Posts Tagged Palatine Rural Fire Protection District

Palatine Rural FPD tax hike does not pass

Mar 20

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | 3 Comments

The Palataine Rural FPD went to voters for a tax hike that was not approved. The Daily Herald has this in an article.

A proposed property tax increase for the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District failed Tuesday by a vote of 611 to 517, with only slightly more than 6 percent of registered voters in the district casting ballots. Despite voters rejecting the measure, the closeness of the vote cheered Fire Chief Hank Clemmensen.

Fire district officials asked for the increase to meet expenses in the face of declining property values. In the light of the vote, a firefighter who was injured and expected to take a pension in a few months will not be replaced, Clemmensen said. Currently the department has five firefighters on duty at all times, and that could decrease to four, he added.

Calls for help from firefighter/paramedics have gone up while the district’s tax revenue dropped $300,000, or about 9 percent in one year, according to district officials. The district received about $3.33 million in property taxes last year, and almost no income from any other source.

Clemmensen said officials will investigate other revenue opportunities, such as renting district property for a cellular communications tower. They also will continue to work on opportunities to share resources with neighboring departments.

The tax hike would have given the district additional revenue of about $200,000 a year. The increase would cost homeowners about $50 for each $100,000 in assessed value of their properties. The most recent assessed valuation in the district was $409 million, down from $445 million the previous year.

The district covers 17 square miles, including the eastern two-thirds of Inverness and unincorporated areas of Palatine Township.

Tags: fire district needs more money, Palatine Rural Chief Hank Clemmensen, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District, voters turn down tax hike for Palatine Rural FPD

Palatine Rural FPD wants tax hike

Feb 23

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 8 Comments

The Daily Herald has an article about a tax increase request from the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District.

The head of the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District said a drop in local property values is the reason the district is asking for a .05 percent tax hike on the ballot March 18.

Chief Hank Clemmensen said the fire district’s financial situation is grim. “Last year we lost $300,000 in tax revenue from the previous year,” Clemmensen said. He said the district only took in $3.33 million from taxes, meaning the lost revenue was around 9 percent.

Clemmensen said almost all of the fire district’s income is from property taxes. He said the assessed valuation of the fire district dropped 8.1 percent, from $445 million in 2011 to $409 million in 2012. If property values stay at around $400 million, the tax hike would net the district $200,000 more per year, which Clemmensen said will be used to keep the district operating.

Should the initiative fail, the chief said they will likely be unable to maintain their current staffing levels, meaning fewer firefighters going out on fire calls. He said currently the district has five firefighters on duty at all times so three people can operate the fire engine and the other two can drive either the ambulance or the 3,000-gallon water tender truck, depending on the call.

Clemmensen said the district’s policy is if two firefighters enter a burning building for a search or rescue there must be two firefighters standing by outside. He said if the tax hike fails, firefighters who leave will not be replaced, and the district may have only four on-duty firefighters at one time.

“In the old days when a fire department lost money it was because people left the community, so calls for service went down,” Clemmensen said. “But my calls have gone up.” The chief said the district still has approximately 17,000 people in about 17 square miles, an area that includes two thirds of Inverness and most of the unincorporated area in Palatine Township.

If the tax hike passes, a homeowner whose property has a $100,000 assessed value would pay an additional $50 in taxes to the fire district.

Another financial consideration is that the district’s 19 firefighters are scheduled to have 2 percent salary hikes in 2013 and 2014. Negotiations for the next labor contract will begin in the fall. The chief said the last time the fire district asked taxpayers for additional funding was in 2005 when voters approved a 0.1 percent tax increase. He said they wouldn’t be asking again if it wasn’t necessary.

Tags: fire district needs more money, Palatine Rural Chief Hank Clemmensen, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District

Fire Department Ice Rescue Training

Feb 1

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

fire department ice rescue training

Palatine Fire Department photo

Tags: FD divers to demonstrate their skills, ice rescue training, Palatine Fire Department, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District, public education about fire department divers, Rolling Meadows Fire Department

Barrington Countryside FPD updates

Nov 6

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

The Daily Herald has an article updating changes to the Barrington Countryside FPD.

Less than two months before they’ll be operating independently, Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District trustees Monday [added an] automatic-aid agreement … with the Fox River Grove Fire Protection District to ones they approved two weeks ago with the fire departments of Lake Zurich and Long Grove.

