By Howard Packowitz and Greg Halbleib

BLOOMINGTON – A local labor leader wants future tax increment financing districts in Bloomington to require developers to use union workers.

Mike Matejka asked the council to include in its TIF guidelines what’s called Project Labor Agreements.

“We’ve experienced local developments where incentives have been given, wages were required, and the developer refuses to pay them,” Matejka said. “Because municipalities often lack the enforcement power to ensure those wages are being paid, so by putting in a project labor agreement, there’s then an agreement in writing.”

Matejka said the developer receiving taxpayer incentives should be willing to hire local people.

“The taxing bodies should get maximum return, would mean dollars going to local people, would support local schools, people would pay their mortgages, which then helps build the community by giving people jobs,” Matejka explained.

The Bloomington City Council is also pondering comments made at this week’s meeting by District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly that future TIF districts don’t have to withhold the entire amount of increased property tax revenue from schools.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected].