Serving the Forreston area since 1865
FORRESTON Journal January 22, 2015 Volume 152, Number 39 - $1.00
Close Contest
Tax Tips
Starved Rock
Polo and Forreston had another close game when they met last week on the court. B1
A state agency has released several tax tips for Illinois residents. A7
An Oregon couple are the new concessionaires at the Starved Rock Lodge. B3
BOR reduces nuclear plant’s value by $27 million By Vinde Wells Editor A Byron school official voiced concern last week when the Ogle County Board of Review (BOR) reduced the assessment of the Byron Generating Station last week by $27 million. “Obviously we’re disappointed. Obviously this will have an impact on the school district’s revenue,” said Byron School Board President Doug Floski. “We’ll have to assess what that impact is and how we’re going to have to address it. We’ll try to do it without putting an additional burden on our other taxpayers.” The Byron School District receives the largest share of the real estate taxes from the nuclear plant. Last year that amount was just over $19 million. At an appeal hearing Jan. 14, the three-member BOR unanimously set the plant’s assessment at $482.4 million, reducing the $509.4 million assessment set last fall by Supervisor of Assessments Jim Harrison. Plant owner Exelon Nuclear appealed that assessment, claiming the plant’s value should be set at $212.6 million, just 44 percent of the BOR’s
number. The 2014 assessment is the basis for real estate taxes paid in 2015. After hearing an appeal from Exelon’s attorney Terry Moritz and a rebuttal from Byron School District attorney Stuart Whitt, BOR members asked Harrison how he arrived at his assessment. Harrison said he left it unchanged from the year before because Exelon has appealed that assessment to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB). PTAB has not yet set a date for the appeal. The 2013 assessment was based on the assessments of other Illinois nuclear generating stations owned by Exelon. The BOR upheld last year’s assessment, as well as the 2012 assessment of $499 million set by Harrison. Harrison told the BOR that the assessments of Exelon’s Braidwood and LaSalle nuclear plants were both recently set at $455 million. The Braidwood plant is considered to be a “twin” of Byron and is of similar age. BOR chairman Joe Yockey, Stillman Valley, told both attorneys that the decision would not be an easy one.
“The board has a tough position to make for both sides,” he said. BOR member Robert Godman, Byron, first made a motion to set the Byron assessment at $455 million. However, neither Yockey or BOR member Mitch Montgomery, Rochelle, seconded the motion. A second motion for $482.4 million was approved by all three. Yockey asked Moritz and Whitt if the two sides have a proposed settlement for the plant’s assessment. Both said no agreement is in the works, and that they are not involved in the negotiation process. “It would be great if you folks could get together,” Godman said. An Exelon official voiced willingness to work toward a settlement. “Exelon is always willing to pay its fair share of property taxes,” said Byron Communications Manager Paul Dempsey after the hearing. “There are current economic challenges facing the plant that may have been reflected in the board’s final decision. Regardless, we are always open to a long-term deal that can give both sides some certainty on taxes in Turn to A3
Exelon’s Byron Generating Station is located on German Church Road between Oregon and Byron. File photo
Attorney questions reports By Vinde Wells Editor An attorney for the Byron School District debunked reports that Exelon has plans to close its Byron Generating Station anytime soon. Stuart Whitt said it does not make sense that Exelon has listed Byron as one of three Illinois plants that could be closed as early as next year. “They’re investing
hundreds of millions of dollars in that plant right now,” Whitt said during an assessment appeal hearing Jan. 14 before the Ogle County Board of Review. Whitt supported his statement by listing recent building projects at the plant as well as Exelon’s application for a 20-year extension of the plant’s operating license. “Everybody knows this license is going to be
extended,” he said. “Do you really think Exelon would expend 90,000 man-hours and $45 million for a license extension application if the plant wasn’t going to operate beyond 2026?” The plant’s current 40year license expires in 2026. The lengthy extension application process was begun sometime ago. Exelon officials appealed Turn to A3
Village approves a payment for wastewater plant By Chris Johnson Reporter With a unanimous vote, the first payment was authorized Monday night for the Forreston Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements Project. “We were verifying the items before the payment,” said village president Michael Harn. “The dollar value of the payment is $49,520.” Harn said the trustees initially received the bill for the Jan. 5 meeting but approving it was delayed to ensure an accurate bill. “They are asking for what is deserved,” said Harn. “It matches the invoice.” The $49,000 payment will be used to pay for bonds and insurance, having a job trailer set up on the site, and having a rebar delivered. With the approval, village clerk Carol Gagliardi said Fehr Graham, Freeport, will put a request in to have the payment authorized on the project loan. After the request is granted the contractor will be paid. The village approved a $2.8 million loan for improvements to the plant
