In a statement, Mayor Troy Parlier said reducing costs “to ensure we are using our community’s resources in the best way possible” is a priority.

Naperville-based accounting firm Sikich LLP conducted the audit of the previous fiscal year, which ended April 20. State statutes require local governments to publish a comprehensive report six months after a fiscal year’s end. Results from the annual audit were presented to the Board of Trustees in an Oct. 19 meeting.

The report shows the village continued to grow and develop in the 2021 fiscal year, despite the pandemic. Some major things accomplished included building Venue 1012, as well as completing the construction of the main building and parking garage at Reserve at Hudson Crossing, a $69 million mixed-use development.

The village also replaced all lead service lines in Oswego and finished Phase I environmental engineering for improvements to Wolfs Crossing Road.

A highlight of the financial report shows Oswego’s police pension fund is nearly 90 percent funded. In Illinois, the average for Illinois public safety pensions is about 55 percent funded. Village staff said this was possible because of strong investment returns and the Village Board’s “commitment to funding beyond the required contribution whenever possible.”

“The Village has been aggressive in ensuring the Village’s police pension is funded so that we are prepared to meet those obligations in the future,” Parlier said. “This commitment not only helps Oswego residents but also shows our commitment to our police officers who serve our community each day.”

In total, Oswego brought in about $43 million in revenue from several sources, which allows less reliance on property taxes, according to village documents. $22.7 million came from taxes and $12.2 million came from charges for services — such as garbage collection fees and money from fines and violations. Oswego also made $5.1 million from grant and donation revenue, as well as an additional $2.9 million in “miscellaneous” revenue.

Sales tax is Oswego’s largest revenue source, with about 51 percent of sales taxes being paid by shoppers who live outside of Oswego, according to the village.

Property tax rates for the 2021 tax year haven’t been finalized, but the village’s finance director, Mark Horton, told Patch it would be lower than the 2020 rate. The rate for 2020 was $0.1511 per $100 of assess value, compared to $0.1519 in 2019. Staff will have a better estimate for the future property tax rate once the Village Board adopts the tax levy Dec. 14, officials said.

According to the audit report, Oswego brought in $1,715,309 in property tax revenue in 2021, compared to $1,581,654 from 2020 — a $133,655 difference.

In the past fiscal year, the village spent $43.7 million for expenses, including $14.3 million for general government spending, which includes costs for building and code enforcement and maintaining public facilities; $10 million for public works, like maintaining roadways; and $9.6 million for public safety, operating the police department and providing safety, the report shows.

That leaves the village with about a $788,000 deficit for 2021, but when taking into account more than $302 million in capital assets — land, buildings, machinery, equipment and infrastructure — the village’s net position is still in the green, according to the report.

Despite calls from activists to defund police departments nationwide, most Illinois municipalities — and the state itself — increased public safety budgets. While Oswego’s spending on public safety fell by $2.3 million — from $11.8 million to $9.6 million — the police department still accounts for about 18 percent of the village’s total budget.

Bond debt grew by about $12 million from 2019 to 2020, before decreasing $2.4 million year over year in 2021. The village maintained its Aa2 credit rating from Moody’s — the credit rating company’s third lowest-risk category.

The village hired more employees since the start of the pandemic, adding 3 full-time employees in 2020 and another in 2021, for a total of 114. Part-time employees increased from 12 to 18 in 2020 before being pared back to 15 in 2021.

The village also touted 13 new businesses that opened in 2021, including:

• Poise Dance Center
• IVF1
• Menchies
• Label Tek
• La Michoacana Magna
• 7-Eleven
• RV’s Home of the Hoagy
• Raising Cane’s
• Delta Sonic
• Urban Ops Training
• La Marimba
• 113 Main
• Emerson Creek

While the village-wide unemployment rate fell in 2021, from a pandemic high of 15.1 percent to 5.8 percent, it still remains well above the 2.5 percent reported in 2019.

The largest employers in the village include Oswego 308 School District, which employs nearly 1,900 residents, or 5.4 percent of the village’s population. Jewel-Osco employs 362 residents (1 percent), followed by Meijer at 300 (0.9 percent) and Walmart at 283 (0.8 percent).

The village’s population grew by 652 residents from 2020 to 2021. Median household income rose almost $5,000 to $102,110.

Oswego received both the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the fiscal year 2021 annual budget document from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. It’s the 18th consecutive year the village has been awarded both titles.

For the fourth consecutive year, Oswego also received the Popular Annual Financial Report Award for the past fiscal year. GFOA gives this to local governments for making their financial report accessible and understandable to the public.

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