Mayor challenges reader gripe

While debating issues in the newspaper is not a common practice of mine, a letter, sent to and recently published by the Daily Herald, requires clarification and correction. A letter to the editor recently submitted by Jake McCabe, a resident of Batavia, ("Towns too giving to developers,") contained blatantly inaccurate and erroneous information regarding recent development initiatives by the City of St. Charles. Specifically, Mr. McCabe makes the statement that "the city (St. Charles) lost millions of dollars ... before the Hotel Baker went into bankruptcy."

While the original re-developers of this property did in fact go bankrupt, the city of St. Charles has not lost a dime on its TIF (tax increment financing) investment to assist in the revitalization of this now thriving historic structure in the heart of our downtown business district. As planned, and unanimously supported by the city council at the time, the incremental increases in the property's tax revenues being generated by the redeveloped property, (which would not have occurred without the investment made by the city of St. Charles) are in fact paying off the incurred debt service, as planned and on schedule, with none of the expense being subsidized by the taxpayers of this community.

Next time Mr. McCabe from Batavia chooses to chide one of his neighboring communities on its development and redevelopment initiatives, I would hope he would take the time to educate himself about the facts, rather than simply repeat something heard over the coffee counter at his neighborhood cafe.

Mayor Donald P. DeWitte

City of St. Charles