Letter: Good stewards of our money

To the Editor:

Much has changed at the Oswego Fire Protection District since I stepped down 11 years ago. I spent 45 years, 26 as a volunteer and 19 as volunteer chief, literally putting out fires one way or another. When I left, there were about 50 paramedic firemen. We had the current four stations, located approximately 3 miles apart to accommodate quick response times.

Depending where the next large influx of houses and apartments will be I’m sure will dictate where the next station is situated. Keep in mind this is a fire district, not a municipal department. The district doesn’t receive money from towns in the 53-square-mile area it covers.

As far as equipment goes, the ladder truck is 13 years old at Station 1. There are five fire engines, basically one at each station, and a 20-year-old spare. They have six ambulances, one at each station and two spares, at 13 and 17 years old. These pieces of equipment are rotated out as needed after being well used.

There are all kinds of other specialized equipment for extrication and water rescues. I believe the trustees have been good stewards of our money.

We have a large TIF district in Oswego. A TIF district is good for a village, town or city, but it usually hurts a fire district. Once property is in a TIF, the taxes are frozen for 23 years, meaning the district then has to protect that area for no additional income to the district for that time period. That’s a hard pill to swallow. I believe something needs to change in regards to TIFs and the fire district.

Another thing we had years ago was to collect an impact fee for new building, because when you build new the fire district protects you at no charge until your tax money catches up. We definitely need to go back to this type of procedure.

The fire district needs your $33 per $100,000 valuation to help them keep up.

Vote “YES.”

Brad Smith

Retired Oswego Fire Chief

Oswego