The Schaumburg Village Board reimbursed Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria about $76,500 for work on the historic building that houses the restaurant, but not without objection from a mayoral candidate.
Roof repairs and upgrades to make the 1 S. Roselle Rd. site handicapped accessible were completed last month. The restaurant requested reimbursement from a Tax Increment Financing district fund for the Old Schaumburg Center area, which the board unanimously approved Tuesday night.
Before the vote, Brian Costin, who is running against longtime Village President Al Larson, asked the board to reject the request, saying the business should pay, not taxpayers. He also noted the village already spent $1.5 million on parking lot improvements in the Old Schaumburg Center area – also from the TIF district fund.
“Enough is enough,” Costin said.
In a TIF district, increases in property tax revenue for schools, libraries, parks and other taxing bodies are frozen for 23 years. That revenue is put into a fund to pay for development projects that improve the area, like the Lou Malnati’s project. The goal is to improve and encourage development in blighted areas, eventually resulting in more property tax revenue.
The Old Schaumburg Center TIF expires in 2013.
Village Manager Ken Fritz said the money requested by Lou Malnati’s isn’t general taxpayer money but rather the taxes paid into the TIF by property owners in the Old Schaumburg area. The money was intended for such projects, he said.
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