TIFerences

   Well, now.  There's a bit of a squabble at 12th and Oak over a performance audit of Tax Increment Financing that was supposed to be issued this Wednesday.

    It was on the Finance committee agenda, anyway.... but it's being pulled, apparently because it hasn't gone to the TIF commission, even though there doesn't seem to be a requirement that it go there first.

    Some at City Hall wonder if the report -- from the auditor's office -- would have provided ammunition for Mark Funkhouser, the former auditor, TIF critic, and mayoral candidate.  And they wonder if chairman Chuck Eddy -- also, as it turns out, a mayoral candidate -- cancelled the release.

   Some are hinting that the audit might come out anyway. 

Posted by Lynn Horsley and Dave Helling

Comments

I hope it comes out!! If this is another public information smack down by the mayor and manager...this is absolutely unconscionable. The mayor on Kraske's radio show this a.m. was protesting loudly and banting about the word "disingenuous" with regard to the mis-use of statistics in the deferred maintenance report, and all of the negative talk about TIF.

There are simply some things that belong to the public, and that is information about our city. Do they forget who they are working for?? Eddy has just lost all credibility.

I believe that Horsley and Helling have an obligation, a duty, to dig out the facts behind this audit being pulled.

If there is ANY truth to what is being rumored out in the community regarding things being worse than what we know...it needs to be shared. Horsley is right there in the midst of all of this and she is probably being smacked down too.

I'm beginning to believe that Mark Funkhouser is telling us the truth.

Come on, let's have a leak!

That's exactly the kind of thing Eddy does.

Horsley should see what people on the 29th floor are "working" on--campaigns, or the people's work? Covering up problems and crimes, or the work they're supposed to do? You know who Barnes assistant is...

[The_Golfer]

And if the TIF was cancelled where I am, my real estate taxes would go down by 80%.

[george]

let's see, Funkhouser's former deputy who is acting Auditor to whom he has promised the job if he is elected, is in charge of the audit. He seeks to release it without the normal audit procedure of letting the agency in charge of TIF have an opportunity to attach a written response. And some bloggers don't see a little politics being played by Saint Funky??

[betty in brookside]

I have auditing experience. George makes a good point. Have the reporters looked to see if TIF agency was provided written comments in past Audits on TIF? If so, Mr. Funkhouser looks like the one playing the games here.

Odd how you two want to kill the messenger and totally ignore the message.

[David Buie]

It's true that a City Auditor's report is not the same as an independent CPA financial audit and that comments from the audited entity, the TIF Commission, that would be required under generally accepted accounting principles are not required before a city council committee meeting, but doing so is more helpful to all parties involved in order to solve any problems turned up in the investigation. These "performance" audits were never intended to be used as a punitive "gotcha" but as a tool for process improvement. Assigning political motives for reasonable actions is unnecessary when there is plenty of other blatant politically motivated action going on elsewhere.

[Solid Citizen]

The Star has been captive far too long to its own rah-rah agenda favoring all advantages for Downtown, devil-take-the-hindmost for the rest of KCMO. Objective journalism has died a sad death in result. The paper should be all over this story, because the news for TIF-aholics is probably not good, with much worse beckoning. Chapter 2: condos for sale (good luck).

[scorpio]

solid citizen: what do u mean, "condos for sale, good luck"? has anyone tried to calculate how many condos in development downtown, inventory, occupancy, etc? looks to me like a ghost town down there on the weekends

[jeanne]

There's been a lot of talk about the state of city finances other than this audit report. Why isn't more made of the fact that Chuck Eddy is in charge of the finance committee?

[joe MIller]

To George and Betty,

I'm not sure if the audit work began while Mark was still working for the city. I'll have to check on that. But it wasn't completed under his watch. In fact, he didn't know the audit was to be released this week until I told him yesterday. And I didn't know until Dave Helling called me and asked if Funkhouser would be there at the meeting. I told him I doubted that he would.

If you don't believe me, send Helling an e-mail and ask him.

Mark has nothing to do with whether or not the audit comes out.

Gotta make a move to a
town that's right for me
Town to keep me movin'
Keep me gvoovin' with some
energy.

Well, I talk about it,
Talk about it,
Talk about it,
Talk about it,
Talk about, Talk about,
Talk about movin,

Gotta move on.
Gotta move on.
Gotta move on.

Won't you take me to
Funkytown.
Won't you take me to
Funkytown.
Won't you take me to
Funkytown.
Won't you take me to
Funkytown.

good point jeanne. one would wish that anyone running for mayor would recuse themselves from such a potential conflict of interest.

but i guess this is not an equal playing field for those on the council.

Actually, this is typical of the type of things Eddy does. He certainly doesn't care about neighborhoods. He's only in this for himself, and the people in the sixth district know it. If you see Eddy signs in the sixth district, they're probably in the yards of his old cronies.