Abolish TIFs – Get Lower Property Taxes, More Equity & $20 Billion for U.S. Public Schools!
Tom Tresser has been researching and exposing the hyper-local impacts of Tax Increment Financing Districts via the TIF Illumination Project since 2013! Make a non-deductible contribution to this work.
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Here are some testimonies from a few of our treasured community partners…
The Rizoma Collective
Thank you for working with us in great urgency to let the Berwyn community know about a new private development project attempting to utilize the Tax Incremental Financing (TIF). Tom was able to generate a TIF 101 and Berwyn TIFs workshop on the Zoom platform and live-streamed on Facebook. 150 individuals indicated they were “Interested” and/or “Going” to the Facebook event. This resulted in engaging 55 community residents with next step information after the workshop. We began with introductory information about TIFs and engaged in dialogue and asking pressing questions necessary to increase our knowledge. We ultimately filled up the Berwyn Town Hall and lobby. Hidden public funds is one of the many forms of injustice we must have our eyes on. In less than a week, we were able to gain some guidance about how to mobilize against a TIF. We hope more communities can gain local information on TIFs, as a way to end corruption and springboard into a thriving and just community.
Unite Oregon
Tom Tresser played a crucial role in supporting the Anti-Displacement Coalition and Unite Oregon’s efforts to understand and address complex housing finance mechanisms in Portland. As the Coalition Director and Housing Justice Manager, we sought Tom’s expertise because of the concerning lack of transparency surrounding the city’s use of Tax Increment Financing (TIFs). At the time, six new TIF districts were proposed, and community members, including myself and my constituents, were apprehensive about their potential impact. We partnered with Tom to design and facilitate a two-day retreat focused on public budgeting and the use of TIFs in Portland. Tom’s contributions were invaluable. He developed accessible educational materials on public budgeting that provided a foundational understanding for all participants. Furthermore, Tom’s in-depth research and analysis of Portland’s existing TIF districts brought unprecedented clarity to a previously opaque system. This work revealed critical issues and unanswered questions regarding the use and impact of TIFs, information that had never before been publicly available. This retreat, facilitated by Tom, has directly led to several significant outcomes. It has empowered our coalition to engage more effectively in public discussions surrounding TIFs and advocate for greater transparency and accountability in the city’s budgeting processes. It has also sparked crucial conversations with city officials and other stakeholders about the equitable use of public funds for community development. We continue to draw upon the knowledge and resources Tom provided as we work towards a more just and equitable housing system in Portland. We highly recommend Tom for any project requiring expertise in public finance, community engagement, and collaborative problem-solving. His ability to translate complex information into accessible terms, coupled with his inspiring and collaborative approach, makes him a truly valuable asset.
Detroit People’s Platform
Tom Tresser has been a great partner to learn with the past two years. Detroit People’s Platform (DPP) is an organizing organization based in Detroit, the nation’s largest majority Black city. DPP is dedicated to advancing policies that improved economic outcomes for long time Detroiters. DPP staff and community leaders went thru a six-month intensive learning process led by Tom that helped to deepen our analysis and technical research skills on the important issue of TIFs. A year later many of those tactics and strategies taught by Tom are being implemented as DPP and residents ramp up the education and organizing campaign to challenge the existing TIF policies here in Detroit. Tom is a great coach in that he honored the local expertise of those of us doing the work. At the same time, he challenged us to embrace opportunities for new strategies which resulted in a shift in the organizing culture to accommodate data collection and research. At first this approach was seen as daunting but now is a matter of course in our organization’s culture. As a result, we have positioned staff and residents to become important voices in the fight for alternatives to TIFs as an acceptable tool for promoting economic development in our community.
[See how DPP used this training!]
The Wicker Park Committee
Tom did a great job! He clearly articulated how tax increment financing (“TIF”) works, where districts are located in the 1st, 2nd, and 32nd wards, and issues with TIF. TIF isn’t necessarily the most “exciting” topic but our nearly two- hour meeting flew by because of Tom’s presentation and audience engagement. Feedback from our meeting was very positive and folks walked away feeling educated and empowered to talk to others about the issues associated with TIF
The Niles Coalition
Thank you again for walking me through this TIF information for Niles. It was helpful to see your investigative process for connecting all the associated dots. It’s daunting to untangle these financial ties but clearly that’s for a reason. TIFs are on our list of agenda items for Niles and we hope to contract with CivicLab to do a training. Your help already has been illuminating and already we are finding people in our community who understand the unjust nature of TIFs. Thanks again for all the advice you have generously provided us, it’s been so valuable.
Berwyn City Councilman Organizes to Defeat Proposed TIF!
Listen to organizer, educator, and Berwyn City Councilman Rob Pabon tell the story of how we helped him defeat a proposed TIF – it was an unprecedented victory! (26 minutes)
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“Tresser is the north-side activist who formed the TIF Illumination Project, a local watchdog group that holds public meeting where, among other things, he shows locals what the city would never show them in a million years. Namely, how the mayor’s spending tens of millions of property tax dollars, year after year, courtesy of the tax increment financing program, which, as we all know, is the mayor’s unofficial slush fund.”
