Newport Fire Chief Mark Kirchhoffer

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Newport Township FPD seeks tax increase

Mar 15

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 2 Comments

The Newport Township Fire Protection District is again seeking a tax increase to upgrade equipment.

A referendum on the March 15 ballot will ask for .132 cents for every $100 of a home’s assessed market value — the same proposal that was defeated last year when it got only 44 percent of the vote. If the referendum passes, a person with a home valued at $100,000 would pay $43.75 per year to the district, Newport Fire Chief Mark Kirchhoffer said.

The chief said taxes have not been raised for the fire district in 23 years and the money is needed to replace equipment. He said home values in the township have dropped from $268,807,724 in 2009 to $188,752,091 in 2015, which means less revenue generated through taxes. That loss of about $80 million in taxable value has left the Newport Fire District with about $1.25 million in tax revenue and a $1.9 million budget.

“Our tax rate would be fine if we had something to tax,” Kirchhoffer said. “People just don’t want taxes to go up. I get that. But I live here and I want an ambulance to come to my door if I need it. You can’t do it much cheaper than we’re doing it, and people want and deserve fire protection. … We’re trying to be frugal, good business people.”

If the referendum is approved, the new money would be used to replace equipment. The National Fire Protection Association Standard calls for replacing equipment after 25 years. The fire district has engines purchased in 1989, 1995 and 2000. It also has a tanker purchased in 2000. New gear is needed for all the firefighters, and the district wants to replace two aging heart monitors and one ambulance.

The fire district consists of 38 people to cover 2,300 structures over 33 square miles in portions of Beach Park, Old Mill Creek, Wadsworth and unincorporated Lake County.

The land is about 40 percent residential, 35 percent farmland and 25 percent is owned by the Forest Preserve. A small percentage is also commercial or industrial. Ninety-five percent of the coverage area has no public water infrastructure. Because of the lack of county infrastructure, Kirchhoffer said the fire district has different needs than other departments.

“People don’t realize we have to have more tankers than other departments because there are no water mains,” Kirchhoffer said.

He said the fire district is also responsible for responding to crashes on Interstate 94, and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority does not reimburse for the responses.

The fire district does take in revenue from ambulance fees, but changes in health care laws and coverage have reduced insurance reimbursements, while the fire district provides the same level of service.