From the Elgin Association of Firefighters, IAFF Local 439 @IAFF.Local.439 Facebook page:
Due to a budget cut imposed onto the Elgin Fire Department, Elgin, Illinois, Engine 6, located at 707 W. Chicago St. will be out of service for at least 280 days a year. Last year, Engine 6 responded to over 3,000 Emergency calls!
The Union and Fire Chief agree that this is a reduction in overall service to the residents of Elgin. If you live, work, or own a business in Elgin, it is imperative that you contact the Council Members listed below to state your opposition to this reduction in service!
mayor@cityofelgin.org
dixon_c@cityofelgin.org
gavin_t@cityofelgin.org
blopez@cityofelgin.org
martinez_r@cityofelgin.org
powell_t@cityofelgin.org
rauschenberger_c@cityofelgin.org
shaw_t@cityofelgin.org
steffen_j@cityofelgin.orgCity of Elgin-Government, City Services and Community News Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin IL Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois International Association of Fire Fighters #downtownElgin #ElginIL #cityofelgin #Local439atWork #AFFIatWork #IAFF #IAFFatWork
thanks Danny
#1 by Mike C on February 27, 2021 - 7:42 AM
I just heard the City of Elgin plans to brown out Engine 6 for 150 days of the year and have Ambulance 6 in service the remaining portion of the year. I don’t know when this officially takes place but I feel bad for the businesses and residents on the east side of town where they only have 2 stations. Seems like a poor decision to me.
Pingback: Elgin Fire Department news (more) « chicagoareafire.com
#2 by Max O on February 10, 2021 - 3:27 PM
I wonder if this is what they teach in bean counter school?And why do politicians always seem to come after Police and Fire budgets? When will elected officials and citizens get it?
#3 by Bulldog on February 10, 2021 - 9:29 AM
**Correction from my post before – I stated “most of them have professional business experience” which I meant the complete opposite. None of the city council have any business smarts. It’s not just their political ideology, they simply know very little about governmental financial management or attracting new businesses to come into the town.
I have done some research on this. The unions Facebook post is not telling the whole story. All city departments were asked to holdoff on their annual raise due to lack of revenue from the pandemic. All departments agreed to do so with the exception of the fire department. The union contract spells out a 2.5% raise for this year which the union insists on keeping. If the city council pursues with this plan, Engine 6 will be out of service 75% of the year and an ambulance would take it’s place as a full-time ambulance. The engine has 3 onboard and the ambulance has 2 onboard so it would be a reduction of 1 staff member. The problem I have is the city council doesn’t know anything about the fire service yet they think they know best where to cut. Most of the calls out of station 6 are EMS related. Station 6 plays a dynamic roll in public safety for Elgin and in my opinion should have a full time engine and ambulance. The City of Elgin leadership has done a horrible job attracting businesses to come into the city which is a major source of tax revenue. Elgin Dodge and Elgin Toyota left Elgin which is a major source of tax revenue. Go north or south of Elgin a little and South Elgin and Algonquin have all the retail. Elgin has very little. Time for Elgin city council and the city manager to get their head on straight.
Lastly, what’s really interesting is that Ambulance 3 was taken out of service in 2012 and has never returned to service. Also, Station 1 and 2 had the jump companies between the ambulance and the truck. Since then the engines have been removed out of the station and the trucks and ambulances are full time. This has led to major changes in the SOP. To be honest, the way things are setup now with the 3 different Quint companies, there is room for confusion or error. I don’t support Quint companies as they serve multiple purposes rather than very specific tasks.
#4 by Austin on February 10, 2021 - 8:20 AM
I don’t want to see any station closed, especially in a city the size of Elgin. Wouldn’t it make more sense to close/ brownout the one on McLean by ECC or the one on Royal Blvd by Randall Road? If one of those close, there are others close by and probably wouldn’t have as huge of an effect on service as engine 6.
#5 by crabbymilton on February 10, 2021 - 6:26 AM
Bottom line, people get the govt. they deserve. The thinking may be just let the other departments in western Cook and eastern Kane counties take care of it since the mindset seems to misunderstand the idea of MABAS and forget the Mutual part.
#6 by Michael m on February 9, 2021 - 5:49 PM
Agreed, this is outrages! Why close down the busiest engine company in the city! Though not ideal if you have to close a company why not the slowest company in the city? True if Elgin did not have the Casino they would be in pitiful financial shape!
I hope the citizens e-mail their elected officials and give them a piece of their mind! Poor financial planning!
#7 by Mike on February 9, 2021 - 5:38 PM
Bulldog to answer your question why this is happening. On the news tonight it was said that the union is contextually owed 2.5% pay increases this year. Well my guess is this is the cities cowardly way of trying to bargain in bad faith to get them to give back the increase or defer it. Threaten a fire station closer of the busiest company over 400,000.00. The news reported that the fire department budget was 400,000.00 dollars short so this is their response. The news also reported that this financial issue is because of the police and fire pension deficit. Guess who’s responsible for funding the cities side of the pensions.. the same elected officials. Maybe they should have been better financial planners.
#8 by Bulldog on February 9, 2021 - 4:27 PM
This is outrageous! Engine 6 has far more calls than any other company on the department. Not only that, but Engine 6 responds to almost all fires throughout the city. Also, the east side of town is already stretched thin. If there’s a fire on the northeast side of town, this leaves Quint 1 the closest. Engine 5 and Truck 2 will have a long response time. District 6 also has dense population and a lot of older homes. This is terrible for the community and the citizens should be furious! I don’t support any cut backs but Engine 7 has the lowest call volume in the whole department. If any rig were to be cut, it should be Quint 7. I don’t believe this issue falls on behalf of the fire chief. If anything, the city council is to blame. Elgin has been mismanaged by terrible council members for years. If the city didn’t have the casino, Elgin would be in a major financial hardship. Speaking of not having the casino, the Grand Victoria was closed a large portion of last year reducing the financial support the city has relied on. Elgin relies way to much on the casino’s revenue. I drove by Station 1 recently and noticed new signage on the façade of the building that says “City of Elgin Fire Department”. Why is the city wasting money on something like this when Station 1 hasn’t had this for 40+ years and they’re closing fire companies? I’m not saying this signage was going to stop closings but when something like this is deemed essential, this portrays mismanagement. Mike B is right. I believe almost all council members are liberal democrats. Coincidentally, most of them have professional business experience. Lastly, why did Elgin buy a 1 million dollar ladder truck recently when finances are so tight? I’d rather see older beat up apparatus than see a station close!
#9 by Mike B on February 9, 2021 - 1:56 PM
Strange a democrat majority city in a democrat run state cuts public safety. Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t the labor unions support these so called politicians that they put into office. I fear this is only just the beginning…
#10 by crabbymilton on February 9, 2021 - 11:58 AM
Asinine is the word that first comes to mind when I hear about this