Oswego Fire Protection District places referendum on April 6 ballot

The Oswego Fire Protection District will seek voter approval of a property tax hike referendum in the April 6 consolidated election in an effort to maintain its existing level of service to fire district’s more than 65,000 residents, according to a statement issued Thursday, Jan. 28 by the fire district.

Looking at the projected growth for service demands in the next several years, Fire Protection District Board President Richard 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,” Kuhn said in the statement. “None of the trustees find that acceptable so we are asking the residents to do their research and vote.”

If voters approve the referendum, the district estimates the increase in property taxes for the average homeowner will be under $75 annually, based on an average fair market value of $225,000 for a single family home, according to Fire Chief Michael Veseling.

The fire district serves a 64 square mile area that includes village of Oswego, the unincorporated Boulder Hill subdivision, much of the south side of the village of Montgomery, approximately one and one-half square miles of the Grande Park subdivision in the village of Plainfield, a small area of the city of Yorkville, and the unincorporated county areas that lie between many of the municipal boundaries.

According to the statement, the fire district’s board of trustees carefully considered the district’s declining reserves and increasing service demands before voting to place the referendum on the ballot. The fire district’s population has increased from approximately 27,000 in 2002 to 65,000 today.

In addition since the district’s last referendum over 18 years ago, the district’s call volume has increased from 2,000 to over 5,700 calls per year, staffing has increased from 17 firefighter/paramedics to 75, and the number of stations operated by the district have increased from 2 to 4.

Another driving force behind the request is the significant increase in cost of apparatus and equipment, according to the statement. 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, Kuhn explained in the statement 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%.”

Fire Chief 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.”

Before considering asking voters to approve a tax rate increase, the district has sought and received over $1 million in private, state, and federal grants; secured almost $750,000 in government surplus equipment; and established its own vehicle service program, according to the statement.

The fire district will be offering informational meetings on the referendum to various groups in the fire district and a “Friends of Oswego Fire” has formed.

For more information or to host an informational meeting or join the Friends, visit the district’s website oswegofire.com, email Chief Veseling at chief@oswegofire.com, email the Friends at friendsofoswegofire@oswegofire.com , or visit friendsofoswegofire.com.