Trustee: Taxpayers Getting 'Screwed' in KenCom Agreement

Oswego Village trustees launched their sharpest attacks yet at their meeting Tuesday night on the Kendall County Board over the KenCom 911 dispute.

Village President Brian LeClercq for the first-time in village history vetoed a  that agreed to share the costs beyond the $1.88 million annually that the county would pay. His veto put the village back at what the board approved previously — $1.775 million. That figure has been accepted by both Plano and Yorkville, who along with Oswego has been fighting the contract dispute in court.

"I don't care what anyone says this is a double taxation for residents," said Trustee Terry Michels. "... They're getting screwed by the County Board."

Michels went on to remind residents that every member of the County Board is up for re-election next year and they should remember the KenCom dispute as they vote.

, the cities agreed to a cost-sharing plan that capped the county’s expenses at $1.88 million only to have . During the legal dispute, county board members also agreed to ask voters to double the current 75-cent telephone surcharge in the March 20 election.

LeClercq said now that all three municipalities have agreed to a compromise, the court case likely will be thrown out. A compromise was necessary, he said, because it was becoming clear that the municipalities would have lost in court. 

Trustee Tony Giles said the county has bullied the municipalities into accepting a change to the 2007 KenCom contract. However, he said now that a compromise has been reached he hoped the County Board would work with the municipalities on other projects like economic development.

County board member Nancy Martin said late last week she was disappointed with the “double-taxation” descriptions, emphasizing that many areas of the county are serviced only by the sheriff’s office rather than a separate policing agency. The sheriff’s office receives the most calls for dispatching, she said.

“If you live in the city, it’s entirely different than if you live in the county,” said Martin, who said she does not plan to seek re-election.

Michels also proposed the village study the costs of operating its own 911 dispatch service to better control the costs. However, after Tuesday's meeting LeClercq said that idea is cost-prohibitive. 

The village of Montgomery has its own dispatch service and Yorkville Police Chief Richard Hart has placed very rough costs for joining that at about $200,000 per year. For Oswego, Plano and Yorkville to begin their own dispatch center could cost upward of $1.7 million, court documents revealed.