BG agrees to sales tax-sharing with firm

Buffalo Grove has approved a sales tax-sharing agreement with an electrical and energy services firm.

Connection Energy Services provides services for the electrical contracting, commercial, data communications, industrial, and energy services markets.

The business is currently located at 353 Hastings Drive in Buffalo Grove but plans to expand, having signed a seven-year lease at 1700 Leider Lane, also in Buffalo Grove.

Under the seven-year agreement with the village, the village would rebate a portion of its local sales taxes if the business generates more than $125,000.

Trustee Jeffrey Braiman said Buffalo Grove currently is getting between $100,000 and $125,000 in sales taxes from the firm.

The incentive will not cost the village any existing dollars, Braiman noted.

“Any new money would be shared,” he said. “Therefore we’re not going to be losing money we already have.”

Should Connection relocate or conduct less than $10,000 in sales tax annually for two straight years, Connection would have to give all the tax money that had been shared back to the village.

The village has had sales-tax sharing agreements in the past with such firms as CDW and Hines Lumber.

Braiman said it was necessary to do this one because of a fear that the firm would leave for a neighboring community.