Officials at Moraine Valley Community College have reconsidered deannexing from Palos Hills after determining such a move would be more costly than simply paying the new utility tax they had opposed.
Jack Daley, chairman of the college’s board of trustees, said Tuesday that the school “reluctantly” will pay the tax because the costs associated with deannexing would “far exceed” the yearly utility tax.
Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett said he was glad the issue was resolved, adding, “Now we have to move on . . . and we hope there are no bad feelings.”
During the three-month battle, city officials had called the college’s vote a “bluff” and an “insult” to Palos Hills. College officials accused city leaders of causing the rift by refusing to consult with them before approving the utility tax.
The cost issue was not even mentioned in a March 24 letter Daley wrote to the city explaining the decision not to deannex.
In the letter–written a week after the board of trustees decided, during a closed-door executive session, not to deannex–Daley wrote:
“Moraine Valley is an asset to the City of Palos Hills. If it were not for the college’s support and presence, the city would have incurred costs for many services that it has received free (from the college).
“It is our sincere hope that the city recognizes the importance of our relationship and in the future will grant the board of trustees the courtesy of discussing major decisions that affect the college.”
The bickering began late last year when city leaders floated the idea of a tax on all utility customers. Moraine Valley asked to be exempt because it did not think it appropriate to tax a community college district, which is a taxing body.
City officials declined to excuse the college from the levy and eventually passed a 4 percent utility tax.
College officials responded with an aggressive–and unprecedented–vote to “consider the option” of separating the college from the town limits. School officials estimated the college would have to pay $48,000 a year in utility taxes.
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But, if the college had deannexed, it would have lost water and sewer service from Palos Hills. Finding alternative service would have been cost-prohibitive, Daley said.