Oswego OKs pact to hire firm to lobby federal government on Metra, water

The Oswego Village Board approved an intergovernmental agreement Tuesday, Dec. 15, with the village of Montgomery, the United City of Yorkville and Kendall County calling for the three municipalities and county to share in the cost of a federal lobbyist to assist the them in securing funding for a new regional water source and for a proposed extension of Metra commuter rail service into Kendall County.

The board also passed a resolution authoriizing the village and the other govenrmental agencies to hire Elevate Government Affairs of Washington, D.C. to provide the lobbying services.

In a memo to the board, Village Administrator Dan Di Santo noted the village's share for the cost of the lobbyist at $12,500, half of what vilalge officials had previousliy budgeted.

Di Santo added that staff members and elected officials interviewed rerpesentatives from three firms before agreeing to recoomend the hiring of Elevate Government Affairs.

Also in the memo, Di Santo explained that in 2018 the villlage joined with Montgomery and Yorkville in hiring a lobbying firm to represent the mucniaplities at the state level. The cost of the hire was split equally among the three municipalities.

"This relationship has proven very effective and cost efficient," Di Santo wrote, adding that the contract had been successful in securing $100 million in state Metra funding and other capital grants.

"The goal is to utilize the expertise of a federal lobbying firm to help secure funding and financing for two mega projects - our water source initiative and our Metra commuter rail extension project," Di Santo continued. "Similar to when we hired a state lobbyist, we are at a critical turning point in the country where a major capital infrastructure package is being talked about for 2021. Now is the time to move forward on this initiative."

"Elevate is a relatively new bipartisan firm comprised of four prinicpal partners that have worked together for many years prior to starting their own firm," Di Santo wrote. "The interview panel found that Elevate's combination in subject matter experience and expertise, combined with a sound strategy for funding our two projects made them the best firms for our organizations."

Di Santo also told the board that federal legislators have already reached out to the village in response to the two issues the lobbying firm has been hired to handle.

"The bigger the issue is, the more interested they are to help us solve it," Di Santo told the board at the Dec. 15 meeting. "If this was an issue just in Oswego, to have the power of the federal government, it's a bigger undertaking. But when you say you're going to help 300,000 people...it's more of a national issue."

The contract is set to begin Jan. 1, 2021. The governing bodies in Montgomery, Yorkville, and Kendall County will consider the agreement at their next meetings.