Clark Randall, a former St. Louis American editorial intern and activist on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) issues, talked with mayoral candidate Tishaura O. Jones about TIF and other concerns. He was so impressed by her answers that he submitted the entire interview as a Q&A.
The American: By now all the candidates have conceded to a similar rhetoric – that we must expand our use of TIF and tax abatements, North and South. But how will you be accountable to that statement if elected mayor?
Tishaura Jones: I think we’ve gone TIF and tax abatement crazy. I’ve said this before – we give out tax abatements like Halloween candy. In the last 15 years, we’ve given out $700 million in TIF and tax abatement to the detriment of our schools and funding city services – and we haven’t asked for anything in return. I do agree that some subsidies are necessary, but now developers come to you with [incentives] already baked into their projects as an assumption, where it should be a bonus.
I’m an old finance person. I look at return on investment. For example, the new tower going up on Kingshighway and West Pine. We could have things included to benefit low- or moderate-income families. Inclusionary zoning. Let’s put aside a certain percentage of the units for affordable housing or multi-bedroom apartments. See, I’m looking at that janitor or that nurse that works at Barnes-Jewish and wants to live closer – because the doctor can afford to, but most of the other staff cannot.
We have to look at the original reason for tax abatements, which was for blighted areas. As far as I’m concerned, the place where they put the new Whole Foods is not blighted. Those are projects that would have happened anyway.
And we need to be more creative with our financing and make sure we are getting a return on our investment. We cannot be afraid to use “claw-back” provisions if we don’t get what we want.
The American: Could you briefly explain what a claw-back provision means?
Tishaura Jones: A claw-back is a provision that says we have the right to discontinue a TIF project, take back revenues and start redirecting them. Or we have the right to stop the project, period – we’ll cut it off at said date, if necessary. But we’ve been afraid to use that provision.
The American: One problem is “blight” and the way its definition is abused. How would you stop that if elected?
Tishaura Jones: Well, we need a more objective way of evaluating our projects. And if they don’t meet a certain criteria within a scoring method, than we should not approve that project, and I’m not scared to use a veto pen to get us back to the drawing board. I just think the community deserves more.
The American: In terms of understanding blight and development incentives that are often exploited, how would you create a more informed city on those issues?
Tishaura Jones: I’m pushing for participatory budgeting; for the parts of the budget that are discretionary, I think we need more input from the public for how those dollars are spent.
One example: the thing I hear most from residents in North City is that trash doesn’t get picked up. So if I’m a resident there and my trash is not getting picked up, I need to know what the trash department’s budget is and how are they spending it. Our citizens deserve more details on how and where our dollars are spent.
The American: On the subject of gentrification: HHow do you ensure that people who are already in St. Louis will have access to a better city without fear of removal from that city or being at the expense of the development?
Tishaura Jones: You have to really pay attention to neighborhoods as they develop. Unfortunately, right now in St. Louis we only have two [city] planners. We have to get more community involvement and make sure things are happening in an equitable fashion. You have to be intentional about the development; I think we need a city-wide plan with community input. The development that happens here right now is pretty much top-down.
I think we need more tools in our toolbox, not just TIFs and tax abatements. I would use TIFs, tax abatements, inclusionary zoning, building up your affordable housing trust fund, and removing the barriers for small developers to do work. It’s a huge juggling job, but you have to be intentional. It can be done.
The American: Shifting gears: Is the Ferguson Commission report an elephant in the room? What’s the importance of that report and, if elected, how would you implement the report?
Tishaura Jones: I often say it in my platform, but I don’t want that report to sit on a shelf and collect dust. We need to implement those calls to action. I’ve done work so far on three: financial empowerment centers, access to children savings accounts, and putting in $2 million to update the Metro-Link study so we can get back in the pipeline for federal funding to expand public transit in the region. I’ve always thought the mark of any first-class city is its opportunities for public transit.
The American: It seems the very idea of public education is at risk with the new administration. What would you do to address the crisis playing out with Betsy DeVos being nominated?
Tishaura: From my time spent in the House on the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, I think I understand the Education Foundation Formula more than any other mayoral candidate. The driver of our public education dollars is property taxes, so we can see a direct correlation between too many TIF projects in the last 15 years that come at the detriment of our public schools.
So now it’s incumbent upon whoever is in Room 200 going forward to remove or reduce the barriers to education for our children. You know, even though the mayor doesn’t have direct authority to the school district, that doesn’t mean we can’t be a better partner. Education and economic development go hand-in-hand, and our population loss as well. We get young people that start families and then leave when their children reach school age.
The American: Now our new governor is cutting the budget by hundreds of millions. How do you stand up for the city, or do you just have to work with what you’re given?
Tishaura: You kind of have to work with what you’re given. But it’s the responsibility of whoever is the next mayor to have relationships at the state level to go and fight for funds. To say, “Hey, this is the effect you will have on the 36,000 children currently in our public schools, district and charter.” I have those relationships, and I feel comfortable going to Jefferson City and saying, “Where is the compromise here?” We may not be able to stop anything, but we can make it less hurtful.
The American: On lead poisoning in St. Louis: Why is it such an ongoing issue? And if elected, can you put that to rest finally?
Tishaura: That’s what I mean by wrapping our arms around all of the children. We should be meeting with the principals of each school and asking the question: What do your kids need? What are the barriers to education? What do the teachers need? What do the families need? Then we can partner with organizations to abate the lead from these schools.
The American: There is a project to create a map that traces where campaign funds are coming from for each candidate. What are your thoughts on fundraising and conflicts of interest?
Tishaura: I’ll be honest, it hasn’t been covered in part because the media has been focused on me for some time. But I know I’ve seen some clear examples of conflicts of interest from other candidates with who they accepted money from and how they voted on certain bills. But I’ll be totally honest with you: I hate fundraising. I wish there was a way that I could run this race with a pot of funds for everyone to share and we could all be on the same level playing field. And we need to remember, just because a candidate has a lot of money, it does not mean they are the automatic front runner.
