Should Naperville offer tax incentives for developers? City council candidates differ

Naperville may be a destination spot for developers, but sometimes even booming economic cities need to add sweeteners.

The 11 candidates running for four open Naperville City Council seats in the April 4 election share common ground when it comes to certain tax incentives for developers.

There's general opposition to tax increment financing districts that freeze payments to taxing bodies for a certain number of years. But most candidates support the limited use of business districts, an incentive recently utilized in Naperville that increases the sales tax in an area to generate extra money for development.

Where the candidates differ is through the execution of tax incentives and deciding who receives them.

Rebecca Malotke-Meslin would like to see incentives for affordable housing and green development. She also said any approved incentive shouldn't be used as precedence for future decisions.

"Naperville continues to be incredibly attractive," she said. "But if there are other cities giving greater incentives, we need to be mindful of that and understand the landscape around us."

Meghna Bansal said she's conscious of balancing the burden on taxpayers with the needs of developers. Nate Wilson, referencing failed tax incentives he'd seen in Rockford and Chicago, expressed caution while recognizing the potential need for business districts.

Patrick Kelly, the lone incumbent in the race, supported the establishment of the Block 59 business district that will add a 1% sales tax to the Heritage Square shopping center until a defined amount of money is gathered for redevelopment. But he said he's voted against other tax incentives and would continue to judge requests on a case-by-case basis.

"We don't want to encourage, in my opinion, different sales taxes all around the city," he said. "I don't think we want too many of these."

Allison Longenbaugh is another supporter of the Block 59 business district, saying it's something in the "toolbox" to use when appropriate. Nag Jaiswal said he's in favor of tax incentives for business development, but not necessarily for residential development. Josh McBroom said his "starting line" is no incentives for developers, but he said he supports the Block 59 business district and wants Naperville to maintain a business-friendly environment with limited red tape.

Madhu Uppal stressed the importance of data-driven decisions to justify tax incentives for developers. She said incentives for the southern portion of the city, which doesn't attract as much commercial development as northern Naperville, are more necessary.

"If we need to do something a little more to attract businesses to the south end of the city, I would certainly be in favor of that," she said.

Jodi Trendler said several factors should figure into the awarding of tax incentives, including available data, the return on investment and the time frame of the incentives. Ashfaq Syed would like to see incentives for local businesses, and for minorities and women.

Ashley South said the incentives should be based on need.

"I think it depends on how long something's been vacant, what status it's in," she said. "And how much we really have a need for development within that location."