[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6701618,"mediaKeyId","3755472-00159b04d4496885d273ada5274a268d","parentId",3755472,"title","Oswego board signals support to raise residential water tap-on fees by $3,000; commercial rates left unchanged for now","audioSeconds",1116,"startMs",2980000,"endMs",4096000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3755472-00159b04d4496885d273ada5274a268d&start=2980&end=4096","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3755472-00159b04d4496885d273ada5274a268d/thumbnail_2980000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6701618/Oswego/Kendall-County/Illinois/Oswego-board-signals-support-to-raise-residential-water-tap-on-fees-by-3000-commercial-rates-left-unchanged-for-now","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6701618-32c0cc38ecfc2940520fb4ed1b7a933b/orig.mp4?Expires=1773700764&Signature=eX-yhbzaQ1PSlQizX7SqBifvlbZgahaHpAuKb-~o8cp4yMd8AyQ6Sd5k57U5O6CW2WXZQrq4eCp3Y0sxx65dsO0QoeLR3kwXC390pRIO6HvvkirNEh7~EO6Ufrw4ZMYHDfWOiAIl617NKuMu74m0E-2y9xHLC3OBwlW7xsbMWqDMSjR~7aQuF5CHzQF0IQ3PdeAsM3HrEGK2w13gOXF6ROnW3fArJt7pcb3BXY97UraOAf3LUW~6JrgihTh1qDZDUQ8S2eA2Jj9Dq0O8H9zfDTDfJwzUt8nUvexsuOBACz5rbPWEXsxKZb0jV6poz4dE7WV9qz1VhmiiVF10rGkZGQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oswego","date","2025-06-10T18:01:00Z","article","Dan (village staff) presented Item F2 to the Committee of the Whole, outlining the village’s water tap-on fee history, purpose and recommended change. He explained that water tap-on fees are charged to new connections and go into the village water and sewer capital funds. “Water tap on fees go only to the village of Oswego. They are paid by any new connections to our water service by residential or commercial users,” Dan said.

Background and history

Dan reviewed past fee levels and rationale included in the staff memo: in 2007 Oswego’s residential tap-on fee was $5,000 per unit; an increase in 2010 raised fees to as much as $7,200 per unit; the 2015 fee structure reduced the residential fee to $2,200 per unit. Staff and consultants previously considered competitiveness against neighboring fast-growing municipalities (particularly Yorkville and Plainfield) when setting fees.

Comparative market context

Staff presented benchmarking showing current total fees for typical single-family homes in Oswego are about $24,000 (a figure that incorporates multiple fee components beyond the water tap-on fee). Yorkville’s current tap-on fees are higher (about $7,500) and Yorkville’s ordinance phases an increase to roughly $10,500 by 2028. Plainfield’s single-family/townhome tap-on fees were shown at about $3,300, with a $0 apartment tap fee in the materials reviewed by staff.

Board direction and rationale

Staff recommended a $3,000 increase to the residential tap-on fee (raising it from $2,200 to $5,200) and advised keeping the village’s single flat fee per unit (same fee for single-family, townhome and apartment units) for simplicity.

Several trustees voiced support for a residential increase while opposing change to commercial fees. Trustee discussion noted that increasing residential fees shifts cost to new homebuyers but argued new development should contribute to the capital costs of connecting to Lake Michigan water. Trustee Joan raised equity and scale issues for commercial customers and favored not increasing commercial tap-on fees at this time. Board members also emphasized the importance of staying competitive with nearby municipalities to avoid discouraging development.

Consensus and next steps

After discussion, President Coffman said, “Looking around, I'm seeing, consensus on on raising them.” The board gave staff direction to place an ordinance raising residential water tap-on fees by $3,000 (to $5,200 per unit) on the next Village Board meeting agenda for formal action; staff told the board that if the ordinance is approved it would take effect immediately for new annexations and connections.

