Geneva schools favor property tax rebate to attract factory
The Geneva school board is willing to rebate about $817,700 in property taxes, over nine years, to land a factory in Batavia.
The board voted 7-0 to approve a tentative intergovernmental agreement with the city of Batavia to persuade the AJR Filtration company to build a new plant on nearly 12 acres in the industrial park that is east of Kirk Road and south of Fabyan Parkway.
The factory would move the equivalent of 250 full-time workers to the site at 1252 Pierson Drive, and could increase that to 400 within 2 years of opening.
Northern Builders Inc. owns the land. AJR Filtration is also considering building the plant in St. Charles, where it already has a facility, or Aurora, according to Batavia officials.
Right now, the vacant land generates $5,142 in property taxes for Batavia, and $45,284 for the school district.
If the factory is built, city and school officials estimate it would send $27,632 in property taxes to the city and $243,343 in the first year for the school district, if there isn't a rebate. That includes money the school district collects to repay its debt. Assuming 2 percent annual inflation, the property would generate $2.51 million through 2025 in property taxes for the Geneva school district, according to a presentation by Todd Latham, the district's business services coordinator.
The agreement calls for the school district to rebate 75 percent of its taxes for operations each of the first three years. The percentage would decline to 28 percent by the ninth year. The rebate would not apply to property taxes collected for debt.
The IGA would also set a base value for the property once it is improved, applicable through the tax year 2036. If the property owner were to appeal its property tax assessment, the value could not be set below that base without the landowner agreeing to make up the difference in taxes by paying cash to the city and school district.
The Batavia City Council is expected to review the agreement again at a committee meeting Jan. 26. The school board will vote on a final agreement Jan. 26, and then the city council could vote on it Feb. 2.
“I was glad to see this come forward and work through it. I think it is an opportunity for us to partner with the city of Batavia and provides for us to invest in our community and our surrounding communities to bring some business in and help grow the area,” board President Mark Grosso said.
Even with the rebate, the district would get about $1 million more in property taxes overall during the nine years.