Jefferson City officials vote against TIF proposal
UPDATE: The Jefferson City TIF commission voted against the proposal in a 7-1 vote Thursday.
This proposal will still go to city council next month, but the commission’s recommendation was to not accept it. City council could still pass the proposal, but would have to have a two-thirds majority vote.
The meeting with presentations from consultants and developers as well as public comment lasted more than two hours Thursday night.
Consultants did a test to see if the project could be successfully done without the TIF. They did not believe the project could still be done with a reasonable profit.
But a number of people, mostly hotel owners and operators, came forward and disagreed. Many said the developers significantly inflated the estimated building costs and the project could be done without assistance.
Commission Chairman Bill Betts told ABC 17 News, after reviewing the presentations, he believed the project did not need the TIF to be completed.
The only vote in favor of the plan was presiding Cole County Commissioner Sam Bushman.
ORIGINAL: A Jefferson City commission is set to vote on a proposed tax increment financing, or TIF, district Thursday.
The Tax Increment Financing Commission will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. for the proposed TIF for the former Truman Hotel property.
The Puri Group of Enterprises applied for the TIF with the city in January.
If it passes, the proposed developers would build a Holiday Inn and Suites and Courtyard by Marriott hotel with a conference center on about 8.65 acres of land.
A public hearing was originally set for May 31, but the developers submitted a revised plan on May 23.
The total estimated project cost is nearly $56.8 million, according to the staff and consultant report on the TIF. The developers would have to pay the total cost up front.
The developers are requesting about $8.9 million in reimbursement through the TIF, or about 15.65 percent of the project cost.
