More from the Daily Herald on the discussions between the Village of Barrington and the Barrington & Countryside FPD:
Barrington officials Friday said they didn’t believe a proposal from the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District to lease 18 firefighters for two years really addressed the village’s concerns over the long-term pension and disability costs for these employees.
Such an arrangement would keep these firefighters village employees and such costs a village responsibility, Village President Karen Darch said.
“They don’t really define what they mean by ‘lease,'” she said of the district’s proposal.
The offer has added another step to what had seemed the intended end of the village and fire district’s long-standing contractual relationship on Jan. 1.
The district covers a 48-square-mile area outside of Barrington, but has always contracted its fire protection and paramedic services from the village’s fire department.
The district’s expansion plans — which include hiring seven more firefighters and planning for yet a further station — have brought what could be seen as a natural end to the cost-effective relationship the two agencies once had, Barrington Village Manager Jeff Lawler said.
The village provides twice as many employees to the district as the village’s own jurisdiction requires. Though the district pays its share of these employees’ costs, it is the village that remains on the hook for pension and disability payments whenever the district ends the contract.
Darch said village taxpayers shouldn’t be responsible for more than the costs of the employees the village needs.
Even under the two-year lease arrangement the district is proposing, there’s a potential risk of $160 million to the village if all 18 firefighters became catastrophically injured, Darch said.
This is based on a combination of their ages and future earning potentials. A catastrophic injury to a 26-year-old firefighter could cost the village $11.5 million in disability payments, she said.
District board President Tom Rowan said further discussion was intended all along. He added that the proposal was necessarily sketchy as many details would need to be worked out mutually.
The firefighters union is supporting the district’s proposal, even if it requires further discussion, union President Eric Brouilette said.
The district opened bids from five private firefighter-paramedic firms this week, offering a first year of service for amounts ranging from $2.6 million to $3.9 million.
But these prices are based on the firms’ costs and don’t take into consideration the higher experience levels the district would like to retain from the firefighters it currently receives from the village.
This week’s proposal seeks to combine 18 of them — who would otherwise be laid off by the village — with firefighters provided by the private firms.
“We spent a lot of money on training,” Rowan said of the Barrington firefighters. “We know how good they are. And they know the area.”
But district trustees are considering a tax-hike referendum to provide such pensions, which could appear on ballots as early as March 2014.
The district’s jurisdiction includes parts of Barrington Hills, Lake Barrington, South Barrington, Inverness and unincorporated Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.
Barrington, meanwhile, has hired a consultant to recommend a new structure for its fire department after the anticipated expiration of its contract with the district.
The entire article is HERE.
thanks Chris
#1 by michael ryan on June 23, 2013 - 6:12 PM
What happends when the district gets out of control like in the 1990’s . Then the village was the reasonable group. They counter and balance each other. The district has made empty proposals in the past as well, The report for the district is non sense as well is just spending money to spend and tax it. Hope common sense comes out and they go back to the 1997 agreement
#2 by Keith Boehne on June 23, 2013 - 11:47 AM
Let’s try a novel idea. Have the District take over the entire Fire Department,no more city department and no more problems for the poor over worked mayor or village manager. The only down side is the District will have all the tax money, man power, equipment, and responsibility for and to the the Fire Fighters, Administration, and Tax Payers.
#3 by Mike on June 23, 2013 - 9:51 AM
Karen Darch is one of the people trying to eliminate the pensions for public safety employees in illinois. So I’m sure she sees this as a way to start. Her comment about the injury liability is her living in a dream land. This work is hard and yes people are gonna get injured but if there is an incident where the whole department got injured, which will never happen, then they have bigger problems. Besides want to reduce injuries? Hire more people so the understaffed companies are not being over tasked. I don’t know maybe follow NFPA 1710 for a change.
#4 by Dan on June 22, 2013 - 6:48 PM
This has gotten to the point where I am just wondering, why can’t they just CHANGE the responsibility of the pension costs and then move along with hiring the other guys and staying as one. If the district has the money, then allow them to pay for it. It can’t be that much more difficult to alter the contract than split up completely.