The Tax Increment Financing Commission heard great news on its investment report for its Fiscal Year ending April 30, 2019, with actual interest earned exceeding its budgeted interest income by 132%. The Commission budgeted its interest income at $450,000 for the last fiscal year, and actual interest earned was $1,044,147.
While this is great news for the TIF Program, it’s also great news for taxing jurisdictions. The TIF Program will use the extra earnings to pay outstanding obligations to developers earlier which means revenues generated by TIF projects can be returned to the taxing jurisdictions faster.
Over the past four years, revenue from interest income has grown significantly with active investment management.
Historically, TIF funds were not actively invested and netted only $90,000 in interest income in 2015. In 2016, the Commission retained the Bank of Kansas City to manage the investment of idle funds, and interest income was substantially increased. In 2017, the City Treasurer’s office assumed management of the funds, and nearly $350,000 in interest income was earned, and in 2018, about $650,000 was earned. Leading the effort for actively management of the funds were Cindy Circo, TIF Chair and Heather Brown, TIF Executive Director.
The funds are invested in accordance with the City ‘s policy on investment of public funds, with priorities of safety, liquidity and return. Of course, the amount of interest income correlates to the amount of funds available for investment (which does vary from year to year); however, overall the trend is positive.