Still being pursued are auto-aid agreements with the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District, East Dundee, Palatine, Carpentersville and the village of Barrington. The 48-square-mile Barrington Countryside district will stop receiving service from the Barrington Fire Department by contract on Jan. 1.

Despite a request from Inverness Village President Jack Tatooles, Barrington Countryside is no longer pursuing an auto-aid agreement with the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District to provide first response to the west side of Inverness. Barrington Countryside board President Tom Rowan said three offers for a deal were rejected by Palatine Rural, which is seeking only a significant portion of property taxes in exchange for service to that area.

Earlier Monday, Palatine Rural board President Glen Grosch said he still expected a further meeting with Barrington Countryside to discuss the possibility of a deal.

Barrington Countryside trustees Monday did authorize Fire Chief Jeff Swanson to hire three part-time assistant chiefs from private contractor Paramedic Services of Illinois, to work a combined total of no more than 48 hours a week. Swanson said these assistant chiefs, who will work full-time jobs elsewhere, will provide the next level of management in the department below himself.

Though a full-time deputy chief position is being created on paper, it will be left deliberately vacant to see if the department can get by without it, Swanson said.

thanks Dan

Tags: Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District, automatic aid agreements between fire department, Barrington & Countryside Fire Protection District, Barrington & Countryside FPD, Barrington Fire Department, Fire Chief Jeff Swanson, Fox River Grove Fire Protection Distric, Inverness Village President Jack Tatooles, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District, Paramedic Services of Illinois

Barrington Countryside FPD update

Oct 22

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | 2 Comments

The Daily Herald has an article about the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District and their ongoing plans for seperation:

Preparing to run their own independent fire department on Jan. 1, Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District trustees Monday discussed pending automatic-aid agreements with their neighbors and the potential site of a third station of their own. Among the evening’s accomplishments were the approvals of new auto-aid agreements with the Lake Zurich and Long Grove fire departments. Negotiations are under way with the fire departments of Fox River Grove, East Dundee, Palatine, Carpentersville, Hoffman Estates and Barrington for further auto-aid agreements.

A previously discussed auto-aid agreement that Barrington Countryside trustees said they’re no longer pursuing is one that would give the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District primary responsibility for the west side of Inverness. Such an agreement was requested by Inverness Village President Jack Tatooles. The two fire districts disagreed over Palatine Rural’s request for a significant portion of west Inverness’s property taxes for fire protection in exchange for service from its closer station.

Barrington Countryside trustees are also looking again for a possible location for a third station of their own. Such a station had been mulled for the area around Lake-Cook and Ridge roads in Barrington Hills. But trustees said the new and pending auto-aid agreements with surrounding departments might make a different location better to improve response times.

A previous post in this series is HERE.

Tags: Barrington & Countryside Fire Protection District, Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District considers third fire station, fire district and village split in Barrington, Inverness Village President Jack Tatooles, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District

Inverness president wants new auto-aid agreement (update)

Oct 10

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | Comments off

The Inverness president has asked for an agreement between the Barrington Countryside FPD (BCFPD) and the Palatine Rural FPD (PRFPD) that would have the PRFPD respond to all areas of Inverness, even those within the BCFPD. The Daily Herald has an updated article on the matter;

Inverness Village President Jack Tatooles continues to urge Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District trustees to pursue an agreement allowing the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District to cover the west side of his village.

But both fire districts remain skeptical they can overcome financial differences to reach a deal.

“I don’t think this is going to be negotiated,” Palatine Rural President Glen Grosch said Tuesday. “I think this is going to be left as is or changed by a referendum.” Grosch said that he as a board member he can’t change fire district boundaries, but that citizen-driven referendums sometimes can.

Tatooles made his push Tuesday as Barrington Countryside trustees Paul Heinze and Marvin Hill held an informational meeting with community leaders to explain the impacts of the district’s Jan. 1 split from the Barrington Fire Department. Questions from Lake Barrington, South Barrington and Barrington Township officials about staffing levels and the impact of passing trains on response times weren’t as pointed as Tatooles’ on his desired agreement between the two fire protection districts.

Under the proposed agreement, the fire districts would respond to emergency calls within one another’s boundaries if they have the closer station. Tatooles said Palatine Rural’s station is only 1.5 miles from the west side of Inverness, while Barrington Countryside’s Station 2 in Barrington Hills is 5 miles away and Station 3 in Lake Barrington is 7 miles away.

