The park board shouldn't have had to investigate Mr. Wass. Law and common sense says you must have legal residency for whatever district you are serving in. Time for Mr. Wass admit defeat on this issue.

While I disgustingly tip my cap to "the law" or stupidity... I find it ironic that we allowed Michael Cassa to live outide of Oswego while trying to explain to woo businesses on "how great Oswego was".

Oh, and there was that little matter of not only paying or arguably overpaying a couple of Oswego School Superintendents ago..... we also paid him a travel allowance because he had to drive in from his out of district address to collect his FAT check here in Oswego.

Yet another troubling story about Mr. Wass. We are spending way too much time talking about one person as opposed to the organization and the community. We elect these people to move the ball forward, Mr. Wass keeps taking us backwards here. Its obvious that Mr. Wass is more concerned about himself than serving the community. Enough is enough. This is getting very old, let alone embarassing to the community and counter productive for the other board members who are trying to do a very good job for the community.

If there was anything illegal about Mr. Wass serving here in Oswego the legal profession would have found it. The real truth is Mr. Wass is not a "yes man" and really does look out for the taxpayers. That is why he is being bullied. He showed in writing at the last meeting how the Oswegoland Park District has already saved 10%
but only 5% was passed on to the taxpayers. He showed in writing how another 10% could be saved. The 20% therefore could have easily been reached but again only 5% of the 20% is being passed on to the taxpayer. More people need to "wake up" and attend these meetings to get the all facts. I was there...were you? We all know that the newspaper's sometimes can't and don't always tell the full story.

If you studied his proposal you would find it is full of holes. He puts in $300,000 from a house sale. There is no way of know if that house will sell for $300,000 and if it does if it will do so within the fiscal year. Then, he completely ignored the fact that the levy reduction is permanent, but the sale of the house is a one time expense. So even if it sells this year, it leaves a $300,000 hole in future budgets with no way to pay for it. Those are the facts. He never adequately addressed the fact that expenses increase and that by significantly decreasing the revenue available, it was going to cause an even bigger deficit. As always, he just dismissed it without offering a solution. And yes, I was there to hear this.

I have studied Mr. Wass' proposal wherein he actually shows the $565,000 saving already achieved by the OPD without the sale of any property. It looks pretty good to me and it's in writing. Why not pass this savings on to the Taxpayers? The Board had to be pressured by Mr. Wass to even consider a reduction in the Levy. There seems to be no respect given the Taxpayer at a time of widespread financial hardship.

This shows the ignorance of so many people. Claiming a primary residence for IRS tax purposes is not the same as your 'residency' for holding an office.

People who own multiple residences (including boats) have the option of choosing which of those multiple residences are their primary residence. This does not mean that they don't live in any of their other properties. The selection of a primary residence for income tax purposes is usually based upon optimizing a person's income tax situation and it's common for someone to choose the property with the highest deductions in order to lower their taxes. Doesn't do much good to choose a primary residence that doesn't have a mortgage on the property or that has the lowest property taxes.

Since when can a board member choose to investigate another and use taxpayer funds? Furthermore, wouldn't an investigation into this start with public disclosure at a board meeting where it can be addressed in the least expensive way possible?

Mr Wass may or may not have a valid proposal with regards to the levy. I don't know the specifics of that issue, but that's irrelevant with regards to whether he is qualified to serve as an elected official within the Park District's boundaries.

Either a) Mr. Wass' primary residence is in Saumonauk, and therefore he cannot hold the Commissioner's position and should resign....

Or b) His primary residence is in Oswego, but he declared the Saumonauk address in order to evade taxes that he would have otherwise owed. Last I checked, tax evasion is illegal, and certainly inappropriate for someone who claims to be the taxpayers watchdog. If that's the case, then he should also resign. How is he going to protect your interests if he's forcing you to pay his share of taxes as well as your own?

Geesh, do you know anything about income taxes? Choosing one property over another for property tax purposes is not tax evasion. It's also pretty common for people to switch their principle residence prior to a sale of a house in order to save on taxes. It think it requires a 3-out-of-5 year test. Though it does require a residency test as outline by the IRS but is done by people who might be experiencing a large gain at resale time.

Rather ironic that some of the folks who wailed about Dr. Wendt's severance situation think it's ok that Wass games the system to come out ahead, too. Both are likely perfectly legal moves, but I guess it's only called manipulating for your own personal gain when you don't like the person in question.

The facts are that the Oswego Village Levy has decreased 2% over the last 5 years and Village full time employees has decreased by 20%. So reductions can indeed be made if those in charge have the correct mindset. The Park District is not the only taxing body we taxpayers are concerned about. We also have requested that
the County and School District reduce the Levy and use the reserve funds to help out the taxpayer. All this tax money comes out of the same pocket for the taxpayer. Big and small it all adds up. Those fortunate enough to have good incomes probably have no trouble paying high taxes (Kendall County is 24th highest in the Nation, second highest in the State). Young people starting out and retired folks are hit hard. Here's another fact: When you're on Social Security living in a modest home and property taxes take more than 25% of your income, your prospective is quite different. Many of the property owners earning low wages, too sick to work or retired might just move out of Oswego and Kendall County if they could find buyers willing to pay the High Property Taxes.

So, the board wants Wass out of there? What is the difference between a 4 to 1 vote, or a 5-0 vote? Wass can't even get a second for any of his motions. Spending money on Wass' residency seems to me, over the top, and wasteful. Can somebody tell me how board's motions come out differently, with or without Wass being on the board? Please avoid the hogwash about "it's the law." That's not what I am asking.

Dave, we do have people looking into the community college also. We are not just focus on the park district. We all pay property taxes either directly or indirectly though rents. Seniors still pay more even after a freeze because levies go up, and those housing developments are not cheap. There is not an easy one step solution and we welcome you to join the Kendall County Property Tax Revolt Group to share your ideas and make this a better community for Everyone.

