It is the mission of the Oak Brook Park District to provide the very best in park and recreational opportunities, facilities, and open lands for our community.

While the population of Oak Brook has increased 3.5% over the past 10 years*, the property tax collected, excluding the referendum to purchase land in 2018 has increased 53.64%.

If we remove the tax levy attributed to our 2019 General Obligation bonds (“referendum bonds”), which passed with a 68% approval rating, then the total tax rate has increased from .1674 in 2000, to .2572 in 2023.  This represents a 53.64% increase in the tax rate over a 23-year period. Much of this increase is due to inflation. **  

*  Oak Brook Population Trends.pdf

** Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States.pdf

Commissioner John O’Brien was on the board for 22 years, stepping down in 2015.  Throughout his tenure, Commissioner O’Brien owned a home in Oak Brook and paid taxes.  While on the Park District Board, Commissioner O’Brien did travel for his job and frequently called in to join the board meetings which are permissible by Park District Code.  Once Commissioner O’Brien stepped down; the application process began immediately.  Five applications were received, and all five applicants were interviewed by the Park District Board.  Kevin Tan was appointed in 2015 and then elected by the Oak Brook residents in 2017. Click here for more information.

In 2022, the Village Manager was hired at $182,000 with no prior Village Manager experience. In the same year, the Executive Director’s salary was $182,229 with 12 years of experience. As of 2025, the Village Manager’s salary is $234,555 with 3 years of experience.  The Executive Director’s estimated salary is $204,985 for Fiscal Year 2025-2026. The Executive Director will make $31,000 less than the Village manager in the agencies’ 2025-26 fiscal years. This is only an estimate as the Park District Budget has not been approved as of today.  

The Executive Director of the Naperville Park District was hired in 2022 with no prior experience as an Executive Director at $169,000. After 2 years of experience, the Executive Director’s salary is $183,818. In 2023/2024, the Oak Brook Executive Director’s salary was 189,530 with 14 years of experience.  

The Executive Director of the Elmhurst Park District was promoted in 2012 and in 2024 has a salary of $196,804. In 2024/2025, the Oak Brook Park District Executive Director’s salary is $197,101.   

Under the Illinois Park District Code (“Park Code”), the default number of commissioners on a park board is five. The number of commissioners can be increased to seven by binding referendum or resolution. Also under the Park Code, the default term length for park commissioners is six years. The term length can be shortened to four years by referendum or resolution.

In 2012, an Oak Brook resident initiated a petition for a non-binding referendum to reduce the term of office for park commissioners from 6 years to 4 years and increase the number of commissioners from 5 to a 7-members.  The questions were flawed as they did not provide voters with complete information regarding the proposed changes.  

The residents rejected the non-binding proposition to increase the number of commissioners.   The residents approved the non-binding question to reduce term lengths.

After the referendum, the Board considered the number of seats up at each subsequent election, and concluded that shortening terms to four years would enable any faction to take complete control of the board in a single election. The then-commissioners also believed that four year terms reduced the strength of the electorate’s voice on longer term issues and objectives. The instability in district operations that would result from shortening commissioner terms on a five-member board was determined to be considerable, and more costly and detrimental to the organization than any perceived benefit. The board concluded that 6-year terms remained the best outcome for the residents of the Park District. 

Click here to see board minutes. 

Yes, in July 2015 the Park District obtained a price quote from Pentegra systems, a recognized vendor in the industry, for the labor and material required to upgrade audio recordings for its public meetings. The range estimate was between $11,000 to $13,000 depending on the preferred style of microphone.

Staff recently assessed other alternatives and determined the following:
The cost for upgrading audio recordings (for basic audio using 360 degree coverage microphones) is $900. Adding video recording (just two webcams, mounting and cables without text graphics) is $1,400. These videos would be posted on YouTube.  The quality would not produce professional results.  To provide professional quality output, a $15,000 to $20,000 investment is required for a professional system.  Staff are not recommending this option as the system would typically be used only one time per month.    The staff’s recommendation is to invest in audio recordings and add the cost for same to the budget for FY2025-2026.     

Yes. Oak Brook Park District uses Active Network LLC (ActiveNet)  for registration software.  ActiveNet has over 1,500 clients, including Elmhurst and Naperville Park Districts and 34 Illinois park districts.  The software generates reports showing the number of residents and non-resident participants in programs and memberships. 
 

Fee determinations are based on several factors, including program/activity expenses, consumer demand, competitive factors (including benchmarking costs against other Park Districts), the extensive knowledge and experience that the District’s professional staff has with park and recreation trends and the specific programs, memberships and rentals in question. Membership definitions and fee schedules are transparently detailed in sections 5.5 (Recreation Programs, Memberships, and Facility Fees Policies and Definitions) and 6.1 (Definitions for the Use of and Membership in Park District Facilities and Recreation Programs) of the Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual. 
 

No, not all full-time employees have purchase cards. The policies and procedures in place for purchasing are found in Section 4.11 (Procurement Card Policy) and section 4.12 (Purchasing Policy) of the Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual. 
 

A Compensation Disclosure must be published annually on our website within 6 business days after Board approval of its annual budget and appropriation ordinance.  The Board anticipates final budget and appropriation ordinance approval on April 21, 2025. Based on this date, the District intends to publish the compensation disclosure on or before April 29, 2025.  This disclosure shows amounts budgeted for FY 2025/2026. Actual compensation for FY 2025/2026 will differ.