Mount Prospect, District 214 settle TIF district lawsuit
Mount Prospect and Northwest Suburban High School District 214 have settled a lawsuit stemming from the village's creation of a new downtown tax increment financing district last year.
Under the terms of the deal, approved this week by the village board, some properties included in the new TIF will be declared "surplus" next year. That will allow additional property tax revenues from those sites to go to the school district and other local governments, instead of the Prospect and Main TIF fund.
But several other key development sites remain in the TIF, including the Busse Triangle, former Sakura restaurant block, the Chase Bank property, and the police and fire headquarters, which soon will be vacated and available for redevelopment.
"We feel like it's a fair compromise," Village Manager Michael Cassady said. "It does provide immediate benefit in terms of tax increment to all of the taxing bodies, and it doesn't hamper our ability to achieve our downtown revitalization goals."
Cassady said he and Mayor Arlene Juracek sat down with school board President Todd Younger and Superintendent David Schuler to discuss the agreement.
"There was more common ground that was shared, as opposed to objections," Cassady said. "The conversations led to, I think, an understanding, from our part, that (their) biggest objection was the properties that were formerly in the original TIF district were again placed in the TIF district, which is legal, but they found it objectionable."
The District 214 board approved their part of the agreement April 12. The Mount Prospect Park District board, which also joined the litigation on the side of the village, is set to vote on it April 25.
"We are pleased to be able to find common ground and come to terms acceptable to all parties, and more importantly, in the best interest of the taxpayers," Schuler said Thursday in a statement. "We look forward to working with the village and look forward to the success of the redevelopment efforts, as we continue to serve the public and make our communities economically strong."
District 214 filed suit against the village last June, asking a judge to declare the downtown TIF invalid. School district officials argued the village circumvented the "spirit and intent" of state law by including parcels from TIF 1, established in 1985 and dissolved in October 2016.
A TIF is an economic development incentive tool through which additional property tax revenue generated within its boundaries is redirected back into the area, instead of being distributed to the local schools, libraries, park districts and other taxing bodies.
Under the settlement, District 214 plans to formally dismiss its suit.
Mount Prospect trustees said they do not believe the school district lawsuit had merit, but it is in the best interests of all sides to settle.
"Although I disagree with the premise of the lawsuit to start with, I certainly believe that we need to work together with our partners in the community and working to compromise with the schools is what's best for the community," Trustee Colleen Saccotelli said.
• Daily Herald staff writer Christopher Placek contributed to this report.