OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

FY2026 Capital Funds Budget Workshop – Committee of the Whole – Oct 21, 2025

Village Board & Commissions — Tuesday, October 21, 2025
BodyOswego, Illinois
SessionVillage Board & Commissions
DateTuesday, October 21, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 54:38

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

All right, welcome to our committee of the whole.

0:04

Roll call, please.

0:05

President Kaufman.

0:06

Here.

0:07

Trustee Cooper.

0:08

Here.

0:09

Trustee Hughes.

0:10

Here.

0:10

Trustee Koenig.

0:11

Here.

0:12

Trustee McCarthy Lang.

0:13

Here.

0:14

Trustee Novi.

0:16

Here.

0:16

Trustee Torres.

0:18

Here.

0:19

All right.

0:20

First up, we will open the public forum.

0:22

If there's anyone wishing to address, now is the and now the excuse me, wishing to address the public and the board, now is the time.

0:28

I do have one green slip this evening from Mr.

0:30

Don Draxler.

0:32

If you would like to come forward, sir.

0:36

Yes, please.

0:58

Unless you were intending to speak at the board meeting instead of the committee of the whole.

1:02

Yeah, it was the need for the uh board meeting.

1:04

Okay.

1:05

No, that's that's totally fine.

1:06

Um, I just received this, so I I tend to call people when I receive them, but if you would like to reserve this for the board meeting, there's no problem with that whatsoever.

1:13

Yeah, that's one of the travelers' school development should be.

1:16

Yes, sir.

1:18

We'll hold on to this for a little bit then.

1:20

Thank you.

1:23

Is there anybody else wishing to address the the board this evening?

1:31

Seeing nobody, we will close the public forum and move on to new business.

1:35

Uh this evening we have uh one item, our um our fiscal year 2026 village budget workshop.

1:41

Andrea.

1:43

Good evening.

1:44

Uh so tonight we will start going through the budgets for the capital funds.

1:49

Uh for those of you that were here last year, we did the budgets for both the capital funds and the operating funds on Saturday.

1:57

And we were hoping to end by noon, it went a little longer, so we thought we would start it at a committee of the whole.

2:04

Uh that way there is that much less to go through on Saturday.

2:09

So I don't know that we'll get through everything tonight, but we'll get through what we can in an hour and then where we leave off, we'll pick up on Saturday.

2:17

It's a lot of information, so I encourage everyone to ask questions as we um as we go through the material.

2:24

Please don't hesitate to stop or interrupt me.

2:29

Uh so the uh capital improvement plan this year consists of five capital funds.

2:36

There's the tax increment financing fund, the motor fuel tax fund, capital, the fleet, and then the water and sewer capital.

2:46

We will go through each of them in the order that they're listed.

2:51

There are for 2026, there are 42 projects and 12 vehicles that total over 125 million dollars scheduled for next year.

3:02

Uh the amounts for each fund are listed.

3:05

As you can see, water and sewer capital has the largest amount, clearly from the Lake Michigan Connection.

3:12

The amount for the capital fund is also larger than typical, and that is due both to Wolf's Crossing and to the new public works facility.

3:23

We'll start with the tax increment financing fund.

3:27

Uh I'd like to start with this fund because it is dependent on loans from the other funds.

3:34

So it's important to understand the projects and where the money is coming from before we get into the other projects.

3:42

Um, and just as a reminder for TIFFs, uh, they were created to encourage development in blighted and underdeveloped areas.

3:53

So it's kind of the if not for rule.

3:56

If not for the TIFF, it's likely that the reserve at Hudson Crossing would not have come to the village of Oswego.

4:04

Um and the TIFF does currently have a deficit.

4:08

Um that is because funds were spent on infrastructure, roads, water means, um, the parking garage, and the developments have not yet produced the increment that's needed to pay that back.