The likelihood of an automatic-aid agreement appears contingent on the working out of a dispute over how much property tax money Palatine Rural would get from it. Grosch said Palatine Rural has rejected a paid-on-call arrangement and is looking for “a large share” of Barrington Countryside’s property taxes from that part of Inverness. Palatine Rural pays the Palatine and Rolling Meadows fire departments for similar coverage of distant corners of its own district, Grosch said. The agreement it seeks with Barrington Countryside would mirror those arrangements but no precise dollar amounts have been filled in, he added.

Tags: Barrington & Countryside Fire Protection District, Inverness Village President Jack Tatooles, Palatine Rural Fire Department, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District, Palatine Rural President Glen Grosch

Palatine Rural FPD begins communication with the two Barrington fire departments

Sep 13

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | 1 Comment

The Daily Herald has an article about the administrative changes which need to be addressed regarding automatic aid agreements between the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District and the Barrington Fire Department and Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District.

Palatine Rural Fire Protection District’s board of trustees has voted to terminate its automatic-aid agreement with the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District and the Barrington Fire Department.

Palatine Rural Chief Hank Clemmensen said the move becomes effective Dec. 31, giving all parties ample time to work out “possible” new agreements before Countryside officially splits from Barrington to operate as an independent fire department.

“We’ll need two auto-aid agreements after Jan. 1,” Clemmensen said. “Now we can sit down with both agencies to renegotiate.”

Palatine Rural’s vote to end the agreement is somewhat of a formality.

Barrington Fire Chief Jim Arie said the village had already planned to work out a new agreement with Palatine Rural that recognizes the separation from Barrington Countryside.

Clemmensen emphasized that any future auto-aid agreement, which is designed to provide immediate initial responses to an emergency by the closest fire station regardless of jurisdiction, would need to be fair and equitable for all sides.

Currently, Palatine Rural’s jurisdiction generally covers the eastern two-thirds of Inverness. Western Inverness and north of Dundee, including the area by Ela Road just 1.5 miles north of the Palatine Rural station, are in Countryside’s district. Clemmensen said Palatine Rural responds to those areas with an engine for most calls, essentially subsidizing service. A fee could help make up the difference when there’s not much opportunity for reciprocation of service. “My board doesn’t feel we’re getting the same return,” Clemmensen said. “It’s not fair to our residents to support another fire district for daily operations.”

A Barrington Countryside spokesman said the district isn’t surprised or concerned with the termination, and added that both districts are discussing other options for aid should any be necessary considering the Countryside’s increased staffing in 2014.

Clemmensen maintained it would “behoove” residents of western Inverness to have Palatine Rural always respond since its station is closer. However, he said he can’t take resources away from his own district’s residents. If a satisfactory auto-aid agreement can’t be reached with Barrington Countryside, he said an alternative could be for Palatine Rural to expand its jurisdiction. For that to happen, residents of Barrington Countryside would have to petition for a referendum to annex into Palatine Rural.

thanks Dan

Tags: automatic aid agreements between fire department, Barrington Countryside Fire Protection Distric, Barrington Fire Chief Jim Arie, Barrington Fire Department, Palatine Rural Chief Hank Clemmensen, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District

Inverness president wants new auto-aid agreement

Sep 5

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | 1 Comment

The Daily Herald has an article featuring the Inverness mayor who wants the Palatine Rural FPD to cover all of Inverness.

Leaders of villages served by the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District are largely expressing satisfaction with the district’s plans to protect homes and businesses as an independent fire department after Jan. 1.

But Inverness Village President Jack Tatooles is asking for one more thing to feel comfortable. Given the distances to his village from the district’s stations in Lake Barrington and Barrington Hills, Tatooles wants to see a tweaked automatic-aid agreement that would have the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District respond to all calls in Inverness.

“That Pepper Road station (in Lake Barrington) is so far away it might as well be in Wisconsin,” Tatooles said. “I think Palatine Rural can better serve the western side of our town.”

While the Lake Barrington station is about 7 miles from the nearest part of Inverness and the Barrington Hills station just over 5 miles away, Palatine Rural’s station is only 1.5 miles from the west side of the village. Palatine Rural’s own jurisdiction covers the eastern two-thirds of Inverness. And while Palatine Rural already has an automatic-aid agreement with Barrington Countryside, Tatooles believes this agreement should be amended to reflect that the village of Barrington’s own fire station on Route 14 will no longer be affiliated with Barrington Countryside next year.

