’t go into effect. Finally, at the meeting I kind of looked at them and said, ‘This is the deal. Me as a village representative, I shouldn’t even be talking to you. My village is going to take a hit.

‘If you don’t want it, nobody else is going to get it and the village is going to keep it.’ Once one of their board members understood, he explained it to them.”

Akron Township is expected to receive about $50-$60 a year under the plan, according to Princeville TIF administrators. The agreement is in effect for the life of the TIF, which in general is 23 years. TIF 4 was established in 2023.

School District representatives have been lobbying for more of a say in how the village handles TIFs. They have suggested a TIF-induced limit on the school’s share of property-tax increases in most of the village impacts their operations adversely. Almost all of Princeville is in a TIF district.

In TIF districts, property taxes that are to go to various bodies are frozen. Subsequent tax increases are diverted into a fund used for infrastructure improvements.

“The district is hopeful this TIF district will promote growth in the village,” School Superintendent Tony Shinall stated.

The Village Board gave the deal its final approval March 18. Also approved were:

• The blocking of three parking spaces in front of Dirt Road Designs, 137 E. Main St., to accommodate a dirty-soda and energy-drinks tent March 27, part of the business’ grand re-opening.
• Construction of a prefabricated shed in the backyard of a residence at 209 S. Walnut St.
• Closure of Illinois Route 91 between North and Spring streets for the annual Heritage Days celebration. The road is to be closed June 17-21.