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Posts Tagged fire district and village split in Barrington

Barrington touts ISO upgrade after split

May 30

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | 6 Comments

The Daily Herald has an article

An imminent upgrade of Barrington’s fire insurance rating is being hailed by village officials as validation of their fire department’s realignment after the Jan. 1 split from the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District.

Effective Aug. 1, the Insurance Services Office will upgrade the village’s public protection classification from a 4 to a 2 — putting it in the top 1.5 percent of all fire departments in the U.S., according to the village

While it’s less likely the improved rating will make an impact on homeowners’ insurance rates, Barrington Fire Chief Jim Arie is encouraging commercial property owners to tell their insurance agents of the change. The Insurance Services Office’s classifications are based 50 percent on the resources of the local fire department, 40 percent on access to water and 10 percent on communications, Arie said.

Prior to Jan. 1, the village’s fire department provided services for properties within the fire protection district, which covers 48 square miles in parts of Barrington Hills, Lake Barrington, South Barrington, Inverness and unincorporated Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. With the split, the fire protection district formed its own department to serve those areas.

As a result, Barrington’s fire department no longer covers large areas outside the village that don’t have fire hydrants.

Barrington officials say the upgraded rating also attests to the reconfigured fire department’s ability to do its job competently.

thanks Dan

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Barrington FD signs auto-aid agreements

Nov 12

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

The Daily Herald has an article about the Barrington Fire Department signing several automatic-aid agreements with neighbors:

Barrington trustees Monday approved two of the four automatic-aid agreements they’ve had to revise with neighboring fire departments due to the village’s coming Jan. 1 split from the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District.

The new agreements reached were those with the Lake Zurich and Long Grove departments. But Barrington is also aiming to have further agreements soon with both the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District and Barrington Countryside itself.

The aid agreements spell out the locations, situations and equipment involved for one department to respond automatically to another’s call — usually driven by whose station is closest. Though the village of Barrington isn’t starting a new fire department from scratch like the Barrington Countryside District, the ending of the two agencies’ decades-long contract for service is changing the jurisdictional boundaries for both.

The fire district will now take independent responsibility for fire protection and ambulance service for parts of Barrington Hills, Lake Barrington, South Barrington and Inverness and unincorporated Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

On the eve of their contractual split, Barrington and Barrington Countryside have found an auto-aid agreement between themselves to be the most time-consuming to negotiate. But Barrington Village Manager Jeff Lawler said Monday he believes the two agencies are getting there.

In contrast, talks aimed at an auto-aid agreement for Palatine Rural to respond to calls in Barrington Countryside’s area of Inverness seem to have broken down completely.

Barrington Countryside rejected a request to give a significant portion of its property tax from Inverness to Palatine Rural, while Palatine Rural has similarly declined three counterproposals, officials said.

thanks Ron & Dan

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Barrington Countryside FPD update

Oct 22

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | 2 Comments

The Daily Herald has an article about the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District and their ongoing plans for seperation:

Preparing to run their own independent fire department on Jan. 1, Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District trustees Monday discussed pending automatic-aid agreements with their neighbors and the potential site of a third station of their own. Among the evening’s accomplishments were the approvals of new auto-aid agreements with the Lake Zurich and Long Grove fire departments. Negotiations are under way with the fire departments of Fox River Grove, East Dundee, Palatine, Carpentersville, Hoffman Estates and Barrington for further auto-aid agreements.

A previously discussed auto-aid agreement that Barrington Countryside trustees said they’re no longer pursuing is one that would give the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District primary responsibility for the west side of Inverness. Such an agreement was requested by Inverness Village President Jack Tatooles. The two fire districts disagreed over Palatine Rural’s request for a significant portion of west Inverness’s property taxes for fire protection in exchange for service from its closer station.

Barrington Countryside trustees are also looking again for a possible location for a third station of their own. Such a station had been mulled for the area around Lake-Cook and Ridge roads in Barrington Hills. But trustees said the new and pending auto-aid agreements with surrounding departments might make a different location better to improve response times.