The fire district serves portions of Inverness, Barrington Hills, Lake Barrington, South Barrington and unincorporated Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

Palatine Rural Fire Chief Hank Clemmensen said Tatooles’ request sounded reasonable and that the fire district has had a strong relationship with Inverness over the years. “When we do automatic-aid agreements, we want them to be equal in some way,” Clemmensen said. “It’s not fair to my residents to have a lopsided auto-aid agreement.” A fee can help make up the difference where there’s not much opportunity for reciprocation of service. For instance, Palatine Rural pays fees to the villages of Palatine and Rolling Meadows so they can respond automatically to a southeastern area of the district closer to their respective stations.

Though the village of Barrington has proposed an automatic-aid agreement with Barrington Countryside, the fire district’s trustees have expressed their belief that they could be giving more than they’d be getting. The fire district is significantly increasing its staffing from three firefighters at each station per shift to five or six. Trustees also recently agreed to offer jobs to the 19 Barrington firefighters to be laid off at the end of the year at their current union-level salaries.

Both Barrington Hills Village President Martin McLaughlin and South Barrington Village President Paula McCombie expressed satisfaction with the level of service and with the retention of experience in the fire district.

McLaughlin, however, said he would like to learn more about the financial impact of adding to the staff and wonders why the district would even contemplate a referendum to provide firefighter pensions without a significant increase in the district’s population.

thanks Dan

Tags: Barrington & Countryside Fire Protection District, Barrington Countryside board President Tom Rowan, Barrington Hills Village President Martin McLaughlin, Inverness Village President Jack Tatooles, Palatine Rural Fire Department, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District, South Barrington Village President Paula McCombie

Northwest departments amend mutual aid agreement

Aug 28

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | 3 Comments

Press Release

August 21, 2013

The Palatine Rural Fire Protection District, the Village of Palatine Fire Department and the City of Rolling Meadows Fire Department Update Automatic Aid Agreements.

Fire department officials from the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District, the Village of Palatine and the City of Rolling Meadows have identified another opportunity to further enhance existing intergovernmental agreements. Chief officers from the three jurisdictions have agreed to update separate agreements pertaining to command and control of emergency incidents to allow the closest designated incident commander to respond and assume command of emergency incidents. Prior to this alteration, incident command functions were provided to the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District’s jurisdictional response area via separate agreements with the Rolling Meadows and Palatine Fire Departments. In the updated arrangement, Rolling Meadows Fire Department shift commanders will assume command of all incidents within the southern response area of the Palatine Rural District; specifically all areas south of Palatine Road. Incidents north of Palatine Road will be managed by the Village of Palatine Fire Department’s on duty incident commander.

Since 2012, the three jurisdictions have met on a regular basis to explore opportunities to consolidate administrative and operational duties in an effort to provide safer and more efficient use of resources. Expanded training opportunities and emergency response efforts continue to evolve and develop as a result of enhanced partnering efforts between the three organizations.

Tags: fire departments share services, mutual aid agreements between neighboring fire departments, Palatine Fire Department, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District, Rolling Meadows Fire Department

Inverness house fire 3-27-13

Mar 27

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene, Fire, Fire Service Photos, Fire Truck photos | Comments off

The Palatine Rural FPD received a report from a citizen that had observed smoke coming from a house at 124 Poteet in Inverness, two blocks from the fire station. Engine 36 requested a fire response and then upgraded it to a working fire (Code 4) minutes later upon arrival at the scene. Companies from Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows, Barrington, East Dundee, West Dundee, Palatine, Long Grove, Buffalo Grove, and Prospect Heights were called to assist.

Companies had smoke from a first floor kitchen window, and the occupants were not at home. Firefighters encountered conditions inside the house consistent with a collier’s mansion, and were able to contain and extinguish the fire within 20 minutes.

Larry Shapiro went to the scene and arrived after the fire was knocked down. Here are several images from the scene.

Hoffman Estates firefighters await an assignment outside the house. Larry Shapiro photo

Palatine Rural FPD Engine 36 at a fire scene

Palatine Rural FPD Engine 36 had two lines off. Larry Shapiro photo

Palatine Rural Tanker 36 dropped their portable tank in case the fire required additional water from the East Dundee and Prospect Heights tankers that were in staging. Larry Shapiro photo

Palatine Rural FPD Tanker 36 nurses Engine 36 in this subdivision without hydrants. Larry Shapiro photo

Hoffman Estates Fire Department Reserve Truck 24

Hoffman Estates Truck 22 is running with the reserve aerial. The tower ladder will be out of service undergoing paint and bodywork by RPI for the next several months. Larry Shapiro photo