2023 City Highlights

Read this Impressive List of Accomplishments

Many good things happened in our City this past year. Here are a few highlights:

Development

Community Development facilitated code enforcement action to address the condition of the former Pheasant Run Resort property, resulting in the appointment of a Receiver and demolition of the remaining structures. Looking ahead, this site will be available for future development at an important gateway into St. Charles.
Construction and inspections continued on major developments on East Side, progressing from site preparation to building construction, at Pheasant Run Industrial, Springs at St. Charles, and Charlestowne Lakes. Commercial reinvestment continued on the east side, with projects completing (Andy’s Frozen Yogurt, Pride of Kane County, St.Charles Target store remodel) and new projects announced including Chick-Fil-A and the Stuart’s Crossing retail/restaurant concept for the property south of Jewel.
Whole Foods announced they are coming to the former Blue Goose site.

Infrastructure

The West Side Wastewater Treatment Plant provides sanitary services to the St. Charles area west of Randall Road. The wastewater project was completed in July of 2023. Improvements at the wastewater plant included an upgraded biological removal process. This process removes harmful nutrients like phosphorus from the environment before proceeding to a downstream watershed. The project also included an expansion in capacity from 0.70 million gallons per day (MGD) to 1.05 MGD. The project was funded utilizing Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (ILEPA) low-interest loans. The overall project cost was $17,600,000. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity provided a grant in the amount of $1,250,000.
The St. Charles Public Works Department, working in coordination with the City of Geneva, completed the design for roadway and drainage improvements on Kautz Road. This project involves reconstructing 1.2 miles of Kautz road, widening it to add a bi-directional turn lane, and upgrading the drainage infrastructure. These improvements will complete the truck route between IL-38 and Main Street. Additionally, the project includes completing the bike path along the west side of Kautz. The City successfully obtained multiple grants to assist with the cost of construction. As a result, almost 78% of construction costs will be covered by grant funding. Construction is anticipated to start in summer of 2024.

Public Safety

Police

The Police Department obtained $1.5M total in grants during the past year to fund body-worn cameras for our sworn officers (US Department of Justice), our entire social worker program (funded by our 708-Mental Health Board), various enforcement grants aimed at reducing impaired driving and seat belt, tobacco, and underage alcohol sales (State of Illinois) and $1.1M from the State of Illinois (Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity) and over $150,000 in private grant funding to build a Tactical Training Center at our outdoor police range.
Our Police Department made several arrests and rescued several woman as part of a widespread human trafficking ring. The regional case spanned all across Chicagoland and was turned over to the federal government after our detectives linked this activity to several other states and abroad. St. Charles detectives are credited with exposing our case as part of a larger criminal enterprise and lauded for their work by prosecutors and other governmental bodies.

Fire

The Fire Department earned reaccreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). This was the third time the St. Charles Fire Department achieved the five-year accreditation award. The accreditation is awarded following a rigorous and through examination of all aspects of the Fire Department. The St. Charles Fire Department is one of 310 fire agencies nationwide to achieve this accreditation, and one of only 117 to achieve ISO 1 and accreditation.
2023 is on track to be the busiest year for the Fire Department, which is on pace to handle nearly 5800 calls before year’s end. This will be the largest number of calls managed in history of the Department, continuing the trend of increasing calls for fire, rescue, and medical services.

Finances

The Finance Department received the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal year ended April 30, 2022. This was the 37th consecutive year the City received this award which represents the highest achievement for governmental annual financial reporting.
Finance also is in the process of finalizing a new utility billing system. It will have a customer portal with enhanced features that make it easy for residents to manage their utility account.

Securing Future Talent

Conscious of employee and citizen concerns about equity and inclusion, Human Resources partnered with a consultant to conduct an equity and inclusion needs assessment, as workplace diversity is a key differentiator in talent acquisition.
A tight labor market continues to stress City service delivery. Aiming to meet the sustained demand for local government employees, Human Resources is in its third year of partnership with School District 303, Compass Academy, and Fox Valley Career Center, hosting job shadows for St. Charles North and East students; ushering 73 students through 124 job shadows in the last two years.

Technology

The Information Systems Department led a City-wide project to implement a public engagement platform to provide efficient digital services to residents. Some of the major components of this new platform will include all new City websites, the implementation of a digital public meeting management system and a utility billing customer portal.
Information Systems partnered with the Public Works Department to migrate its utility Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data to a new structure with enhanced functionality.

Top Social Media Posts (as Determined by our Followers)

Engagement on social media shows business news and project progress are our top performing posts:

Facebook Posts

Meet Charlie, the St. Charles Police Comfort Dog - 232k reach/impressions
WGN-TV "Around Town" visiting Ghoulish Mortals in St. Charles before Halloween - 121k reach/impressions
South Riverside/IL Rt. 25 Closed for work on the New Lift Station - 45k reach/impressions
WorldAtlas named St. Charles as a Town in Illinois with Some of the Best Historic Districts - 25k reach/impressions

Instagram Reels

City of St. Charles, Illinois