Excerpts from shawlocal.com:
Residents served by the Fox River & Countryside Fire Rescue District will be asked if they support the district’s plan to sell up to $13 million in general obligation bonds in part to build a new fire station and replacing aging vehicles and equipment.
The question will appear on the June 28 primary ballot. The bonds would be used to invest in equipment, vehicle and station upgrades, and refinance existing obligations.
The Fox River & Countryside Fire Rescue District – which includes the unincorporated areas of St. Charles and Campton townships as well as the villages of Campton Hills and Wayne – protects more than 35,000 residents in a 38 square-mile area of DuPage and Kane counties.
“The district has reached a crucial point, as we have seen a 148% increase in the demand for emergency services over the last decade,” Fox River & Countryside Fire Rescue District Fire Chief Bert Lancaster said in a news release from the district. “We have made the most of the resources available to us during this period of growth, but we will need to act now to ensure the current and future needs of the community are met.”
Residents are being asked to:
• Support the purchase of new vehicles and the replacement of aging gear that is no longer in compliance to reduce long-term maintenance costs.
• Fund an additional, more centrally located fire station and provide necessary updates to the two existing stations, which will help reduce response times.
• Refinance existing obligations to further maximize taxpayer resources and free up annual budget to support staff hiring, training and retention costs.
“The district is primarily funded through property taxes and does not receive funding as part of town or village budgets,” Fox River & Countryside Fire Rescue District President Kristin LeBlanc said in the release. “We have done our due diligence in reviewing the financial options available to us and issuing general obligation bonds are the most effective and fiscally responsible path forward. Being a good financial steward is a priority for us, as we have long been one of the most cost efficient fire protection districts in the western suburbs.”
If approved, taxpayers will see an anticipated property tax increase of approximately $37.84 annually (or $3.15 monthly) on a property with an equalized assessed value of $100,000, or $130.12 annually (or $10.84 monthly) on a property with an equalized assessed value of $300,000, the release stated. This increase is anticipated to begin with bills issued in 2023.
Assessed value is the value of the property per the assessors office and equalized assessed value is 1/3 of that number in the collar counties.
thanks Rob
#1 by Mike C on April 19, 2022 - 7:37 AM
I don’t think there are any administrators that remain from when the fire district originated. I don’t think this fire district is as bad as some make it out to be. The original administrators and advocates of this fire district fed the people in the district bad information. Dissolving the fire district isn’t as easy as you might think. If St. Charles was smart back in the day, they should have expanded to provide better coverage in Campton Hills and Valley View. The people in the Fox River fire district do not get as good of service as they would if St. Charles expanded years ago.
#2 by Cmk420 on April 18, 2022 - 10:16 PM
And to think I applied for, and was interviewed for, a position with FRCFR when they first were starting up.
#3 by Rj on April 16, 2022 - 8:20 PM
Makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up when a private company advises a board of appointed fire district members who might spend g$13 million. $13m is s LOT, a very nice station and several rigs! What do they need?Anybody know how many calls this department runs?
#4 by harry on April 16, 2022 - 9:31 AM
i could see maybe an ambulance but i cant imagine they need anything else or maybe a new battalion car since that is a 2011 expedition or maybe a new cheif car being that when i was there back in like 2013 they still had a crown victoria
#5 by Austin on April 16, 2022 - 8:50 AM
When they started in 2010 they had several new International/Alexis apparatus, a refurbished Seagrave by Alexis, an ambulance or two, and some reserve stuff. None of that is around anymore, maybe except a reserve. That alone is a red flag, especially given that the Internationals didn’t stay very long. This department has done nothing except to waste money. How can they build a new station when they were browning out the station in Campton Hills? Did they magically solve their finances? This was the most horribly thought out department since inception.
I don’t get the need for a new station either. The district is huge, but that is because St. Charles and South Elgin have a lot of the coverage in between FRC, mostly following the Fox River. The vast majority of the district is in or around Campton Hills, and a decent amount of people in the Valley View area off of rt. 25. Both areas have stations already. The rest is farms or open space, so why another station? Campton Hills needs to man up and start their own department, they have some tax revenue from stores on rt. 64 and a population of 13,000 which is mostly middle class or higher. They should buy the existing station in Campton Hills from FRC, and make their own department there. For the record I lived in that area for almost 30 years, and was still there when this whole thing started. I’ve seen all of this since we were all blindsided by this decision when it was announced in late 2009.
#6 by Mike C on April 16, 2022 - 8:09 AM
What’s difficult about this situation is that when this fire district was implemented, the residents in the jurisdiction were promised that a new fire district would start and their taxes wouldn’t increase.
I’m not exactly sure where Fox River hopes or plans to build another station but there is a large gap between their 2 current stations.
Fox River seems to have a relatively newer apparatus fleet. Unless they build another station, do they in fact need any new apparatus?
#7 by michael m on April 16, 2022 - 7:23 AM
It would be the best for all concerned parties if the district dissolved and the State Fire Marshal divided the district up. Maybe if that happened, that would convince Campton Hills to start their own Fire Department. Campton Hills certainly would have the money to start their own department if they wanted to. They do need a fire department out in that part of the area. They are too far from St. Charles station 3.
I would be curious to find out how many runs they get in Campton Hills Specifically. Maybe it is not as busy as I think it is. But Campton Hills is a town of 11,000. It is a decent sized suburb. It officially became a village 15 years ago in 2007.
#8 by Mike on April 16, 2022 - 6:29 AM
And the train wreck of the FRCFPD continues on..
#9 by michael m on April 15, 2022 - 6:05 PM
From what I have seen over the last 10 years, they have been able to keep the rigs at least current. Despite the financial situation and at least 3 failed referendums’. They have a 2020 Pumper-Tanker at Station 2 and a 2021 Mini Pumper at Station 1. My guess is they purchased the Mini Pumper to save wear and tear on Engine 11, which I believe is a 2016 Alexis.
#10 by michael m on April 15, 2022 - 6:01 PM
Where would this station be located? They have stations in or near the most populated parts of the district. The one close to Wayne and the one in Campton Hills. I wonder what percentage of the district is rural. I believe there is a huge chunk of farmland on 47 that is technically part of Campton Hills but there is nothing out there.
#11 by Rich S. on April 15, 2022 - 5:24 PM
Well if memory serves I believe they still have a 1988 spartan/E-one engine. And they are trying to add a house to cut times maybe they are for that. I love all of you expert’s in other peoples business and solutions. And all the haters of this department it makes me smile. Keyboard warriors
#12 by harry on April 15, 2022 - 4:09 PM
they have vehicles 12 years and under what do they need to replace nothing