If boom times ever return to St. Joseph’s historic core, the Downtown dreamers might thank the City Council for a vote it decided not to take.

The St. Joseph City Council decided Monday to push back a vote to use tax increment financing to revitalize Downtown.

Council member Joyce Starr proposed the move for two reasons. She did not want to take the vote because council member Mike Bozarth was absent and because council member Donna Jean Boyer had missed the past two council meetings and wanted more time to review the TIF plan.

The seemingly innocuous motion passed 5-0. It also saved the Downtown TIF from near-certain defeat.

Business leaders traded nervous glances before the meeting, nodding in the direction of Mr. Bozarth’s empty seat. They crunched their numbers in hushed tones. The math didn’t look good for the TIF.

Because Mayor Ken Shearin and council members Roger Baker and Bill Falkner own property in the proposed TIF district, they abstained from the vote. Factor in Mr. Bozarth’s absence, and only five council members were available to vote — the amount needed to pass the ordinance.

Council member Barbara LaBass has made well-known her skepticism of a Downtown TIF. Had the council voted Monday, she had the power to shoot down the entire plan.

“I would have had to vote ‘no’ because the people in my district just aren’t in favor of it,” Ms. LaBass said after the meeting.

Despite her opposition to the TIF, Ms. LaBass voted in favor of postponing the vote and did not utter a single word of opposition.

“I think it’s probably going to be more fair to do it when everyone is here,” Ms. LaBass said.

Ms. Starr said she hoped Ms. LaBass would change her mind.

“If we approve the TIF, what we’re really doing is approving the concept, not any specific project,” Ms. Starr said. “Every project will still have to come before the council.”

Ms. Boyer missed the past two council meetings when she was out of the country on a vacation. She planned to miss only one meeting, but travel problems led to an additional absence.

The city plans to activate the TIF in four stages. The first would establish an entertainment district at an estimated cost of $25 million. The district will extend from Fifth Street to Ninth Street with Felix Street at its core, but it will reach north and south to include properties such as the Missouri Theater.

The second stage would create a convention area west of the entertainment district, with a hotel and a new convention center. The third and fourth stages would focus on development in the areas north and south of the entertainment district, east of the convention area.

Clinton Thomas can be reached at clintonthomas@npgco.com.