Baltimore City Council committee votes down bill authorizing TIF study

A push for a citywide report on tax increment financing (TIF) and the potential to use such bond sales to help renew underserved communities and wipe out vacant buildings was defeated by a Baltimore City Council committee Tuesday. Councilwoman Odette Ramos in April sought the report through an ordinance that would require several city agencies, including the Finance Department and Department of Housing and Community Development, to work with advocates to study TIFs and their impact on the city’s economic development. The quest was nixed, though, after an hour-long hearing by the council’s Ways and Means Committee chaired by Councilman Eric Costello, who voted against the ordinance.