"I think the message you send to the citizens is a very important message," he said.

Former councilmember Richard Stawicki called the line item allowing funds to be spent on "the health, safety and welfare of the City as a whole," a "nebulous line item."

"A storm drainage system will not affect the success of the TIF," Stawicki said. "When you still play this game, you lose the public trust."

Dickson said she does have some concerns about the non-specific language.

"I don't have the same distrust, but I do have some concerns," she said.

"If we say yes to this and if we say no to this, does it make any difference?" Hunter asked.

City Attorney Jeff Bryant said the state statute gives some latitude to the statutory committee.

The Planning Commission will consider if the amendment is compatible with the Norman 2025 Land Use and Transportation Plan at its Thursday meeting.

If the statutory review committee votes to change the TIF amendment forwarded to them from council, the council has the option of approving it by a simple majority vote, Bryant said. If councilmembers want to change the amendment from what the statutory committee sends back to them, it would take a supermajority of a 6-3 vote.

Carol Cole-Frowe 366-3538 ccole@normantranscript.com