The members of Oswego Firefighters Local 4773, the union that represents the Oswego Fire Protection District’s 72 sworn firefighter/paramedics extended its thanks to outgoing Fire Chief Michael Veseling in a social media statement posted Friday, April 16.

In the statement, union members said they “would like to thank Chief Mike Veseling for his service to the Oswego Fire Protection District and our community over the past eight-plus years, five of which he served as our chief of department. His leadership, knowledge and passion for the job will be greatly missed. There isn’t a member of our department who Chief Veseling hasn’t positively impacted in his time here. He has led us through a time of much growth and development and we are forever grateful for that guidance. His influence will carry on for years to come, thank you Chief!”

During a meeting April 12, the fire district’s board of trustees chose not to renew Veseling’s contract and placed him on administrative leave through April 30. The board also named Deputy Chief Josh Flanders, an 18-year veteran of the fire department, as acting chief effective immediately.

In a statement issued April 15, Dick Kuhn, fire district board president, said the decision not to renew Veseling’s contract was a difficult one for the board. In addition to Kuhn, also serving on the board are Rodger Long, Ken Holmstrom, Jason Bragg and Robert Tripp.

Concerning the reasons for the board’s action, Kuhn said, “Over a period of time, several issues came up between the chief and the board of directors (trustees) that seemed uncompromisable. Therefore, we felt it necessary to make this difficult decision.”

Kuhn continued, “We thank Chief Veseling for the many positive changes to the district under his leadership. We also expect the district to continue to provide the excellent service it always has.”

Veseling was sworn in as the district’s eighth fire chief in June 2015.

Veseling has not yet returned a request for comment from the Oswego Ledger.

The board’s action came less than a week after fire district voters rejected the district’s request for a property tax hike in an April 6 referendum.

Final, unofficial vote totals from Kendall and Will counties April 6 showed voters rejecting the referendum by a margin of 298 ballots out of 5,134 cast. The unofficial totals show 2,716 no votes on the referendum question to 2,418 yes votes.

The fire district had sought passage of the referendum, its first since 2002, to provide additional revenue to maintain its current service level as the fire district’s population continues to grow, according to fire district officials and referendum supporters.

If voters had approved the referendum, the fire district estimated it would have increased the property taxes for the average homeowner by less than $75 a year, based on the $225,000 average fair market value of a single-family home in the district.

The fire district serves nearly 70,000 residents residing in a 60-plus square mile area that takes in northeast Kendall County and northwest Will County.