It looks like voters in the Oswego Fire Protection District on Tuesday approved a $17 million general obligation bond sale to provide the district 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 decided to sell bonds to finance the upgrades.
“The community made it very clear that they did not want a forever tax,” Oswego Fire Chief John Cornish said recently about the referendum question which was on the ballot Tuesday.
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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.
The unofficial final vote total showed approximately 57% in favor of the bond sale and 43% against it, according to election offices in Kendall and Will counties.
Fire department officials have said there is a “critical” need to replace aging apparatus and outdated equipment, attract and retain qualified people and add a fourth full-time ambulance in the district.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 mentioned using the proposed bond funds to repair and improve the district’s fire stations.
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 was approved, fire district officials said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.