Village officials have passed a resolution stating that the village will not collect a tax on boat slips at North Point Marina as long as the Illinois Department of Conservation pays the village more for emergency services to the area.
The Village Board passed the tax in October hoping to defray the costs of police and fire protection to the state-owned marina. Under the current contract, the state annually pays Winthrop Harbor $4,000. The village is seeking about $20,000 a year.
Before the Department of Conservation can renegotiate the contract with the village, the state legislature must vote to extend the amount of time required to pay the $39 million debt on the marina, which was built in 1989. Extending the debt will free funds from the marina’s profits, which now go toward the debt, to pay for emergency services, said John Conerio, deputy director of the Department of Conservation.
If state legislators do not act by July, and the marina fails to negotiate a new contract for emergency services, the village will reinstate and collect the tax, said Village Clerk Dawn McLain.
Loren Karner was the only trustee to vote against the resolution to repeal the tax. He and Mayor Bob Marabella are concerned that once the tax is repealed, the village will no longer be able to use the tax as leverage in future negotiations with the marina. They think that the state will soon make it illegal for municipalities to tax state agencies.
