HOUGHTON — Houghton and Walmart are working productively to resolve the city’s federal suit against Walmart to resolve a dispute over the taxable value of Walmart’s Razorback Drive property, City Manager Eric Waara said Wednesday.

Waara updated the city council on the suit at Wednesday’s meeting, reading a statement prepared by the city’s attorney.

“Walmart’s attorneys, our attorneys are working together on this, and I certainly don’t want to cast any wild aspersions or anything like that,” he said after reading the statement. “These are simply the facts of what’s going on.”

Houghton filed the suit in the Western District of Michigan on Aug. 3.

The suit stems from a 2003 development agreement the city entered into with Walmart when it expanded its store to a Supercenter. The agreement stipulated that the assessed taxable value of the property would be $1.95 million higher in perpetuity.

“The purpose for the increase in the assessed taxable value was to increase the taxes assessed against the property as a way for the city to pay for additional expenses the city would incur moving forward related to the construction and operation of the superstore,” the city’s statement read.

Walmart filed a request with the Michigan Tax Tribunal for a lower valuation in 2018. The request used the “dark store theory” of valuation, arguing the building should be valued as if it were an empty store.

Walmart is requesting a lower valuation for the years 2018 through 2021. If granted, the request would eliminate “most, if not all” of the additional $1.95 million agreed to in 2003, the city’s statement said.

In its court complaint, the city estimated the total amount of lost tax revenue for those years at $291,605.

A message was left with a Walmart attorney Thursday seeking comment.

Houghton is asking the court to award more than $75,000 in damages, along with declaring Walmart in breach of the development agreement.