Columbia city council rejects plans for downtown tax district

The Columbia city council voted down a proposed tax increment finance district, or TIF, 5-2 Monday night.

The TIF district proposal would have frozen sales tax and property tax rates for up to 23 years to pay for $70 million infrastructure upgrades needed downtown.

Some council members said they felt there were not enough calculations in the resolution presented to them by city leaders.

Many Columbia residents who gave a public comment also said they felt information was lacking.

The proposal was met with a lot of opposition over the last few weeks, especially from Boone County leaders.

“I have been threatened with a lawsuit today if we pass this motion tonight and I’ve been threatened with a lawsuit if we don’t,” said Columbia Mayor Bob McDavid before the vote Monday night.

McDavid and Ward 2 Councilman Michael Trapp were the only two who voted in favor of a TIF district.

The rest of the council agreed something needed to be done to pay for the needs at hand, but said the proposed TIF district was not the answer right now.