Tag Archives: property taxes

Freeport City Council Meeting on Monday, March 2 to Consider Expanding West Avenue TIF to Include Jo-Ann Fabrics

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Freeport City Council Meeting at 6:00 pm
City Council Chambers at 524 West Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor
If you have Comcast Cable, go to channel 17 to watch live.

A few items of interest:

Annual report of Freeport/Stephenson County Convention and Visitors Bureau, read report at

Click to access CVB%20201312_20140303.pdf

Summary of City’s financial condition compared to last year

Memorandum on expanding West Avenue TIF (Tax Increment Financing District or also known as SHIT which is an acronym for Shift to Homeowners Incrementally Taxes) to include Jo-Anne Fabrics. To be fair every other small business in Freeport should be included in this TIF so improvements can be subsidized by other taxpayers in this community. Wait a minute – that would mean the whole City would be in a TIF. Oh, why not! What’s good enough for Wal*Mart should be good enough for the rest of us!

Appointment of Steering Committee for City Hall Public Outreach – this committee should be called “Committee to Decide Fate of City Hall.”

1st reading of a couple of ordinances and seven resolutions dealing with items such as the sale to Alber of part of Rawleigh Complex, expanding TIF referred to above, and hiring Fehr Graham for engineering services (this firm should have an office in City Hall – surprise that Shelly Griswald is going from City Hall to work for this firm)
For a complete agenda to follow during the meeting go to

Click to access A20140303a.pdf

Hope You Are Having a Wonderful Labor Day Weekend, But Don’t Forget the Second Installment of 2012 Real Estate Taxes Are Due Soon – Forget and It Will be Costly!

Second installments due as follows:

Carroll County – September 5

Jo Daviess County – September 9

Ogle County – September 6

Stephenson County – September 6

Winnebago County – September 6

If you are late, there will be an interest charge of 1.5 % per month which is an interest rate of 18% per annum. Sounds like usury to me! Of course, government is not subject to the rules the rest of us must follow.