An interim report from an ongoing study by research staff at the East-West Gateway Council of Governments has concluded that commitment of more than $2.5 billion in public money over the last 15 years for local development incentives has not resulted in real economic growth, and that focusing on expanding retail sales is a losing economic strategy for the region. The interim report was presented to the organization's Board of Directors last week.In addition to those findings, the interim report suggests that the provisions for uniform reporting of revenues, expenditures and outcomes for all types of incentives are “remarkably weak,” and that there is no mechanism to require a private project sponsor to deliver economic outcomes, or to allow taxpayers to recoup the value of local tax incentives if those outcomes do not happen.
While the report is well-researched, it is still interim and East-West Gateway staff are seeking further input from cities and developers who actually deploy the incentives. The report makes little distinction between wide differences in how incentives are disbursed and reported in Illinois as compared to Missouri, for instance--a failing that should be corrected in any final document. It should also be noted that use of incentives in Columbia--such as Tax Increment Financing for redevelopment of the Admiral Trost Redevelopment Area--have been made and reported in a manner that the report, even in this interim stage, would support.
Established in 1965 to provide a forum for cooperative planning and problem-solving, the East-West Gateway's programs are continuously evolving in response to a changing region. Gateway’s 21-member policy and decision-making board is comprised of chief elected officials in Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis Counties and the City of St. Louis in Missouri and Madison, Monroe and St. Clair Counties in Illinois, six regional citizens and the chair of Metro. Columbia Mayor Kevin Hutchinson currently serves as a director.
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