Good for Dale Adams on Chemtool TIF

Add comment August 20th, 2008

Congratulations to Rockton Village President Dale Adams for breaking the 3-3 tie Tuesday night and approving the TIF district for Chemtool. TIFs are a very common tool for communities to use to attract major investment. I’ve heard Chemtool’s presentation to the Editorial Board, and was favorably impressed with their plans. Bringing 500 jobs to Winnebago County is a good deal, too good to pass up, as Adams noted.

What I cannot fathom for the life of me is people who say that taxing districts will be “deprived” of revenue from the new business. What, exactly is the amount of income derived from Chemtool not coming??????? Something like ZERO?

Fact is, a $30 million investment will reap major benefits to all taxing districts, first from spending power of construction workers who build it, then from suppliers and the families who earn income from the company. It sure makes more sense to bring Chemtool here with a TIF district lncentive than it does to keep the underused, dilapidated former Beloit Corp. site in the sorry condition it has remained in for years.

I remember from the early 1980s when I worked for a group of weekly newspapers that included the Rockton Herald how dealing with Rockton –The Beautiful Village — was, shall I say, different? They not only wanted no growth, they wanted to back about 100 years in time. I assumed things had changed in the years since I was involved in Rockton news coverage. I guess they have — but just barely.