Elgin Sweeper Co. has called the city of Elgin home for 55 years and will continue to do so for at least another 12 more if it can secure a $3.7 million tax incentive package from Cook County, city officials said.
The company needs to update its facilities at 1300 W. Bartlett Road but might be forced to find a new location because the work is cost prohibitive without the tax break, City Manager Rick Kozal said.
A resolution of support from the Elgin City Council would qualify the company to apply for a Cook County property tax incentive offered to keep industrial businesses in the county, Kozal said.
The action does not require any financial commitment from the city, he said.
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“The Elgin Sweeper Co. is committed to working with the city and its landlord to identify a viable solution enabling it to remain at the facility it has occupied at 1300 West Bartlett Road for the past 55 years,” Kozal said at the council’s work session Wednesday.
“Without property tax relief, Elgin Sweeper is at a significant disadvantage that is, unfortunately, requiring the company management to consider alternative locations, including those out of the city, county and state,” he said.
The facility needs repairs to its roof, docks and loading areas, a new HVAC system and updated utilities, city officials said. As it currently stands, it qualifies as a blighted property under Cook County’s property tax incentive guidelines.
The Cook County Board of Commissioners will “not consider (the company’s) application unless the host municipality consents to that consideration,” Kozal said.
Mayor Dave Kaptain said the city has taken this action before in order to help businesses on the border of Kane and Cook counties that may be at a disadvantage because of property tax differences between the two governments.
“It offers an incentive for them to stay and be part of our Elgin community,” Kaptain said. “(Elgin) Sweeper has been here a long time, and I think it’s a wise choice to follow up on this.”
Council members approved the resolution, and will take a final vote on it at a future meeting.
Elgin Sweeper has been in business for 107 years, according to its website. It manufactures sweepers for streets, airports and industrial purposes and is also the official sweeper of NASCAR Green, providing machinery that helps dry to track in order to reduce delays during races, the site said.
Elgin Chamber of Commerce’s Elgin Development Group, known as EDG, has been in talks with Elgin Sweeper for months, said Tony Lucenko, who works on economic development projects for the EDG, a public-private partnership with the city of Elgin.
“It looks like a pretty straightforward objective, and that is to keep Elgin Sweeper in town,” Lucenko said of the resolution. “We are competing with a number of other states and localities.”
The company is at a “somewhat disadvantage from a tax standpoint from other states. This will go a long way in keeping Elgin Sweeper in Elgin,” Lucenko said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.