City’s TIF District hits snag

Representatives not yet authorized to participate

By Randy Cowling, Managing Editor

September 4, 2009 — It was supposed to be an open public meeting of a newly appointed Review Committee to determine if Claremore should create a Tax Increment Financing District. Instead it turned into a non-meeting because representatives from institutions that would be impacted by the diversion of ad valorem property taxes to incentivize economic develop announced they had not be authorized serve on the committee.

Claremore City Councilor Tom Lehman, who is chair of the committee, proposed three at-large members be approved by the group when representatives from Northeast Technology Center, Claremore Sequoyah, Claremore and Oologah-Talala public schools, and Rogers County Commission all abstained from voting because they had not been authorized to serve.

The appointment of Larry Green, Scott Thomas and Bailey Dabney was placed on hold, since without a quorum the committee could not take any action.

“This is an open public meeting,” Lehman announced despite the lack of any official posting of a notice of the special meeting of the “City of Claremore Special Schedule Meeting Of The Claremore Redevelopment Project Plan Review Committee.”

Claremore City Manager Troy Powell, who is a member of the committee, said it was not the city’s meeting even though an agenda provided to participants clearly described the meeting as the City of Claremore.

Powell said it was the Claremore Economic Industrial Development Authority’s meeting. Powell said Tim Hight, CIEDA executive director, assured him a notice had been posted. CIEDA is an extension of the City of Claremore, just as the city’s Public Works Authority.

No posted notice of the special meeting was found on the bulletin board outside of the Claremore City Hall or at CIEDA offices on the Rogers State University campus by the Progress following the meeting. No notice was posted at the Claremore Community Center, where the meeting’s agenda listed its location.

Progress staff discovered the meeting after being provided by an agenda by Dabney, Progress publisher, who was being considered as an at-large member.

Dabney said a packet was sent to all potential committee members almost a week ago, though no notice of the public meeting could be found by Progress staff.

A telephone call to CIEDA’s Connie Jessina and Hight on Friday morning was not returned by press time.

The Oklahoma Open Meeting Act - Title 25, Oklahoma Statutes 301-314 requires governmental entities to post notice of any meeting where business will be conducted.

The act specifically states, “Advance notice. — All meetings of public bodies, as defined hereinafter, shall be held at specified times and places which are convenient to the public and shall be open to the public.”

State statute also requires government entities, including CIEDA, must provide advance public notice at least 24 hours in advance of its regularly schedule meetings and post them in a “prominent public view at the principal office of the public body or at the location of said meeting if no office exists.”

With this meeting being characterized as a “special meeting” the Open Meeting Act also requires entities to provide at least 48 hours notice prior to the meeting and “the public body also shall cause written notice of the date, time and place of the meeting to be mailed or delivered to each person, newspaper, wire service, radio station, and television station that has filed a written request for notice of meetings of the public body with the clerk or secretary of the public body or with some other person designated by the public body.”

“In addition, all public bodies shall, at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to such special meetings, display public notice of said meeting, setting forth thereon the date, time, place and agenda for said meeting. Only matters appearing on the posted agenda may be considered at said special meeting. Such public notice shall be posted in prominent public view at the principal office of the public body or at the location of said meeting if no office exists.”

Violation of the Open Meetings statue is a misdemeanor with a penalty of a fine not to exceed $500 or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year or by both a fine and imprisonment, according to the statute.

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson conducted a seminar last month at Northeast Technology Center to educate public officials on the requirements and parameters of the Open Meetings statute. It is uncertain if any of CIEDA’s staff attended the training session for government entities.

Brenda Vincent, an advisor to CIEDA, encouraged those representatives to go ahead and vote for the appointment of the at-large members with a caveat that they themselves would be authorized by their organizations.

Fred Probis of NTC said more information would be helpful to take back to his board.

Lehman said, “We cannot conduct any business. No formal action can be taken.”

However, he asked if the group would stay and hear a presentation by Hight about why the city is considering the formation of a TIF District.

Hight informed the group CIEDA wants to create 1,000 more jobs in Claremore’s two industrial parks in addition to retaining the existing 1,600 jobs.

He told the group there is an urgency to forming the TIF District because three potential deals with companies hinge on it.

During the discussion, Mike McClaren, Claremore school superintendent, asked if the proposed area included property outside of the city limits.

Hight said two sections, one north and another south, were in the county and might have to be annexed.

Vincent said the proposed district only allowed for property within the city limits.

DISAGREEMENT OF LAW

Vincent and Rogers County Assessor Melissa Anderson expressed differing interpretations of the TIF District as to whether entities impacted by the diversion of ad valorem taxes would receive a base rate determined by the county assessor for the 25-year life of the district or if those entities would receive annual 3-5 percent increases on the properties within the district, but not on any new improvements.

Anderson said she had been told by the state there would be one base rate for the life of the district.

Vincent, who said she wrote the statute, said entities would receive annual increases but not on any improvements.

McClaren said all government entities could lose as much as $700,000 in ad valorem taxes. If the bonds were to be $75 million for the district, McClaren said Claremore Public Schools would stand to lose $561,000 in taxes.

Given the current economic times, McClaren and Probis said it is highly unlikely schools could recoup those losses from the state.

McClaren said schools received their funding allocations in July only to have a 5 percent reduction handed down in August. Probis said NTC and other state agencies were asked to cut 8 percent from their budgets and also received the 5 percent cut in August.

“Ad valorem is one of the few things we can count on,” said McClaren.

The Review Committee will meeting at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the Claremore Community Center.

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