A previous post in this series is HERE.

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Barrington FD & Fire Protection District update

Oct 7

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | 1 Comment

The Daily Herald has an article about the Village of Barrington Fire Department and the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District dividing their assets for what will become the two separate departments after the 1st of January.

The Barrington Fire Department and Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District on Friday took the last major step before they separate on Jan. 1, by dividing up the vehicles and equipment they co-own.

… both sides expressed satisfaction with the division.

Officials of the 48-square-mile fire district just outside of Barrington also found out this week that 16 of the 19 laid-off Barrington firefighters to whom it offered jobs have applied with them. Barrington Countryside offered these firefighters their current union salaries and vacation time, but not a continuation of their pensions.

Rowan said it is important to the fire district to retain firefighters with as much experience and institutional memory of the fire district as work there now.

The rest of the fire district’s roster of 33 full-time firefighters will be filled with staff provided by private contractor Paramedic Services of Illinois.

“I think the residents are going to be really pleased,” Rowan said. “We have the equipment we need and the personnel we need.”

On Jan. 1, the fire district will terminate its long-running contract for service from the Barrington Fire Department.

The newly divided equipment should be moved to its new locations among the village’s fire station and the fire district’s two stations in Barrington Hills and Lake Barrington about a week or two before the Jan. 1 split, Rowan said.

The contractual relationship between the village and fire district will be officially finished at the shift change at 8 a.m. on Jan. 1, he added.

Some of the previous posts on this split can be found HERE, HERE, and HERE.

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Barrington Fire District offers to hire laid off firefighters

Aug 27

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | 3 Comments

The Daily Herald has an article about the Barrington & Countryside FPD offering to hire all 19 pf the laid off Barrington firefighters.

The Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District will offer jobs to all 19 firefighters to be laid off by the village of Barrington on Jan. 1 at their current union-level salaries and earned vacation time.

But these firefighters have to take advantage of their preferred status by applying before Aug. 31.

“We know how valuable these employees are,” fire district President Tom Rowan said. “We helped to train them.”

What the fire district won’t offer — at least not immediately — are the pension plans these firefighters have had as members of the Barrington Fire Department’s union. The employees will start 401(k) plans instead.

The finalization of the fire district’s 2014 staffing plan Monday came one week after the village of Barrington did the same.

Both agencies are preparing to end the long-running contract in which the village provided staffing for the 48-square-mile fire district just beyond its borders.

The fire district will employ an increased staff of 34, largely through private contractor Paramedic Services of Illinois. District trustees have been working with the firm to ensure that Barrington’s laid-off firefighters can be hired at their current salaries.

Yet to come is the division of the equipment the agencies co-own, as well as determination of the exact nature of their cooperation after Jan. 1.

Fire district trustees are skeptical of the automatic-aid agreement Barrington is proposing that would ask both agencies to take primary responsibility for calls closest to their respective stations, regardless of which jurisdiction they’re actually in.

Fire district trustees say they want to be assured they’re getting roughly as much help as they’re giving.

Barrington village officials say firefighters based in the village have responded to calls in the district about 2.5 times as often as the reverse over the last four years.

But fire district Trustee Tom Long said the staffing changes to be implemented on Jan. 1 make any such historical data irrelevant.

While the fire district’s stations in Barrington Hills and Lake Barrington are currently staffed by three people each, in 2014 they each will have a full crew of five or six at all times, Long said.

Previous posts can be found HERE.

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Barrington village determines new FD staffing model

Aug 20

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | 1 Comment

The Barrington village board met last night and had a full house in attendance. One item on the agenda was a staffing proposal for the Barrington Fire Department as of january 1, 2014 when the agreement with the Barrington & Countryside FPD expires. The Barrington Courier-Review has an article outlining the new staffing and the meeting surrounding the vote.

In a momentous step to restructure the fire and emergency services in the Barrington area, the Barrington Village Board voted unanimously Monday to lay off 19 firefighter-paramedics at the end of the year.

