OPINION: Special tax districts should require an action plan with concrete goals

Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas (MRAs) are a great way to begin improving blighted neighborhoods, and parts of a city that just need a little help.

Last fall, City Councilor Joaquín Baca and I co-sponsored a bill that will allow Tax Increment Financing Districts, or TIF Districts, within MRAs.

This fundraising tool allows the city to set aside a portion of the property taxes and gross receipts taxes in that MRA and reserve it for reinvestment directly into the neighborhood. It can be challenging to come up with investment streams for metropolitan redevelopment areas, and I am fully in favor of reinvesting tax dollars directly into neighborhoods where they can most help these struggling businesses.

But with every expense of taxpayer dollars, we need transparency and accountability.

The current Metropolitan Redevelopment Ordinance establishes the mechanism for forming a TIF District, but it doesn’t require an outline of project goals or an analysis of how much money the TIF might raise. It doesn’t require ongoing reporting of how much the TIF raises each year or how that money is spent. All MRAs have an MRA plan, but some of these plans are more than 20 years old.

In short, the way the current ordinance is written, a TIF raises a lot of unrestricted money with little transparency about how it’s being spent.

The taxpayers of Albuquerque deserve better.

Other cities such as Dallas, Chicago and Nashville demonstrate transparency in TIF funding through detailed plans that include projected revenues, expenditures and anticipated district impacts, as well as project goals, development strategies and annual reports.

I introduced Ordinance-24-68 in December to build the same transparency and accountability into TIF Districts for MRAs in Albuquerque. The bill would require TIF Districts to have an action plan that includes base property tax and gross receipts taxes within the boundaries of the district; estimated revenue; clearly defined objectives and projects aimed at achieving those objectives; performance metrics; and a midpoint review to see if the goals and objectives are being met.

This action plan would have input from the public and final approval by City Council. If it passes, the ordinance will also require annual reports to be submitted to City Council and be posted on the MRA website.

TIF Districts are established for 20 years and will likely outlast the elected officials who established them. We have the opportunity to learn from other cities and adopt guardrails for future TIF districts now, before they prove necessary.

Renée Grout represents District 9 on the Albuquerque City Council, which includes the East Gateway and the Northeast Heights. Ordinance-24-68 is on the agenda of Monday night’s City Council meeting.