Posts Tagged Friends of the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District

Algonquin-Lake in the Hills FPD news

Excerpts from mysuburbanlife.com:

The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District can start restoring services that have been cut and setting aside funds for long-term needs after an emergency and rescue tax was passed Tuesday, Fire Chief Peter Van Dorpe said. About 7,790 voters – or 54 percent – voted yes, and 6,593 voters – or 46 percent – voted no, according to unofficial results. The district, which serves about 40,000 residents in Algonquin and Lake in the Hills, is expecting the tax to generate about $800,000 a year.

The 0.1 percent tax will add about $65 on the property tax bill of the owner of a $200,000 house. District voters rejected the same referendum in the March primary by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent.

About half of the funds gained from the tax are expected to go toward the department’s vehicle replacement fund. The department also plans on putting an ambulance back in service that has been out of commission for about two years, taking care of deferred building repairs, waiving fees insurance won’t cover for patients being transported to the hospital and planning to set aside money for a dive team.

Some residents have questioned why the district needed the tax when it had a little less than $200,000 surplus in fiscal 2016, Van Dorpe said.

He said the district’s 2016 budget was prepared before the March referendum results were in, and the department anticipated it would get the money needed to make repairs at its stations. When the referendum did not pass, the projects were deferred, so the money set aside for them never was used, he said. The surplus also did not provide enough funds for long-term planning, he said.

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Algonquin-Lake in the Hills FPD news

Excerpts from the NWHerald.com:

A referendum to add a new property tax for the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District will be back on the ballot in November after it failed in the March election.

Fire Chief Peter Van Dorpe said the referendum hasn’t changed, asking for a 0.1 percent emergency and rescue tax, which would add about $65 on the property tax bill of the owner of a $200,000 house.

District officials have said the money is needed because of a loss of revenue from the commercial fire alarm business and added costs from the Affordable Care Act.

Without more funds, the estimated 40,000 residents the department serves in Algonquin and Lake in the Hills will see reduced service, Van Dorpe said.

In March, the referendum was rejected by 53.2 percent of voters. If the tax is passed, it would generate about $800,000 a year, Van Dorpe said.

To keep a balanced budget, Van Dorpe said he’s already had to cut administrative staff in half and reduce equipment. The department also is not setting aside any extra money, he said, and has 15 on-duty personnel, lower than the National Fire Protection Association’s recommendation of 17.

Because the district is not a municipal department, adding a property tax is the only option it has to add revenue. The only other option the district has is to make more cuts.

Norm Bemis is leading efforts to spread the word about the referendum through Friends of the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District. As an Algonquin resident and Palatine firefighter, Bemis said he realizes the importance of having timely emergency response intervention.

Information sessions on the referendum will be held at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 21, Oct. 27 and Nov. 2 at the fire department, 1020 W. Algonquin Road, Lake in the Hills. For information, visit http://www.alfpd.org/.

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