The layoffs result from the termination of a long-standing intergovernmental agreement that had the village department and the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District working together over an area of more than 50 square miles.

To reduce operational costs from personnel and equipment and rein in future insurance and pension obligations, Barrington has opted to focus on its five-square-mile territory. The protection district, which decided to terminate the agreement effective Jan. 1, 2014 will continue to serve 46 square miles in the surrounding communities.

With the 7-0 vote Monday, Barrington trustees put an end to months of emotional debate by making official a plan to start next year with a department of 19 firefighter-paramedics.

“The new staffing plan costs a little more than minimal staffing, but that will be money well spent if it provides additional services and increases public safety in Barrington,” said Village President Karen Darch in a statement after the vote. “However, in the long term, we are removing a major burden from taxpayers — the burden of paying skyrocketing pension and disability payments for employees that have served outside our community.”

He noted an $80,000 difference in annual costs between the options. Trustees ultimately decided to go with a staff of 19, with 19 layoffs.

“With enhanced EMS service, we are better equipped to respond to our most frequent calls for service — those that come from residents in need of emergency medical attention,” said Barrington Fire Chief Jim Arie. “Instead of relying on response from miles away, we can dispatch a second ambulance right from our own firehouse. This means we can get help to where it’s needed faster and reduce response times when we have overlapping calls.”

Before trustees made their decision Monday, several residents and stakeholders pleaded with the board to reconsider.

Char McLear, a retired assistant fire chief in Barrington, called the move an arrogant and self-serving attack on the fire department. “This is the real world and there is no room for politics,” McLear said. “This is politics, not fiscal responsibility. “I’m outraged at your irresponsible actions in regards to the fire department. We in this village have to live with the ramifications of your decision.”

In response to the layoffs, the protection has expressed an interest in hiring as many laid off Barrington emergency responders as possible through its contract with Paramedic Services of Illinois, a private company. However, those hired by PSI face the possibility of working outside their current pension plans.

In explaining the staffing decisions, Darch noted that keeping 18 personnel on staff would cost the village about $80,000 more a year above the fire department’s planned budget for 2014. She added that the extra two firefighters would, however, give the department more flexibility.

Personnel would operate out of Fire Station 1 on three shifts, each with a dedicated shift commander.

Village officials began discussing the separation in 2012 amid disagreements with the district regarding the hiring of additional personnel and the purchase of new equipment.

The report stated that the fire department’s automatic aid agreements with the Lake Zurich Fire Department, the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District and the Long Grove Fire Protection District would stay in place. For mutual aid, the fire department would still be part of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, as it has been for several decades.

Other posts on this topic can be referenced HERE and HERE.

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Barrington village to determine future staffing

Aug 18

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | 2 Comments

The Daily Herald has an article about the pending status of the relationship between the Village of Barrington Fire Department staffing.

Monday should end more than a month of suspense for two Barrington firefighter-paramedics over their future employment with the village.

They are the ones caught between two possible courses of action by the village board that night — to lay off 20 or 22 firefighters on Jan. 1.

The layoffs will take place in conjunction with the end of the village’s contract to provide service to the larger, 48-square-mile Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District which serves communities surrounding Barrington itself.

In mid-July, village trustees heard two recommendations from consultant Bill Balling on the Barrington Fire Department’s future needs. His preference is a plan that would employ 18 personnel — laying off 20 — but would increase the village’s fire protection costs by about $80,000 per year.

But he also identified a workable plan to employ 16 people — laying off 22 — which would result in a slight decrease from today’s costs.

The layoffs will be based on seniority — as per the firefighters’ union contract — which allows 20 of them to already know they have to seek new jobs next year. The other two understandably remain on edge.

The fire district is hoping to hire as many of the laid off firefighters as it can through its new contract with private firm Paramedic Services of Illinois. But such employment would be without a pension plan and possibly at a much lower salary.

Find the complete article HERE.

Previous posts can be found beginning HERE and HERE..