Ending

Staff said the fee structure can be revisited every few years and that commercial tap-on fees can be evaluated separately if the board wants further analysis. The item will appear on the next Village Board agenda for a vote.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Oswego - Committee of the Whole Meeting - Jun 10, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Committee discussed history and competitiveness of water tap-on fees, and members gave staff direction to place an ordinance raising residential tap-on fees by $3,000 (to $5,200) on the next Village Board agenda; commercial tap-on fees were not raised by consensus.","taxTitle","Oswego, Kendall County, Illinois","taxId",58385,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6701623,"Oswego residents rate village highly; traffic and finances top priorities",2820,147000,2967000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3755472-00159b04d4496885d273ada5274a268d&start=147&end=2967","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3755472-00159b04d4496885d273ada5274a268d/thumbnail_147000.jpg","/articles/6701623/Oswego/Kendall-County/Illinois/Oswego-residents-rate-village-highly-traffic-and-finances-top-priorities","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6701623-c91ef57e88703996585aff2a0cb8e1a2/orig.mp4?Expires=1773700764&Signature=QrovtQDpJRJZYXQLoAuXxXx4tyM9KMcbNeiufTjAgvn04ftEE~EoIjxVtB2245jfjMK4PDMEEYGyLV-kHKJ99iU14D4fWPDl2dph~VO6H9j8VJgMl2y3FzvASV8Tkxwy-JjpG3pYS8TI~Kx1-xACff-3nb~3ps0Dwf339KJ2T0TWYjlytIW4cPJwKYmClJi9s4ByRIheG6vX2F6BXDczJqqgGrH4f2eXYJsEOfXiSg3w6nxbd0F7UrljD6Dla~jMOrMUv27KJRwcCyHqhLTEyU6XL6O72ESulLF1ZJGcocowFBI9V0uCMKQ76AvJ10rl7sMlQ0NgANXcJ4Q6cq-1vg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Jason Marado, director of community research at ETC Institute, presented the Village of Oswego’s 2025 community survey results to the Committee of the Whole, reporting that residents gave broadly positive ratings for village services and named traffic flow and the management of village finances as leading priorities.

The survey was a mixed mail-and-online random-sample survey of village households that yielded 606 completed responses, Marado said. At a 95% confidence level the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percent. “We found that residents have a very positive perception of the village of Oswego,” Marado said during the presentation.

Why it matters: the survey is intended to give the village an objective measure of resident satisfaction with services and to help set priorities for the strategic plan and budget. Village staff said the results will feed into strategic planning this summer and then into the budget workshop.

Key findings

- Overall perception: About 87–88 percent of respondents rated Oswego as an excellent or good place to live and to raise children. The survey also showed increases in satisfaction across multiple years: Marado reported improvement in 68 of 113 comparable items since 2023 and improvement in 71 of 113 items since 2018.

- Comparative standing: Oswego rated above the national average in 55 of 60 service areas and above the regional average in 56 of 60 areas; customer service by village employees and overall quality of village services stood out as particularly strong.

- Top priorities: The items residents most often said should receive increased emphasis in the next few years were (1) value received for tax dollars and fees, (2) traffic flow and congestion, (3) management of village finances and (4) maintenance of village streets. On the item-level important-satisfaction analysis, traffic on major streets and water rates were among top maintenance priorities, and police visibility and crime prevention ranked highest within public safety priorities.

Questions and next steps

Committee members asked about methodology and subgroup breakdowns. Marado said demographic questions (race, ethnicity, age, gender and years living in Oswego) were included and that responses matched village demographics closely; he reported a roughly even gender split and near-even distribution across age brackets. He also said the survey team can produce crosstabs by age, tenure in the village, owner/renter status and other demographics on request.

Marado noted the survey included about 300 responses from outside the random sample (self-selected respondents). He said those are provided separately as verbatim comments and basic tabulations; they were not folded into the statistically valid random-sample results used for trend and benchmarking comparisons.

Committee members suggested additional analysis of open-ended comments (including sentiment analysis or AI-assisted summaries) and recommended sharing the survey results with the consultant doing the village comprehensive plan. Staff confirmed the intent to use the survey results in the village strategic planning process this summer.

Ending

President Coffman and several trustees praised village staff and departments for high marks on customer service, police and public works. The board asked staff to follow up with requested cross-tabulations and further analysis of open-ended comments to inform the strategic plan and budget process.","A statistically valid 2025 community survey presented to the Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole found high overall satisfaction with village services and named traffic flow/congestion and management of village finances among the top priorities for residents.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Oswego board signals support to raise residential water tap-on fees by $3,000; commercial rates left unchanged for now

Oswego residents rate village highly; traffic and finances top priorities