Nalco looks to cut its property tax burden

Indian Prairie Unit District 204 and several other taxing bodies could be forced to refund a combined $750,000 in tax revenues if Naperville-based Nalco Co. wins a fight to have the value of its corporate headquarters reassessed, officials said.

Since 2005, the water chemical company has been paying a property tax bill for its campus along Diehl Road that estimates the value of the land and buildings at $68.5 million.

On Tuesday, an expert hired by the company told the state's property tax appeal board the site should be assessed at $41 million.

If the panel agrees, Nalco could be eligible to receive up to $750,000 in total property tax refunds for 2005, 2006 and 2007, Naperville Township officials said. The property tax bill the company is in the process of paying for 2008 also would be adjusted.

The bulk of that money would come from the school district, which covers portions of Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield and Bolingbrook.

"We, like a lot of people, are looking at what we are assessed at and want to try to make sure that it's fair," Nalco spokesman Charlie Pajor said. "We're trying to point out what we think is a fair assessment for the property."

But Naperville Township Assessor Warren Dixon said the complex has been assessed correctly, especially because it was valued at $145 million by company officials in 2002.

"They certainly told the stockholders and the bank it was worth $145 million at one time," he said, "and we only have (a) $68.5 million (assessment) on it. We think we are being reasonable."

However, Michael Kelly, president of Real Estate Analysis Corp., said he came to his conclusion on the $41 million appraisal after comparing the campus to more than a dozen similar properties around the country. He also factored in depreciation and the slump in the office space market.

Attorneys representing District 204 countered that the properties Kelly used in his comparison are inferior to the Nalco site. For example, most don't have the same kind of access as the Nalco headquarters, which is near the intersection of Route 59 and I-88.

A decision on the tax assessment appeal won't be made for several months.

Dixon said he is concerned that if Nalco is successful, more reduction requests by other companies will follow.

"All of them would be entitled to relief if (Nalco) wins this case," he said.

And if more companies start paying less in property taxes, Dixon warned homeowners will have to pick up the slack.

"The taxes are still going to be levied for the same amount no matter what," Dixon said. "But it's just shifting the burden."

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