4:24

But it is always the intent that the increment will the revenue that it generates from these new developments will uh recover the cost that the village has spent on the infrastructure, um, thereby not relying on other village revenues for those infrastructure projects.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability██████████████████████████████30%
Budget Equity Analysis█████████████████████████████29%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████14%
Parking Management██████████10%
Public Works████████8%
Procedural███3%
Transportation Safety██2%
Public Engagement██2%
Land Use Planning█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Fiscal Year 2026 Capital Funds Budget Workshop – Committee of the Whole – October 21, 2025

The Committee of the Whole met on October 21, 2025, at 6:00 PM to conduct the first portion of the Fiscal Year 2026 budget workshop, focusing on the village’s five capital funds. The workshop reviewed 42 projects and 12 vehicles totaling over $125 million. The session lasted approximately one hour and was followed by a brief break before the regular board meeting; remaining budget items will be taken up on Saturday, October 25.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made. One resident, Don Draxler, submitted a speaker slip but deferred his remarks to the regular board meeting.

Discussion Items

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Fund

  • Overview: The TIF fund is intended to spur development in blighted areas. It currently operates at a deficit because infrastructure costs (roads, water mains, parking garages) were spent before new developments generated sufficient increment. Revenue is estimated at $2 million, expenditures at $4.3 million, yielding a planned deficit of $2.249 million. The fund starts 2026 with an $11 million balance and is projected to end at $13.3 million.
  • Outstanding Loans & Debt: Outstanding TIF loans total just over $11 million (primarily from the capital fund). Debt service on two parking garage bonds (Series 2019 – $13 million; second garage – $3.6 million) is $1.3 million in 2026. Final bond payments are due December 2041. Bond payments are backed by increment from the Reserve at Hudson Crossing, with a developer backstop.
  • Key Projects:
    • Harrison Streetscape Reconstruction ($1.93 million) – streetscaping, resurfacing, curb consolidation, 104 angled parking spaces, and bump‑outs for café dining. Funded by a loan from the capital fund.
    • Downtown Silo Parking & Lighting ($275,000, with $250,000 state DCEO grant) – adds 25 parking spaces along South Adams Street and installs 18 programmable LED fixtures on the silo/granary structure. The grant was redirected from a previously planned sidewalk project.
    • Second Parking Deck ($156,000 for capital improvements) – construction ongoing, completion fall 2026. Village will own/maintain two floors. Operational budget increase of $7,200 in 2026.
    • Beautification Grant for Reserve at Hudson Crossing ($325,000) – for exterior improvements per redevelopment agreement.
    • Water Main Replacement on Main Street – 5% of the project lies within the TIF district, so TIF will cover that share.
  • Clarifications: Trustee Koenig emphasized the “if not for” principle: without the TIF, the area would remain underdeveloped. Staff noted that the senior living development (expected to generate $500,000/year in increment) is delayed due to issues between owner and contractor, not the village. Increment from completed projects takes 1–2 years to appear on tax rolls.

Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) Fund

  • Overview: Revenue projected at $1.825 million, expenditures at $2.95 million, a planned deficit of $1.125 million. The fund balance is approximately $3.5 million (policy minimum is $750,000). The deficit is a planned use of excess reserves.
  • Expenditures: $2.75 million for the annual road program (street maintenance and upgrades) and ~$200,000 remaining for Wolf’s Crossing from Rebuild Illinois grants. High‑growth allotments from IDOT estimated conservatively at $150,000 (hopeful for $170,000).
  • Questions: Trustee Hughes asked for detail on the $2.7 million public improvements; Public Works indicated it covers annual street maintenance across the village. The increase in cost is due to doing more streets, not just material price increases.