The KCPTR Group has people analyzing EVERY taxing body in Kendall County. The Park District is a non-essential government body. They are a luxury - not a necessity. The comment about the Senior Freeze just shows how little people even understand the property tax system in Illinois. Freeze doesn't mean taxes won't go up. When reassessment comes around or another school addition happens, etc taxes do go up dramatically. One senior who came to our rally had a $2,000/yr property tax bill on her 1-bedroom townhome in Oswego last year and now it is over $3,000. Is that a freeze? And she is a widow trying to survive on her deceased husband's $10,000/year Social Security. But let us not forget those poor kids who really need those wonderful parks.

No, you shouldn't forget the kids, or their parents. Just because you have moved to a point in your life, where you consider something non-essential doesn't mean it is, or that it is not important. Jan, I wish I could feel comfortable accepting your invitation, but Mark and Greg have made it pretty clear I wouldn't be welcome.

It is a ridiculous waste of people's hard-earned tax money to spend on investigating which residence this man spends most of his time at. It appears to me he is the only one who knows how to do his job by following the 20% levy reduction that the residents of Oswego mandated. Let's stop throwing stones and figure out a reasonable way to get our taxes lowered.

Ms. Enviere, I am one of the people who voted for the 20% reduction, that you say might not even know, that it doesn't mean or change a thing, we understand more than you give us VOTERS credit for, what we really know is that, that the levys that these taxing bodies are putting on us, is causing a lot of families, to walk away from thier properties, and a lot of these, are families that have come to our county just recently, young and seniors. Take a ride, around some the sub-divisions, that are fairly new to the area, check out the for sale signs, it is not that they want to sell, it's because, they have to sell, they don't put a sign on these homes, stating that this is a forclosure, but we know what it is, most of the time. We need to stop slinging mud, and get to work, on how these taxing bodies can lower these levys, at one point our mortgage payments went up 1100.00, IN SIX MONTHS, did this happen to you, so most of us VOTERS do understand what, LOWER MY TAXES mean, so before you make a statement about who understands, what, think about it, who are the newcomers to the county, I come out of the University of IL. and my wife has a Masters from Roosevelt University, Yes we Understand a Lot, of what is going on, and so does a lot of the tax payers in Kendall county.

First off let me say that I don't always agree with Mr. Wass, but I always like that he is stirring the pot. There is more to this than just IRS taxation regulations. The exemptions on real estate are handled on a local level pursuant to State Law and have nothing to do with the Feds. Mr. Wass is claiming the "Owner Occupied" and "Senior Citizen" exemptions on a property in LaSalle County, parcel number 05-08-400-005. These exemptions are covered by statutes- http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=003502000K15-175 and http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=003502000K15-170

You can read them for yourselves and decided if they have any bearing on this matter. If he does "reside" in the Oswego property parcel number 03-17-133-010, then he may be improperly claiming these exemptions on the LaSalle County property, depriving those taxing bodies of amounts owed. Of course that would also mean he is overpaying Kendall County taxing bodies by not claiming those exemptions here.

I have not done a complete search of all these properties, but it looks like all the properties in both counties are actually owned by a personal trust. That has no bearing on the exemptions, it's just an observation.

Please note the parcel numbers and exemption information are searchable on the internet, directly from the respective Treasurers offices and are public information.

Also note that I am using my real name!

I listed them because of the way you worded your comment, about, what people don't understand about what they vote for, I wanted you to understand that I, as a voter, understood, what was on the ballot, and that I was supporting the KCPTR, regardless of it made a difference or not, it is a start to get the county, to understand, that we are tired of being over taxed, when property values are going down, so should the taxes, and I vote at every election, so I think that I have a right to have my say, I wll not ZIP IT, thank you.

The median property tax in Kendall County, Illinois is $5,365 per year for a home worth the median value of $248,300. Kendall County collects, on average, 2.16% of a property's estimated fair market value as property tax.

Kendall County has one of the highest median property tax rates in the United States, and is ranked 29th of the 3143 counties in order of average property taxes.

The average yearly property tax paid by Kendall County residents amounts to about 6.2% of their yearly income. Kendall County is ranked 29th of the 3143 counties for property taxes as a percentage of median income.

The median property tax in Illinois is $3,507.00 per year for a home worth the median value of $202,200.00. Illinois counties collect an average of 1.73% of a property's estimated fair market value as property tax.

Illinois has one of the highest average property tax rates in the country, with only six states levying higher property taxes.

Illinois's median income is $68,578 per year - the average yearly property tax paid by Illinois residents amounts to 5.11% of their yearly income. Illinois is ranked 5th of the 50 states for property taxes as a percentage of median income.

Not only that, but these numbers can be misleading. In the large unincorporated areas of Kendall county there are some services that homeowners pay for separately and are not included in property taxes. I know that most of those areas pay separately for trash pickup and I'm not sure what else the Village of Oswego pays for on behalf of its residents that is not included in the unincorporated areas.

But by the time you add in the cost of at least hundreds of dollars per year for refuse then the unincorporated areas have an even higher 'effective' tax rate.

Also, those numbers don't figure in the cost of things such as taking classes at the Park District. There might be other areas in the state/country with higher park district taxes, for example, but with lower user fees that offest those taxes.

The Ledger did a comparison years ago and showed that the unincorporated areas were more expensive to live in as compared to the villages and cities in Kendall County. It's especially true because the unincorporated areas have been pulled through mud with Oswego's incompetent management of the building boom. We can't vote for anyone in Oswego government, yet have been assaulted by increased taxes as a result of them decidin that every cornfield had to have houses in it.