Politics & Government

Trustees Vote Down Sales Tax Rebate for Westphal Chevy

With offers from other local communities, will one of the village's largest sales tax contributors leave town?

Called to ensure all village trustees had a chance to be heard on the to Westphal Chevrolet, a Tuesday night ended with a 3-2 vote to not enter into the deal with the dealership.

Trustees Jeff Lawson, Tony Giles and Terry Michels voted against the deal that would have paid the village the same amount of sales tax dollars its been receiving the past three years (about $173,000 annually) plus 25 percent of extra tax dollars on top of that. The dealership would keep the remaining 75 percent of what is generated annually until the $300,000 is captured.

General Motors has ordered a renovation of the dealership that may cost Westphal about $1.5 million, and the rebate was to help offset those costs.

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Trustees debated for about 30 minutes, mostly restating , when the issue was discussed and the vote postponed.

Village President Brian LeClercq said Friday all trustees had agreed to attend the meeting, but Trustee Scott Volpe was a no-show after a scheduled doctor’s appointment left him in too much pain to attend, according to interim Village Administrator Dwight Baird.

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Volpe seemed to support the rebate deal last week. If he had voted in favor Tuesday night, that would have left the tie-breaking vote to LeClercq, who also had voiced his support of the deal.

What this means for the future of Westphal in town remains to be seen. The dealership has indicated that they have had offers from both Aurora and North Aurora to relocate.

Westphal General Manager Dan Schwebke appeared before the board Tuesday night. When asked if the dealership could wait until Jan. 10 for a vote from the entire Village Board, Schwebke said the dealership needs to begin the process of making business decisions for its future.

After the meeting, LeClercq said he’s uncertain as to what the dealership’s next move might be.

“I think it will be important to meet with Westphal to see where we go from here,” he said.


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