March 2012 Primary: Kendall County Referenda Results

What did voters say about the telephone surcharge increase and eliminating the auditor's and recorder's offices?

Without further ado, here's what Kendall County voters had to say about these three questions. Shall the elected Office of Kendall County Auditor be eliminated effective Dec. 1, 2012? (A "yes" vote means the office goes.)   Shall the Office of Recorder of Kendall County be eliminated effective Dec. 1, 2012, and the functions and duties of that office contine to be performed by the Kendall County Clerk? (A "yes" vote means the office goes.)   Shall the County of Kendall impose an additional surcharge of up to $0.75 per mont per network connection to the existing $0.75 surcharge (total not to exceed $1.50 per month) which surcharge will be added to the monthly bill you receive for telephone or telecommunications charges, for the purpose of …

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Kendall County Board Signs Off on KenCom Lease Proposal

Attorneys now will draft a lease for the lowest level of the county's Public Safety Center, according to the Beacon-News.

Editor's Corner

Editor's Corner: Why You Should Care About the KenCom Dispute

Taxation issues aren't always interesting, but city leaders shouldn't leave themselves between a rock and a hard place. Yorkville and Oswego residents probably are going to be paying one way or another.

The dispute over funding KenCom 911 dispatching service has irked me a bit. One of local government’s primary functions is emergency services. I live in Yorkville, but I occasionally drive elsewhere in the county. If I crash into a utility pole near Minooka, I would like the dispatcher to work just as effectively as if I crash into a utility pole at Route 34 and Game Farm Road. I have a pretty basic expectation that my government officials should be able to make that happen without bickering among themselves and suing each other. Who really knows why that didn’t happen? Not me. But what I do know is that each court appearance since the coalition of Yorkville, Oswego and Plano filed suit this summer has brought a taxpayer-funded attorney …

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Politics in KenCom Funding Dispute

Apparent agreement has been reached, but Yorkville leaders are not thrilled.

Some Yorkville aldermen had strong words for county board members last week before unanimously accepting a 911 dispatching agreement that pushes more of the expenses onto the city. “I think the residents of Yorkville, Plano and Oswego should be appalled,” Ward 4 Alderman Rose Spears said, calling the cost-sharing plan double-taxation. “The county is already taxing us.” Ward 1 Alderman Carlo Colosimo suggested Yorkville residents remain or become politically active next year as all county board members are up for re-election, while some county board members stood behind the decision to ask members of the KenCom dispatching service to contribute to the cost of running it. County board member Nancy Martin said she was disappointed with the “…

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Village Board Votes for $1.775 Million KenCom Compromise

Issue due back in court Friday.

In a 4-2 vote Tuesday night the Oswego Village Board approved an agreement capping Kendall County’s annual contribution for KenCom 911 services to $1.775 million. The vote could leave the status of an agreement over sharing emergency dispatch costs in limbo, as Yorkville approved a higher cap last week. Oswego Trustees Gail Johnson, Scott Volpe, Tony Giles and Judy Sollinger voted for the compromise while Trustees Jeff Lawson and Terry Michels voted against. The county has covered any KenCom operating expenses that went over the 911 telephone surcharge money collected dating to when the dispatch service was created more than 20 years ago. But in November, the County Board supported a proposal that capped its annual contribution to $1.6 …

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No Resolution Yet in KenCom Funding Dispute

New court date set Friday without any public discussion.

The legal battle over how much various local governments pay for KenCom’s 911 dispatch service isn’t over. The parties set a new court date Friday, after about 10 local government representatives and attorneys met for an hour in Kendall County Judge Robert Morrow’s chambers. A hearing on motions, including one that could decide the court case, was postponed until Sept. 23. Attorneys for both sides revealed little as they left the courtroom. “We’re hopeful that it will be resolved,” said KenCom’s attorney, Dallas Ingemunson. In a lawsuit filed in July, Yorkville, Oswego and Plano are arguing that KenCom leaders improperly kicked them out of the shared dispatch service when town leaders refused a new cost-sharing plan. Meanwhile, KenCom …

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Kendall County Board Counters KenCom Offer

Members vote 7-3 to contribute cap of $1.775 million annually, rather than $1.88 million proposed by three municipalities to fund the service.

The Kendall County Board wants to pay $105,000 less for KenCom 911 dispatch services than the coalition of Oswego, Yorkville and Plano would like them to. And the three municipalities would have to make up the difference. After nearly two hours of debate Tuesday, board members voted 7-3 in favor of contributing a cap of $1.775 million annually, rather than a proposed cap of $1.88 million proposed by the cities to fund the service. The village of Oswego and the cities of Yorkville and Plano will begin contributing to KenCom in May 2014 for the first time, based on the portion of calls that come from each municipality. The three towns filed a lawsuit about a month ago after KenCom leaders threatened to cut off their service Dec. 1 if town …

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Oswego Enters into KenCom Agreement for 911 Dispatch Services

Compromise on funding could end litigation between 911 service and village, Yorkville, Plano.

Editor's note: Article updated about 11:45 a.m. with information from Yorkville Mayor Gary Golinski. The village of Oswego has reached a compromise with KenCom over funding for 911 services. Approved Tuesday night by the Oswego Village Board, the agreement has the county paying $1.8 million annually and stipulates that the county will place a 75 cents 911 surcharge referendum on the March 20 ballot. If that measure should fail, the agreement states the county will try again in the next election. Ultimately, this agreement could end litigation between Oswego, Plano and Yorkville and the 911 dispatch service. The three towns filed a lawsuit about three weeks ago after KenCom leaders threatened to cut off their service Dec. 1 if town leaders …

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