Excerpts from the woodstockindependent.com:
After working four months without a contract, Woodstock firefighters have ratified a new 3-year contract with the financially strapped Woodstock Fire/Rescue District. The contract was unchanged from the tentative agreement rejected July 6 by Woodstock Career Firefighters Local 4813.
But acceptance came after the fire chief and district board president met with union members to lay out a four-stage program for spending priorities.
Although pay increases are included in each year of the contract, firefighters have said they will forgo raises the first two years to help the struggling district. The most immediate impact of the new contract will be in reduced staffing for each shift, from 14 down to 12. A personnel shortage has forced the district to spend about $5,000 a day in overtime to meet the contractual obligation. Fire Chief Mike Hill said the new staffing model was scheduled to go into effect this past Sunday.
The union also adopted a resolution in support of a referendum to increase district revenues with a property tax increase, which would need voter approval. But district officials decided to delay the referendum until April to give them more time to inform the public about the district’s financial issues and the consequences if more revenue isn’t found to support fire and ambulance services.
The referendum, which had been placed on the ballot for the Nov. 6 election, would bring in nearly $1.17 million a year more in property taxes. District officials figure that would mean an extra $60 a year for a single-family residence with a fair market value of $100,000.
Woodstock city officials, who already are paying the district’s $36,000 annual increase in fees from the new regional dispatching service, will consider additional assistance during a city council work session Sept. 13.
After voting to ratify the new pact, Local 4813 members said concessions they made in the contract should save the district about $750,000 over the next two years. In addition to the pay freeze, firefighters forfeited an education allowance, accepted a reduced uniform allowance, and forfeited a vacation day.
The union noted it had made concessions before. In 2016, firefighters agreed to a cut in staffing, took a 25 percent reduction in holiday pay, and increased their contributions to the insurance plan to help offset lost revenue when the village of Lakewood canceled an intergovernmental agreement for fire protection.
#1 by Jim on September 4, 2018 - 4:18 PM
Mike,
To say the budget has not gone up is incorrect. The taxing rate has not gone up but the budget has as the EAV has increased. I’m not saying they don’t need an increase but what cuts have they made?
#2 by Mike on September 3, 2018 - 4:03 PM
The issue with Woodstock is for years the the trustees have kept the tax rate the same. They never increased the rate every year and left money on the table. This was good and thoughtful for the taxpayers but the issue is costs have gone up. Apparatus costs more salaries and benefits cost more, consumables cost more but they’re working off the same budget and now after years of cuts there isn’t anymore cutting to be done. The property taxes the district collects per household is very small compared to other taxing bodies in the Woodstock area. So we can only hope that the residents will understand this next year when the referendum comes up.
#3 by lisbon seward resident on September 3, 2018 - 11:05 AM
Its not just paid departments that are in trouble, also volunteer departments. For example Lisbon Seward, located in southeastern Kendall County, surrounded by departments that have multi million dollar budgets, Joliet, Troy, Plainfield, Oswego, Minooka, Morris. The firefighters want to update their vehicles which are 25 to 52 years old and have offered to offset the costs by donating their fundraising money to the trustees to purchase a Rescue Engine. They cover 60 square miles, have 2 stations and survive on $130,000.00 per year. It must be through sheer dedication that this department still keeps going!
#4 by Jim on September 1, 2018 - 7:09 PM
Another district seeking a tax increase. It seems like a lot of fire districts are in serious trouble.