Montgomery board schedules future vote on sales-tax rebate to keep Walgreens stores open

The Village Board of Montgomery on June 25 held a first reading of an ordinance that would approve a sales-tax rebate agreement with Walgreens tied to the retailer keeping all three of its Montgomery locations open.

Manager Burke told the board that Walgreens notified the village in February it was considering closing underperforming stores and that staff negotiated a rebate “where the village would rebate $13,000 a year, for the next 5 years on the condition that they keep all 3 of their Montgomery locations open.” He also said a Walgreens representative was present for questions.

The board made a motion to move the item forward; the measure will return to a future meeting for final approval. No final vote on adoption took place at the June 25 meeting.

The proposed agreement is a conditional economic incentive: the village would rebate a portion of sales-tax revenue to Walgreens over a five-year term if Walgreens maintains three local store locations. A Walgreens representative attended the meeting but did not provide public remarks on the record in the transcript excerpt.

The first-reading discussion did not reference a specific ordinance number beyond staff’s notation that it is a first reading. Board members asked no follow-up questions during the excerpt and the item was scheduled to return for a subsequent vote for final approval.

Board members gave procedural approval to advance the ordinance; staff signaled Walgreens would be available for questions at the follow-up meeting.

What happens next: the board will place the ordinance on a future agenda for final action; the transcript records no final adoption or vote on the rebate agreement at the June 25 meeting.