Plainfield Schools Inks Settlement to Pay Back Edward Hospital Property Taxes

Already struggling with a $1.8 million deficit, District 202 got hit with another financial blow in January when Edward Hospital was granted tax-exempt status.

That meant the district would not only loose $250,000 per year in taxes from the hospital, which has a campus in Plainfield — it would also have to repay the money it has received since Edward first began applying for tax-exempt status in 2008.

On Monday, the board signed off on an agreement with Edward that will allow the district to pay out $750,000 to the hospital over the next three years, rather than in one lump sum, District 202 Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Angela Smith said.

Under the agreement, District 202 will repay Edward’s 2008 property taxes by Dec. 31, 2013. The hospital’s 2009 property taxes will be due Dec. 31, 2014, and its 2010 taxes by Dec. 31, 2015.

Since Edward did yet pay 2011 taxes, no refund is due for that year.

According to the district, Edward will also forgo any interest on the refunded taxes.

The hospital received its tax-exempt status after the Illinois General Assembly passed a law last summer allowing non-profit hospitals to become exempt from local property taxes if they can demonstrate that they’ve done charitable work equal to or more than the property taxes they would otherwise owe.

In January, Edward Hospital released a statement on its new tax-exempt status.

“Edward has earned our tax exempt status by providing nearly $87 million in community benefit last year, including a generous charity care policy that exceeds the state's requirements,” the statement said, adding the health care company is one of the largest employers in the region, with more than 4,700 staff members.

Plainfield isn’t the only school district that has to repay property taxes. Nearby Valley View must pay back $4.8 million to the newly tax-exempt Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital.

Related:

• Valley View Must Return $4.8 Million to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital
• Edward Hospital and Elmhurst Memorial Announce 'Major Step' Toward Merger
  
• Plainfield School District Files an Amended Budget with a $1.8 Million Deficit