Business View Magazine - April 2016 29
halls, parks, libraries, etc. Through the use of TIF, mu-
nicipalities typically divert future property tax revenue
increases from a defined area or district toward an
economic development project in the community that
would not develop “but for” the infusion of TIF funds.)
Perkins adds that the Village has designated three
other TIF districts: “Two are mostly commercial shop-
ping centers that involve significant public incentives;
the third tax increment financing district, which was
just created last year, is more of a residential, mixed-
use development with TIF financing,” he says.
Of course, while all this new development is taking
place, Village leaders still have to sustain and invest
in the area’s infrastructure. “We recognize that if you
don’t maintain good roads and good water infrastruc-
ture, and provide good police and fire services, noth-
ing else really matters,” says Randy Recklaus, the Vil-
lage Manager. “We’re coming out of the Recession,
so we’re at a point where we’re really doubling down
on our infrastructure. In this year’s budget, we’ve in-
cluded funding for a 47 percent increase in our roads
program. And we’re doing a ramp-up of our water in-
frastructure – we’re increasing the rate that we’re
engaging in water main replacement by 300 percent
between now and 2020. And” he adds, “we just com-
pleted two stormwater studied to look at ways we can
improve our stormwater management infrastructure.”
“It may seem like we’re biting off a lot at the same
time,” he continues, “but there’s actually a logic to
it because a lot of these things exist underneath the
roads. We want to take a coordinated approach to look
at water, road, and stormwater infrastructure at the
same time, so we can coordinate those efforts and do
them together to minimize disruption to residents.” Ac-
cording to Recklaus, Arlington Heights also maintains
a very robust park system. “Every neighborhood has,
not only a number of smaller parks, but a large park
