Warrenville City Council on Monday passed a resolution asking the Naperville Community School District 203 to end an eight-year lawsuit against the city and four other taxing districts, including Wheaton Warrenville District 200, over Warrenville's Cantera Tax Increment Financing District (TIF).
Filed on March 16, 2005, the suit charges Warrenville, District 200 and park, library and fire protection districts with wrongly benefitting from the TIF monies, according to the Chigaco Tribune. Both sides of the suit have spent "hundreds of thousands" of dollars on the lawsuit, Warrenville officials said in a statement.
According to the Naperville Sun District 203 has spent $446,153 on the suit and the city of Warrenville has spent $133,203.
District 203 boundaries include a portion of the Cantera Development in Warrenville, which is primarily commercial with no residential properties. The district has received more than $9 million in new property tax revenue since 2009 and will continue to receive more than $3 million annually, according to the city of Warrenville.
"The Naperville school district's boundaries include a portion of the Cantera Development in Warrenville, which is primarily commercial with zero residential properties.
"...The Naperville School District experiences no expenses from the Warrenville properties, because no Warrenville children attend any of their schools. However, that school district continues to benefit financially from Warrenville's very successful Cantera TIF Development through increased property values and tax revenue."
Warrenville Mayor David Brummel said at the Jan. 21 meeting, "The most disappointing part is that the hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted on legal fees could have paid teachers' salaries or gone towards the education of children in District 203, and in Wheaton-Warrenville District 200, another defendant in the litigation."