Crown Point City — The Crown Point City Development Commission on Thursday approved a draft 2026 Tax Increment Financing (TIF) spending plan setting maximum amounts by category and voted to forward the plan to the city council for posting on the gateway before the Dec. 1 deadline.

Charlie, a consultant with FSG, presented the draft spending plan and said the requirement to adopt a spending plan was imposed by the state legislature last year. "We put 35,000,000 in there just as a maximum, not to exceed amount," Charlie said, referring to a placeholder line for proceeds of bonds in the draft. He said the draft combines all of the city's TIF areas and lists estimated maximums, including debt service lines tied to specific bond issues such as the 2019 economic development revenue bonds related to the Hundred Ninth Street/Avenue project.

The presenter told the commission the plan must be forwarded to the city council and posted on the gateway before Dec. 1; commissioners noted the plan sets maxima and that the legislation does not prescribe specific consequences if actual spending in 2026 were to exceed those amounts. A commissioner asked how the commission would handle a project that required spending above the stated maxima; Charlie said the legislation "doesn't really speak to that" and the commission would need to address any unexpected changes if they arise.

After brief discussion the commission voted by voice to approve forwarding the draft spending plan to the city council. The motion and second were not named in the meeting record; the vote was taken by voice and the chair announced the measure "so moved."

The commission then addressed approval of invoices. The clerk noted the packet presented at the meeting differed from an emailed packet and pointed to a contractor payment line that included additional payment instructions not in the email. A speaker reported the commission expected about $1,300,000 from the DNR imminently; once those funds are received the REC would be reimbursed in full, the clerk's office was said to be aware of the anticipated reimbursement.

A motion to approve the payment list (identified in the meeting as "20 25 11 31") was made and seconded. The commission approved the payment list by voice vote. The meeting concluded after a motion to adjourn.

What the actions mean: the spending plan approved by the commission is a draft setting maximum categories for TIF expenditures in 2026; it must be forwarded to the city council and posted on the gateway before Dec. 1 as required by the legislature. The payment-list approval authorizes the listed invoices to be paid, and commissioners discussed an expected DNR reimbursement of about $1.3 million that would reimburse the REC for recent payments.