The Oswego Fire Protection District is seeking voter approval of a $17 million general obligation bond sale during the April 4 general election to provide money for equipment, vehicle and station upgrades to meet what officials said is a growing demand for fire and emergency medical services.
Voters have rejected tax hike referendum questions for the district each time they were placed on the ballot in the past three elections. This time, the district is looking to sell bonds to finance the upgrades.
“Essentially, we are no longer asking for a Rescue Tax. The community made it very clear that they did not want a forever tax,” Oswego Fire Chief John Cornish said.
Fire department officials have said there is a “critical” need to replace aging apparatus and outdated equipment, attract and retain qualified people and add a fourth full-time ambulance in the district. The referendum question also mentions using the proposed bond funds to repair and improve the district’s fire stations.
The district is mostly in Kendall County, with a small part in Will County. Kendall County is the agency of record between the two counties for the referendum.
District officials decided on a general obligation bond sale as the proposed funding mechanism and developed a web page to explain to residents what would happen if the referendum question is approved, Cornish said.
“(The community) also made it very clear that they wanted to know exactly what the money was going to be used for,” the fire chief said.
Some of the district’s vehicles and equipment have reached the end of their lifespan and must be replaced to ensure the safety of staff and community members, district officials said.
In addition, high call volumes to the fire department due to growth in the area have resulted in increased response times, which can reach up to six to seven minutes on average, according to referendum documents.
According to the referendum materials, the Oswego Fire Protection District serves more than 75,000 residents in a 52 square-mile area of Kendall and Will counties.
The district’s area includes the entire village of Oswego, approximately one-half of the village of Montgomery, a small portion of both the village of Plainfield and the city of Yorkville, and the unincorporated Boulder Hill area.
The district is primarily funded through property taxes and does not receive funding through township or village budgets.
The life of the bonds proposed to be sold would be 10 years to fund the needs identified in the district’s capital improvement plan. The list includes replacement of aging apparatus and equipment that are outside of industry standards and the updating of current facilities.
District officials estimate the increase in property taxes on a home with a fair market value of $300,000 would be approximately $94 per year if the referendum question is approved. The increase would drop off tax bills after 2034 once the bonds are paid off, officials said.
The district’s call volume has increased from 2,000 to more than 6,700 calls per year over the past 20 years, officials said.
Staffing has increased from 17 to 75 firefighter/paramedics and stations have increased from two to four as well during that time.
The increase in costs for apparatus and equipment are another driving force behind the request for the bond sale, district officials said. Fire engines have increased in price from $300,000 to more than $900,000 and cardiac monitors have gone from $14,000 to more than $44,000 in the past two decades, district officials said.
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Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.