DeKalb and Aurora are flush with data center cash. They differ in how to spend it

DeKalb, Illinois, has seen a "transformational" economic impact from the Meta Data Center, accumulating $72 million in additional property tax revenue since its operation began. According to City Manager Bill Nicklas, this revenue has allowed the DeKalb Community Unit School District 428 to fund a new $34 million elementary school, the Dr. Leroy A. Mitchell Elementary School, and provide property tax relief by under-levying. Superintendent Billy Hueramo noted that Meta's contribution shifted the primary taxpayer burden from residents to industry and helped accelerate school projects, though he credits the district's conservative budgeting for much of their achievements.

Meanwhile, officials in Aurora, Illinois, are adopting a more cautious strategy with their data center revenue, which comes from facilities like those operated by CME Group and CyrusOne. Alison Lindburg, Aurora’s director of sustainability, explained that the city gains revenue from utility taxes, property taxes, and initial building fees, with a single 98-megawatt data center potentially generating over $1 million annually in utility tax alone. However, the city is hesitant to earmark this revenue for specific projects, instead directing it to general city accounts. Tracey Vacek, director of planning and zoning, highlighted Aurora's forward-thinking ordinances, which require data centers to decommission systems and include modifications like parking to increase the likelihood of reuse, addressing concerns about the long-term future and potential volatility of data center technology and energy consumption.