Village of Godfrey Board of Trustees
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GODFREY – The Village of Godfrey is prepared to move forward with a lawsuit against the City of Alton over $120,000 the village claims Alton owes them and refuses to pay.
Trustee Jeff Weber, who first raised the issue two years ago, said the village now has no other choice but to take Alton to court.
Weber said Alton and Godfrey signed an agreement decades ago regarding local sewer systems. Under the agreement, Godfrey contributed about $120,000 to a fund which Alton held and contributed to. Bethalto, which was also part of the agreement, contributed roughly $300,000 to the fund.
After Alton and Godfrey sold their sewer systems to Illinois American Water, each respective municipality was owed the amount they originally contributed to the fund – except for Bethalto, which chose not to sell its sewer system to Illinois American Water.
“We have asked the City of Alton over about two years,” Weber said. “If you look at their budget, there was a line item that said how much money was in that fund, and it owed Alton so much, Godfrey so much, and Bethalto so much.
“A month later, that line item disappeared. We have no idea where it went. They keep saying they don’t know anything about it – well, we know they owe us $120,000.”
After receiving several letters from the Village Attorney, Weber said Alton officials claimed they had no record of such a fund or agreement ever existing. Even after the Village Attorney sent them a copy of the agreement in question, the City of Alton has still not paid the $120,000.
“I think it’s time that the Village of [Godfrey] tell our attorney to institute a lawsuit against the City of Alton,” Weber said. “That might take a while and it might cost a lot of money – but personally, after two years of battling them, I don’t care if we only get one dollar back. It’s the principle of the thing – it’s being honest, and I think we ought to do something … if it takes a lawsuit, then I think it’s time to do it.”
Trustee Sarah Woodman agreed.
“If you owe a debt, you pay it. I think we’ve done everything we can do,” she said. “That money is owed to us, and they do have the money.
“I think if the shoe were on the other foot, Godfrey would have paid this a couple years ago. I think it’s all principle, I really do, and it’s wrong.”
Before the meeting adjourned, trustees went into closed executive session to discuss a potential lawsuit involving the Village of Godfrey and the City of Alton.
A full recording of the March 18, 2025 Village Board meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