Capital Fund

  • Overview: Revenue budgeted at $32.74 million (including $10.53 million transfer from the general fund for the public works facility, $10.6 million in grants for Wolf’s Crossing, $2.16 million other grants, and $5.4 million in home rule sales tax). Expenditures are $34.8 million, a deficit of $2.06 million. The fund starts 2026 with $19 million and ends at $17 million.
  • Fund Balance Policy: The policy recommends maintaining a reserve equal to next year’s scheduled capital improvements (estimated at $25.6 million). The actual ending balance of $17 million is below that, largely due to Wolf’s Crossing and the public works facility. The village is drawing down reserves but remains in strong fiscal health compared to peers.
  • Major Projects:
    • Wolf’s Crossing at Douglas Roundabout – $16.198 million (includes engineering). Phase 2 of the project.
    • Public Works Facility Expansion – $10.53 million in 2026 (from general fund transfer), with an additional $14.725 million expected in 2027 (also from general fund reserves). No bonding; entirely cash‑financed.
    • Annual Road Maintenance Program – part of the capital fund (the $2.75 million in MFT is separate).
    • Other Facility Projects: $714,000 total, including police evidence garage ($180,000, of which $150,000 is a state grant), ARC flash report corrections ($30,000 engineering + $250,000 future maintenance), fall protection corrections ($60,000 total), police air handler ($50,000), village hall lunchroom relocation ($190,000 over two years), village hall parking lot maintenance ($273,700), generator replacement ($190,000), design manual update ($198,000), police radios ($36,000), and Taser replacements ($44,700).
    • Happy Tales 2.0 Dog Park – $125,000 for relocation to a site near the Hunt Club water tower.
    • Semi‑Quincentennial Celebration – $100,000 for a 250th anniversary event (likely July 4, 2026) and commemorative infrastructure. The planning group includes police and fire districts.
  • Long‑Term Outlook: A cash‑flow projection shows the capital fund balance declining into 2029, assuming no additional general fund transfers. Staff emphasized that this is speculative and that sales tax growth and future transfers could improve the picture.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken; the workshop was informational and deliberative.
  • The board will continue the budget workshop on Saturday, October 25, 2025, covering remaining capital fund projects and operating funds.
  • The village will proceed with the public works facility using cash reserves, avoiding debt.
  • The downtown silo parking project will move forward using the redirected DCEO grant, with minimal village cost.
  • The TIF fund’s reliance on capital fund loans was acknowledged; repayment of those loans (expected by 2041) will replenish the capital fund.
  • Staff will provide a follow‑up on the projected TIF fund surplus at the end of the TIF life.
  • The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:00 PM for a five‑minute break before the regular board meeting.

Meeting Transcript

All right, welcome to our committee of the whole. Roll call, please. President Kaufman. Here. Trustee Cooper. Here. Trustee Hughes. Here. Trustee Koenig. Here. Trustee McCarthy Lang. Here. Trustee Novi. Here. Trustee Torres. Here. All right. First up, we will open the public forum. If there's anyone wishing to address, now is the and now the excuse me, wishing to address the public and the board, now is the time. I do have one green slip this evening from Mr. Don Draxler. If you would like to come forward, sir. Yes, please. Unless you were intending to speak at the board meeting instead of the committee of the whole. Yeah, it was the need for the uh board meeting. Okay. No, that's that's totally fine. Um, I just received this, so I I tend to call people when I receive them, but if you would like to reserve this for the board meeting, there's no problem with that whatsoever. Yeah, that's one of the travelers' school development should be. Yes, sir. We'll hold on to this for a little bit then. Thank you. Is there anybody else wishing to address the the board this evening? Seeing nobody, we will close the public forum and move on to new business. Uh this evening we have uh one item, our um our fiscal year 2026 village budget workshop. Andrea. Good evening. Uh so tonight we will start going through the budgets for the capital funds. Uh for those of you that were here last year, we did the budgets for both the capital funds and the operating funds on Saturday. And we were hoping to end by noon, it went a little longer, so we thought we would start it at a committee of the whole. Uh that way there is that much less to go through on Saturday. So I don't know that we'll get through everything tonight, but we'll get through what we can in an hour and then where we leave off, we'll pick up on Saturday. It's a lot of information, so I encourage everyone to ask questions as we um as we go through the material. Please don't hesitate to stop or interrupt me. Uh so the uh capital improvement plan this year consists of five capital funds. There's the tax increment financing fund, the motor fuel tax fund, capital, the fleet, and then the water and sewer capital. We will go through each of them in the order that they're listed. There are for 2026, there are 42 projects and 12 vehicles that total over 125 million dollars scheduled for next year. Uh the amounts for each fund are listed. As you can see, water and sewer capital has the largest amount, clearly from the Lake Michigan Connection.

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