in October. The loan will be used to upgrade and expand its existing wastewater treatment plant. The project will allow the village to maintain compliance with discharge limits and provide the capacity to treat all existing and future flows that reach the plant. This enables the village to comply with more stringent discharge limits, which will result in cleaner area waterways. The upgrades will include a new box screening and grit removal building, new equipment, repairs to existing tanks, and a new clarifier to increase the plant’s capacity. The plan to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant was approved last July. Then Governor Pat Quinn announced the loan was approved for the village in September through the Illinois Clean Water Initiative. Quinn first launched the Illinois Clean Water Initiative in his 2012 State of the State Address to help local governments rebuild or repair clean water infrastructure, including aging wastewater and drinking water treatment systems and plants throughout the state.
In This Week’s Edition...
Work is continuing on the new Ogle County Public Safety Complex on Second Street in Oregon. Long Range Planning committee chairman Don Griffin said the buildings name was changed during the county board meeting Tuesday night. Photo by Chris Johnson
Petrizzo resigns from county board By Vinde Wells Editor Differences with the county board chairman Kim Gouker are what an Ogle County Board member says led him to step down from his post only halfway through his term. The county board accepted the resignation Tuesday of Richard Petrizzo, 77, Davis Junction, who was elected to a four-year term in November of 2012. The board also recognized him for his years of service on the board. In his resignation letter, Petrizzo said, “After a critical review of my service to the county, it is my personal belief that I have achieved all that I can without compromising my standards and my own ethical values.” In a longer statement released Tuesday afternoon, Petrizzo filled in more of the
Business Briefs, B6 Church News, A5 Classifieds, B7-B12 Entertainment, A6 Fines, B3
reasons for his departure. “I resigned from the board because increasingly, the chairman and I grew further apart in our individual perspectives on the role of the chairman and board members,” Petrizzo said in his statement. The main complaint Petrizzo laid out is that he believes Gouker micromanages the board and its committees. “I have felt that his style, as a chairman, leaves no room for major input from board members, and he has had a majority on every committee to support his agenda,” the statement read. “In addition, he spends too much time on the various committees of the board and attending many other meetings in the county and elsewhere. While some of this is appropriate, most of it takes away from time he could be doing the work of
Marriage License, A4 Oregon Police, B4 Public Voice, A8 Property Transfers, B5 Sheriff’s Arrests, B4
the chairman in his office or at home, as most others do.” Petrizzo said he believes Gouker should take a step back and delegate some responsibilities. “He should pull back from all of this involvement and encourage and/or assign others to assume the work of the board and participate in these activities,” the statement continued. “It is interesting to note that with the new board election, of which I did not seek election, he has now pulled back from most chairmanships as I had recommended but still sits on many committees… A leader should work to bring out the best in others in service to the county and not feel as if he must have his fingers in each and every facet of board operation.” Gouker disagreed with Petrizzo. “That’s his opinion of what
Social News, A4 Sports, B1, B2 State’s Attorney, B5 Weather, A2
I’m doing,” he said. “He’s not with me every day and he doesn’t know what I’m doing.” Gouker denied that he attends a large number of committee meetings. “Committees have their own work to do,” he said. “I don’t want committees or department heads to feel that I manage their business. They are to operate their committees and go through their business and bring it to the board.” According to the county’s website, Gouker is a member of five county committees and serves as chairman of the Executive Committee. Petrizzo also questioned Gouker’s approach to the issues that arose over former sheriff Michael Harn’s handling of the tow fund. “Further, he seemed too intent on protecting the Turn to B2
Deaths, B3 Amanda A. McAlonan, Roger F. Camplain, Mary J. Moser
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com