Wood River City Council Clashes Over TIF Allegations

Wood River City Council Meeting

WOOD RIVER – In an occasionally heated Monday night, March 3, 2025, meeting, members of the Wood River City Council shared dueling perspectives on alleged mismanagement of city TIF funds and agreements.

Two meetings ago on Feb. 17, 2025, Councilman Bill Dettmers called for a forensic audit and independent investigation into the city, alleging city officials made unauthorized payments to developers, changed parts of TIF agreements without council approval, and much more.

To address these and other concerns, Dettmers called for a special meeting to be held on Feb. 24, 2025. He was told two council members would need to request the meeting in writing; the next day, the city announced a special meeting would be held on Feb. 24.

The special meeting could not be held after Mayor Tom Stalcup and Councilmen Jeremy Plank and Scott Tweedy chose not to attend, ensuring there would be no quorum and no city business could be conducted. Stalcup and Plank submitted Letters to the Editor explaining their positions on Riverbender.com, as did Dettmers.

At this week’s meeting, two members of the public accused Stalcup, Plank, and Tweedy of pulling a “stunt” by not attending the special meeting. They also called for an independent investigation and audit into the city, giving detailed accounts of alleged misconduct. Another resident called for unity, emphasizing a need to simplify the TIF process to attract developers.

At one point, Dettmers made an accusation of altering – or ordering the alteration of – a TIF agreement without council approval, specifically by changing one of the years listed in the agreement from 2023 to 2024. The City Manager Steve Palen said the change was made to correct a typo, an explanation Dettmers seemed unconvinced by.

Shortly afterwards, while attempting to speak over each other, Dettmers and Palen accused each other of not understanding how the TIF program, or local government, works. Mayor Stalcup used his gavel twice during the meeting, attempting to bring order whenever the discussion became heated.

Amendments to five TIF agreements for various Wood River properties appeared on Monday’s agenda. The city attorney explained each agreement had been simplified after some council members called for “extraneous” regulations to be removed. Plank said removing these extra regulations is necessary to attract businesses to the city, adding that as long as developer expenses are properly documented, the city should reimburse them as is standard under TIF agreements.

Dettmers remained concerned that without certain regulations in place, property owners could receive unauthorized TIF funds, sell their buildings, and more without fulfilling contractual obligations. He spoke at length about the problems he saw with each agreement and its associated property and/or property ownership. His comments were ultimately cut short as Plank, and eventually Stalcup, called for him to wrap up his discussion points.

All five amended TIF agreements were ultimately approved 3-2, with Dettmers and Councilman David Ayres voting against each. The final agenda item of the night called for the “Discussion and approval of an independent investigation and forensic audit of the City.” The item failed to pass on a 3-2 vote, with Dettmers and Ayres casting the two votes in support.

A full recording of the March 3, 2025, Wood River City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.

More like this: