Oswego Fire District To Seek Voter Approval For Property Tax Hike

OSWEGO, IL — The Oswego Fire Protection District will seek voter approval of a property tax hike referendum in the April 6 consolidated election to provide funds for emergency rescue equipment and crews.

In a statement from the district, it said that is hike is important to maintain its existing level of service to more than 65,000 residents, a number that has grown from 27,000 since 2002. The 64 square mile district protects the Oswego, Boulder Hill, much of the south side of Montgomery, approximately 1 12 square miles of the Grande Park neighborhood in Plainfield, a small area of the United City of Yorkville, and the unincorporated county areas that lie between many of these municipal boundaries.

The district's board of trustees carefully considered the declining reserves and increasing service demands before voting to submit the new tax rate to referendum. Since the district's last referendum over 18 years ago, call volume has increased from 2,000 to over 5,700 calls per year, staffing has increased from 17 firefighter/paramedics to 75, and stations have increased from two to four.

Another driving force behind the request, according to the statement, is the significant increase in cost of equipment. Emergency vehicles such as fire engines have increased from $300,000 to over $650,000, cardiac monitors have gone from $14,000 to over $44,000, and the firefighters' self-contained breathing apparatus have gone up from $2,000 to over $7,000 in the past 18 years.

While the cost of providing emergency services has dramatically increased, Fire Protection District Board President Richard Kuhn said that the primary benefit to be derived from a successful referendum will be "to have a fourth ambulance in service full-time which increases the overall ambulance availability by over 12 percent".

Fire Chief Michael Veseling stressed that the ability to have an additional ambulance ready to respond to the ever-increasing demand for emergency medical services "directly benefits our residents in their most dire circumstances."

"Minutes and seconds truly matter in medical emergencies and this will allow us to have an ambulance ready to roll out the door a greater percentage of time," Veseling said.

Before considering asking voters to approve a tax rate increase, the district received over $1,000,000 in private, state, and federal grants, as well as secured almost $750,000 in government surplus equipment, while also established its own vehicle service program. The board also looked at the consequences of not seeking the additional tax authority.

Looking at the projected growth for service demands in the next several years, Kuhn said in the statement that the agency’s governing board concluded that without the additional revenue as service demands increase ambulance availability will decrease and response times will increase.

"The bottom line will be that we will not be able to provide the level of service we provide today," he said. "None of the Trustees find that acceptable, so we are asking the residents to do their research, and vote."

Veseling said that if the referendum passes, the district estimates the increase in property taxes for the average homeowner will be under $75, based on an average fair market value of $225,000.

For more information, visit www.oswegofire.com.

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