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Barrington & Countryside FPD update

Jul 23

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | 3 Comments

The Daily Herald has an article labeling the split between the Village of Barrington and the Barrington & Countryside FPD as a done deal:

Barrington village officials told the Daily Herald editorial board Monday that the proposed split between the Barrington Fire Department and the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District on Jan. 1 is now past the point of no return.

Fire district trustees entirely agree.

Barrington Village President Karen Darch and Village Manager Jeff Lawler explained why they believe the coming separation is in the best interest of both local governments.

The village will see the reduction of pension and potential disability costs for 20-22 firefighters used exclusively by the fire district, which is currently pursuing an expansion of services for its own 48-square-mile area.

Since about the 1950s, the fire district has contracted for services from the geographically smaller village — but the mutual benefits of that arrangement have been gradually disappearing for both agencies, Darch argued.

Firefighters, though, have strongly disagreed throughout the separation process, maintaining that public safety will be hurt by the loss of efficiency brought by one united department.

Fire district President Tom Rowan said he and his fellow trustees want to save as many firefighter jobs as possible by encouraging their re-employment through the district’s new private contractor — Schiller Park-based Paramedic Services of Illinois.

The hiring of that contractor and new administrator Jeff Swanson last week make going back to the old arrangement with Barrington virtually impossible, Rowan said.

“We hired our new fire chief/administrator and he has a three-year contract,” Rowan said. “We are going to separate (from the village). We don’t see reconciling at this point.”

The village wants to sign an automatic-aid agreement with the district, but district trustees want to hold off until the village decides on Aug. 19 whether it will employee a staff of 16 or 18 people.

District trustees said they want to make sure any agreement they sign with a neighboring department is mutually beneficial.

Rowan said he’s also eager to work out the division of the equipment both agencies co-own well ahead of New Year’s Day when the fire engines, tankers and ambulances will physically change hands and fire stations.

The district covers parts of Barrington Hills, Lake Barrington, South Barrington, Inverness and unincorporated Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

 

A previous post on this can be found HERE.

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Barrington & Countryside FPD update

Jul 18

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | 1 Comment

The Barrington Courier Review has an article about the split between the Village of Barrington and the Barrington & Countryside FPD.

Barrington, fire district to proceed separately

BARRINGTON — A consultant’s report presented Monday night to the Barrington Village Board revealed that 20 firefighters and paramedics could be laid off when the village and the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District begin operating as separate entities on Jan. 1, 2014.

During a separate meeting Monday night, the Fire Protection District announced former New Lenox fire chief Jeff Swanson as its interim administrator.

Speaking at the Village Board meeting, William Balling, from WRB Consultants, outlined two options for the Barrington department. The first option recommended a total staffing of 16 sworn personnel, including 14 operations and two administrative positions. That staffing plan would result in 22 layoffs. The second option recommended a total staffing of 18 personnel, including 16 in operations and two administrative positions.

In either case, the staffing change would be a considerable decrease from the 39 sworn personnel under the expiring intergovernmental agreement with the Fire Protection District.

“We need to retool and redesign,” said Balling. “We think this is a logical progression.”

Balling recommended staffing the Barrington station with 18 personnel, which would cost about $80,000 more per year than the 16 staff model.

The board is expected to make a decision at its next meeting, scheduled for Aug. 19.

In explaining the downsizing, village leaders cited the much smaller geographic area — about five square miles — that village firefighters will serve starting in 2014. Village Manager Jeff Lawler said Fire Station 1, located in Barrington, receives about five to six calls a day, most of which are emergency medical calls.

As part of the reorganization, the village intends to reduce the number of personnel on ambulances and other apparatus from three to two.

Lawler said this will provide Station 1 with greater flexibility.

“What it’s doing is it’s aligning the assets and personnel at Station 1 with the most common calls, which are EMS calls,” he said.

During his presentation, Balling said many neighboring cities including Arlington Heights and Palatine have adopted a two-person ambulance model.

“Two-person ambulances are not a new phenomenon,” he said, adding that there could be flexibility on that number if needed.

