DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport will still be flying high after the City Council approved an agreement with J.A. Air Center at Monday’s meeting.

The agreement is for most airport services through 2005 and will begin Dec. 15, DeKalb City Manager Mark Biernacki said.

Considered “temporary,” the agreement provides for a fixed $3,000 monthly rent to be paid by J.A. Air, an avionics firm based at the DuPage Airport, Biernacki said.

J.A. Air will provide storage and sale of aviation fuel, lubricants, greases and similar petroleum products, he said.

The company will also provide fuel attendants and minor aircraft maintenance.

The city is responsible for paying for cable TV, garbage collection and airport lighting, according to the agreement.

J.A. Air will be responsible for all other utilities except for telephone service, which the city will provide.

J.A. Air replaces DeKalb-based R & M Aviation. R & M left the airport in violation of the contract with the city, Biernacki said.

In other council action, the city drew a line separating DeKalb and Cortland.

The line stretches from Barber Greene Road in the north to Keslinger Road in the south.

“I still hesitate to consider a boundary agreement when their sales tax rate has such a huge differential,” 6th Ward Alderman Dave Baker said.

It would be a grave error to just give Cortland what it wants, Baker said. They stand to gain a lot of property with the agreement, he said.

Baker represented the sole voice of opposition on the agreement with Cortland.

Seventh Ward Alderman James Barr said it was important to move forward on the issue. This would help to avoid property bidding wars that counties to the east have experienced.

The council also granted preliminary approval to the 2004 property tax levy proposal.

The ordinance sets the tax rate at 60 cents per $100 of assessed value, Biernacki said.

This means virtually no increase in property tax rates for residents who have not had their property reassessed, he said.

The city uses property tax revenue to fund state-mandated pension costs for municipal employees and, occasionally, general operating costs.