Archive for April 14th, 2018

North Westmont Fire Protection District news

From dupagecounty.org:

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

DuPage County Board Moves to Dissolve North Westmont Fire Protection District

The DuPage County Board voted unanimously Tuesday to initiate a process to dissolve the North Westmont Fire Protection District. When dissolution is complete, the North Westmont Fire District will be the fifth unit of local government DuPage County dissolved.

The action eliminates the district’s annual tax levy and forgives the district’s debt, totaling $300,000 over the past five years. An additional $11,000 in annual administrative expenses will be redirected to support fire services.

Through the agreement with Westmont, the village will equitably apportion the costs of fire protection services while providing fire and ambulance service for residents of the district in unincorporated Westmont.

“This is a great example of local government collaboration benefiting taxpayers. The agreement resulted in sustainable funding for a vital public service. I commend Westmont officials and fire district representatives who worked closely with residents developing and enacting this new model for fire service,” said DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin.

A 2016 survey found most residents were in favor of dissolving the North Westmont Fire District and receiving fire protection service from the Village of Westmont. In June 2017, the DuPage County Board gave the Village of Westmont permission to establish a Special Service Area to provide a fair and equitable rate for fire services for all residents. Westmont approved the establishment of an SSA in December, and the County Clerk established the SSA in February.

DuPage County previously dissolved Timberlake Estates Sanitary District, DuPage Fair and Exposition Authority, Fairview Fire Protection District, and Century Hill Street Lighting District.

From the Dailyherald.com:

A paper district that acts solely to collect taxes to pay for fire and ambulance services for an unincorporated area near Westmont will become the fifth unit of local government to be disbanded by DuPage County.

County board members on Tuesday agreed to begin the process of dissolving the North Westmont Fire Protection District. Once the dissolution is complete, the district’s roughly 4,000 residents will continue to get service from the Westmont Fire Department.

As a paper district, North Westmont doesn’t have a fire station, equipment or personnel. Instead, the district collects property taxes from the owners of 561 parcels and uses the money to pay the village of Westmont to provide emergency response and fire services.

Now, through an agreement with Westmont, district residents will pay the village through a newly created special service area. The area is bordered by Westmont to the east and south, Downers Grove to the west and Oak Brook to the north.

In 2013, a state law change gave DuPage the power to eliminate North Westmont and 12 other local government entities. The county has since dissolved the Timberlake Estates Sanitary District, the DuPage Fair and Exposition Authority, the Fairview Fire Protection District, and the Century Hill Street Lighting District. The push to disband the fire protection district began when a 2016 survey found most of the district’s residents supported the idea.

In June 2017, the county board gave Westmont permission to establish the special service area to provide a fair and equitable rate for fire services for all residents. The village approved the proposal in December, and the county clerk established the SSA in February.

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Cary Fire Protection District

Cary Fire Protection District press release

click the press release to download a larger version

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Waukegan Fire/Police Fundraiser

Dear Chicago Area Fire readers-

Myself, a couple of other Waukegan firemen and a few Waukegan cops have been working together for the last year or so to form the Waukegan Police and Fire Memorial Fund (a 501c3 organization).  The idea for the fund was born from the desire to financially assist the surviving spouses and children of our department’s members that die either on or off duty while active sworn members.  The fund will, in the event of the death of one of our members, provide immediate financial assistance to the family.  Longer term, the fund will provide a small birthday and Christmas gift to the surviving children.  We will also give a larger gift to each child upon their high school graduation.  We felt the gifts would be nice, but the main goal is to make sure the family knows that they are still a part of our fire and police family.

Our main fundraiser this year will raffle off a 2018 Indian Chieftain Dark Horse.  The raffle will also include a 2nd place prize of a 2004 Semi Custom Victory Vegas and 3rd prize will be $1500.  Sales taxes on the bikes will also be covered! The raffle will take place 2pm June 2nd at Indian Motorcycle of Libertyville, 416 N. Milwaukee, Libertyville IL 60048.  Indian will be cooking up some free food for the drawing as well. The winner does not need to be present.  500 tickets max will be sold and if less than 400 are sold, $10,000 is the 1st place prize.  Tickets are $100 each.

I’ve attached the flyer to this posting, please pass this along to anyone that you think would be interested.  Print it and hang it at your respective departments if you wish.  If you are interested in a ticket, please see the contact information below.  If you have any questions, please email myself or Officer Brian Maschek at any time.  Thanks in advance for your support, stay safe.

Sincerely,

Firefighter/Paramedic Greg Zahn

Waukegan Fire Department

For tickets or questions;

FF Greg Zahn at Greg.Zahn@waukeganil.gov

Officer Brian Maschek at Brian.Maschek@waukeganil.gov

(click the flyer to download)

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Rolling Meadows Fire Department news

Excerpts from abc7Chicago.com:

At about 4:45 a.m. on Friday, Rolling Meadows firefighters responded to a house in the 3700-block of Meadow Drive to find flames coming from the front windows. A woman coughing called 911, but was then disconnected. A neighbor then called to report the fire.

A dog died and an elderly woman was injured. The 90-year-old woman was transported in critical condition to Lutheran General Hospital, and then transferred to Loyola Medical Center Maywood. Her 45-year-old son also lived in the house and was not injured.

Both the woman and son were in the front yard when firefighters arrived. The woman had burns on her body.

The cause of the fire was immediately not known.

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