Last month, the district proposed that the village lease 18 Barrington firefighters to the district for a two-year period. During that time, the district would consider a tax levy referendum to fund pensions and health care costs for the firefighters.

Village President Karen Darch cited legacy costs, including pensions and disability liabilities that could cost taxpayers millions, as a reason not to lease the 18 firefighters.

On Monday night, Darch outlined the department’s budget, including current operations, infrastructure, employee pensions and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds. Her goal was to explain that every dollar that goes into pension funds is a dollar that cannot support those other service areas.

“We have a responsibility to spend the revenue that comes into this village wisely,” Darch said.

But many residents in the board room audience expressed concern that the level and quality of emergency services will suffer after the separation.

“Without a doubt, putting money before safety is a horrible choice,” said Barrington resident Carrie Raia, expressing concern about longer response times.

Residents also expressed concern about first responders getting caught behind trains that run through town. Darch, however, said Barrington has a cooperative relationship with Lake Zurich Rural Fire Protection District, which supports Barrington operations when needed.

But residents remained undeterred in criticizing the board for the proposed reductions in personnel.

“This is a catastrophe now and I don’t know if we can stop it or not,” said Barrington resident Char McLear, who served as assistant to the Barrington fire chief before retiring.

Balling explained that his report was based on incident coverage, station availability and location, operational staffing, apparatus and mobile equipment, infrastructure, and automatic and mutual aid agreements and special response times.

“There are a lot of moving parts,” he said.

Also on Monday night, the Fire Protection District’s board approved a new contract with the private firm Paramedic Services of Illinois to provide emergency personnel in 2014.

The district board also discussed the possibility of levying a new tax to fund pensions applied to career firefighters furloughed from the village. The levy could appear on the March 2014 primary ballot at the earliest.

“The district has to put that question to the voters,” said Robert Buhs, a consultant and executive director of the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association.

Our last post can be viewed HERE.

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Barrington & Countryside FPD update

Jul 1

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | Comments off

The Daily Herald has another article on the discussions between the Village of Barrington and the Barrington & Countryside FPD.

Barrington officials have gone beyond their original request that the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District hire the village’s laid-off firefighters later this year — suggesting the district offer them substantial signing bonuses as well.

The suggestion was made in a June 27 letter from Barrington Village President Karen Darch to fire district President Tom Rowan.

The letter also urges the district’s approval of an automatic-aid agreement that would have both agencies respond to calls closer to their respective stations.

Rowan said his board hasn’t yet had the opportunity to digest the letter but would respond to the village has soon as it has. The fire district board is meeting Monday to discuss candidates for the position of interim administrator.

Though Darch’s letter anticipates a meeting between her and Rowan during the week of July 8, it argues that the district’s request to lease 18 of the village’s firefighters for two years creates a risky financial liability for the village if any of the employees filed for disability during that period.

Rowan has said the district wants to both save the jobs and retain the expertise of the firefighters the village would lay off when the two agencies’ contractual agreement ends on Jan. 1.

These experienced firefighters, familiar with the area, would work alongside others hired from a private firm to bring the district’s total number up to approximately 33.

But the district cannot immediately offer such benefits as pension contributions to the laid-off firefighters already earning them, Rowan said. The proposal to lease the firefighters for two years was seen as a way of buying time while another arrangement is found, perhaps a tax-hike referendum to fund such benefits.

The village has never specified exactly how many firefighters it would need to lay off, but fire district officials have said their intention is to see that none lose their jobs.

Barrington trustees will hear a report from a consultant on July 15 recommending a restructuring of their fire department in 2014.

The fire district covers a 48-square-mile area outside the village that includes portions of Barrington Hills, Lake Barrington, South Barrington and Inverness and unincorporated Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

The district has always received its fire protection and paramedic services by contract from Barrington but began taking steps to end that contract after village officials denied requests for additional firefighters and equipment.

The complete article is HERE.

Our most recent post is HERE.

thanks Chris

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