The DeKalb City Council voted Monday night to allocate $14,000 to paint the Huskie logo onto the Corporate Drive water tower.

The money will be taken from the DeKalb water fund in order to paint the logo. This decision brought up some conflict.

The council originally asked NIU to provide half of the full amount before the production started.

“Even though the water fund has sufficient funds to provide for this production, I think that NIU should buckle down and recognize their priorities before they refuse to pay for something they should,” said 3rd Ward Alderman Steven Kapitan.

Seventh Ward Alderman James Barr also talked about the difference in funds.

“I agree that the water fund is not a general fund, but we have gotten some fantastic exposure from Northern in the past few weeks and we should assist each other whenever we can,” he said.

Second Ward Alderman Kris Povlsen thought NIU should pay its fair share.

“If they’re not willing to put it up there because they can’t afford it, then we can’t afford it either,” he said.

Another point brought up was whether the water tax was the appropriate city expenditure to cover the cost of the logo.

“We should reconsider the water tax and consider whether we’re taxing DeKalb residents more on water than need be,” 5th Ward Alderman Patrick Conboy said.

Sixth Ward Alderman David Baker said marketing is something that should be acknowledged.

“NIU still has the opportunity for people to donate money to them,” he said. “If we get paid back in spades, then it wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

Mayor Greg Sparrow said it wasn’t NIU’s request to paint the logo on the water tower, but it came from an engineer.

“Twenty-one percent of of revenue funds come from NIU; they are our biggest employer,” Sparrow said. “I think we should have a good relationship with the university. They’re going to be here for a very long time.”

The council ended the meeting by giving a thank you for opening the Convocation Center to the community in order to watch the NIU football game and join in the spirit of the NIU Huskies.