Court Battle Over Water Charges Continues

Niles and Glenview each have until Sept. 15 to submit written materials requested by the other in their according to Glenview Village Attorney Eric Patt.

That was one of the results of an Aug. 25 status hearing in the case, which started in May when , a company that provides water and sewer services to about 4,400 customers who mostly live in the unincorporated area southwest of Glenview. Glenview bought North Maine Utilities in 1997.

Niles provides water to the utility company under a 30-year agreement signed in 1990 with the company’s former owners.

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The dispute started when who are customers of North Maine Utilities because, Niles officials said, North Maine charges them for sewer services and Niles residents who are on the village’s municipal water system do not pay a separate sewer fee.

Glenview officials assert that Niles is paying for its sewer service with money collected for water fees – and that North Maine should not have to pay whatever portion of the water rate actually pays for sewer services. It stopped paying its water bill in May in protest, and the unpaid bills are now more than $1.4 million.

Niles responded by asking the court to force Glenview to pay, but Cook County for an emergency injunction in August.

To settle the issue, Glenview planned an audit of Niles records to start July 8, but , saying the amount of information Glenview was demanding was far more than the original agreement allowed for. Glenview asked for water and sewer bills, financial software to review water and sewer revenue and expenses, personnel costs, information on how the water rates and general fund levies are calculated, how general fund sewer services costs are calculated and more.

“We just want them to open their books,” Patt said. “They won’t without preconditions.”

seeking the information and demanding that Niles refund all overcharges since 1997.

If all of the information Glenview has asked for is not forthcoming by Sept. 15, Glenview will go back to Novak and ask her to order Niles to turn over the information, Patt told Patch. 

Niles Village Manager George Van Geem was out of the office and not available for comment.

The next time the case is scheduled to come before Novak is Oct. 27 for a case management hearing.

Stay tuned to Patch for updates.