Posts Tagged Antioch loses request for ambulance tax

Antioch makes cuts to fund EMS

Feb 1

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 3 Comments

Excerpts from the Lake County News-Sun about Antioch EMS costs requiring budget cuts throughout the village.

The cost of funding emergency ambulance services in Antioch without dedicated tax revenue has resulted in deep budget cuts across the village’s departments, services and programs.

On the public safety side, trustees agreed to reduce police overtime spending by $50,000 and the fire department will close its station on Grass Lake Road, officials said. Downsizing to two fire stations is projected to save Antioch $87,900, officials said.

In addition to putting all road improvement projects and equipment purchases on hold, the budget cuts will take $24,450 from the Public Works Department, $8,865 from the clerk’s office, $38,470 from community development and $1,200 from finance. The Village Board also removed $50,000 from the budget that previously was granted to the senior center.

According to village leaders, the budget cuts are directly tied to voters rejecting a referendum in November that would have set an ambulance tax.

“There’s only so much money coming in,” Antioch Mayor Lawrence Hanson said. [He] explained that the village and the First Fire Protection District are trying to make up for the $1.5 million it costs annually for ambulance services in the village and unincorporated areas.

Another tax request referendum is planned for April and village leaders are prepared to cut another $92,410 if that measure fails. Hanson said those savings would come from administration, police, community development and finance departments. Another $100,000 will be saved by cutting employees, he said. There were 103 village employees (in 2009). Now there are 67.

Hanson said the village had a $2 million deficit when he took over as mayor in 2009. Since then, he said, the Village Board has been focused on bringing spending and revenues in line.

But that was before the village was hit by the added cost for ambulance services, created when the Antioch Rescue Squad folded.

The Fire Department previously staffed 11 firefighters on duty at all times. The cuts will reduce that number to eight — four manning each station — in covering the 36-square-mile service area.

thanks Dan

Tags: Antioch FIre Department, Antioch Fire Department to provide EMS to village residents, Antioch First Fire District, Antioch loses request for ambulance tax, Antioch Mayor Lawrence Hanson, Antioch tax levy for EMS, Antioch to close fire station, First Fire Protection District of Antioch

Antioch to reduce staffing

Dec 3

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

From the Antioch FD website:

Beginning with work shifts on Monday December 1st, the Antioch Fire Department has reduced the number of personnel from 11 to 8 personnel on duty. This staffing reduction is in line with necessary budget adjustments in the wake of the failed ambulance service referendum in the Village of Antioch and the unincorporated area of the First Fire District. The immediate impact of this action is that Fire Station #3 will not have a duty crew on duty. Residents are instructed to call 911 in an emergency and avoid driving to a nearby fire station for assistance. The 8 person assignment consists of 4 duty crew members at Station #1 located at 835 Holbek Drive and 4 duty crew members located at Station #2 at 700 Deep Lake Road. Each station will respond with a fire engine or an ambulance to cover the 36 square mile service area as required by the nature of the emergency. Call back personnel will be requested to report back to duty for larger scale incidents or multiple call situations.

thanks Dan

Tags: Antioch FD to reduce staffing, Antioch FIre Department, Antioch First Fire District, Antioch loses request for ambulance tax, Antioch tax levy for EMS, First Fire Protection District of Antioch

Antioch loses bid for ambulance tax

Nov 6

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 5 Comments

The Daily Herald has an article about the ballot initiative for an ambulance tax in Antioch:

Voter denial Tuesday of ballot questions to establish a tax for ambulance service has officials in Antioch and Antioch Township scrambling to determine what’s next.

Immediate changes aren’t envisioned but service cuts translating to longer response times are possibilities in coming weeks or months as village and First Fire Protection District leaders explore options for continued operations. Whether voters should be asked again for support next spring is another tough question to be answered as the weight of a $2.7 million annual budget strains other areas.

“Antioch has been a cultural anomaly to have a core service that was not funded in any way by tax money. People are astounded by that fact,” Village Administrator James Keim said. “That is now a service the governments and entities that exist have to provide and there is a void in funding. It’s not easily understood.”

Voters in the village and in Antioch Township defeated questions to establish a property tax to provide ambulance service to about 27,000 residents. The measure would have raised an estimated $1.5 million the first year and cost the owner of a property valued at $100,000 an additional $835. Unofficial figures showed voters opposed the measure 2,139 to 1,925 in the village and 2,018 to 1,417 in the township.

Ambulance service for fire or rescue calls in the Antioch area since 1938 had been provided by the Antioch Rescue Squad, a nonprofit group funded by fees and donations. That changed in May when the fire protection district of Antioch did not renew the contract and decided to consolidate operations in the village and township under the Antioch Fire Department.

The Antioch Fire Department uses part-time paid-on-call firefighters and contracts for paramedic service. The department and fire district share three stations and equipment. Costs are split by the village through its general fund, which covers a variety of day-to-day operations, and the fire protection district through its cash reserves. While each entity can tax for fire operations, they need voter approval to do so for emergency medical services, which are the measures that failed, Antioch Fire Chief John Nixon said.

Operations had been expanded at the third fire station to improve response time, according to Nixon. The goal was to make that permanent and have three fully-staffed stations to cover a 36-square-mile area. But that may not be possible.

The village is in an unsustainable mode regarding revenues and overall services it provides, Keim said.

thanks Dan

Tags: Antioch Fire Chief John Nixon, Antioch FIre Department, Antioch Fire Department to provide EMS to village residents, Antioch First Fire District, Antioch loses request for ambulance tax, Antioch Rescue Squad