Bill Text: IL SB3255 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Amends the Fire Protection District Act. Provides for the creation of unified fire protection districts by contiguous units of local government (municipalities, counties, fire protection districts, and townships) to reduce the costs of providing fire protection and emergency medical services. Provides that unified fire protection districts may be created by an intergovernmental agreement. Sets forth the requirements for the petition and intergovernmental agreement, including referendum approval of the agreement. Sets forth the process for referendum approval. Contains other provisions. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [SB3255 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-SB3255-Introduced.html

---

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2011 and 2012 SB3255 Introduced 2/1/2012, by Sen. William R. Haine SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
70 ILCS 705/30 new
Amends the Fire Protection District Act. Provides for the creation of unified fire protection districts by contiguous units of local government (municipalities, counties, fire protection districts, and townships) to reduce the costs of providing fire protection and emergency medical services. Provides that unified fire protection districts may be created by an intergovernmental agreement. Sets forth the requirements for the petition and intergovernmental agreement, including referendum approval of the agreement. Sets forth the process for referendum approval. Contains other provisions. Effective immediately.
LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
SB3255 LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
AN ACT concerning local government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by
adding Section 30 as follows:
(70 ILCS 705/30 new)
Sec. 30. Unified Fire Protection District.
(a) Purpose. A Unified Fire Protection District may be
formed by filing a petition for a referendum for the purpose of
integrating existing service areas within contiguous units of
local government to achieve a net savings in the cost of fire
protection and emergency medical services in every included
jurisdiction by the reduction or elimination of duplicative
administrative costs, equipment, or capital expenditures, to a
level that is preferably less, but no greater than, the
aggregate costs of the fire departments included in the
petition; unless the District can demonstrate any increase in
the aggregate costs or an increase in the costs of the fire
department of a participating unit of local government would
justify an upgrade of the quality of services provided by the
District or unit of local government, pursuant to an
intergovernmental agreement. For the purpose of this Act, any
county, municipality, fire protection district, or township is

SB3255 - 2 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
a unit of local government eligible to petition for unification
with another unit of local government. The creation of a
Unified Fire Protection District shall be secured by an
intergovernmental agreement that includes terms that meet the
standards set forth in subsection (e).
(b) Petition. A Unified Fire Protection District may be
formed upon petition signed by the lesser of: (i) at least 100
legal voters in each of the units of local government proposed
to be unified or (ii) or 10% of the legal voters in each of the
units of local government to be included in the Unified Fire
Protection District. The petition shall be filed in the circuit
court for the county in which the greater part of the land in
the proposed Unified Fire Protection District will be situated.
The petition shall set forth (i) the names of the units of
local government proposed to be included, (ii) the name of the
proposed Unified Fire Protection District, (iii) the
advantages to be derived from the inclusion of the units of
local government in a Unified Fire Protection District, (iv)
the number of trustees who shall serve on the board, and (v)
whether the trustees shall be elected or appointed. Upon its
filing, the petition shall be presented to the court, and the
court shall fix the date and hour for a hearing.
(c) Notice of hearing. Upon the filing of the petition, the
court shall set a hearing date that is at least 4 weeks but not
more than 8 weeks after the date the petition is filed, and the
court, or the clerk or sheriff upon order of the court, shall

SB3255 - 3 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
give notice 21 days before the hearing in one or more daily or
weekly newspapers of general circulation in each county where a
unit of local government included in the petition is organized
and by posting at least 10 copies of the notice in conspicuous
places in the proposed District. The notice must describe the
proposed units of local government to be included and must
state that if the conditions required by this Section are met,
then the proposition for the creation of the District shall be
submitted to the voters of the proposed District by order of
the court.
(d) Hearing and referendum. To certify a question for
referendum approval, the court must find that: (i) based upon a
preponderance of the evidence, the representatives of each of
the parties to the proposed District has executed an
intergovernmental agreement that includes terms that are in
compliance with the standards required for the formation of a
District, as set forth in subsection (e); and (ii) the terms of
an agreed upon intergovernmental agreement have been approved
by the governing bodies of each of the units of local
government and any collective bargaining unit involved.
At the hearing, the court shall first determine if the
petition is supported by the required number of valid
signatures of legal voters within the contiguous units of local
government. If the petition is proper, then the court shall
remand the matter to a joint committee for the purpose of
negotiating the terms of an intergovernmental agreement. The

SB3255 - 4 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
court shall appoint members of the joint committee from the
following parties:
(1) At least one representative of each unit of local
government included within the proposed service area of the
proposed District;
(2) At least one representative of each exclusive
bargaining representative that is a party to a collective
bargaining unit within a unit of local government included
within the proposed District; and
(3) At least one representative of the petitioners from
each unit of local government included within the proposed
District after an election among the legal voters signatory
to the petition from such units of local government.
Committee members shall meet from time to time to negotiate
an intergovernmental agreement. Negotiations may continue for
a period of 90 days or, if the court determines that additional
time will facilitate agreement, longer. If no agreement is
reached, the court shall dismiss the petition.
If an agreement is reached, the court shall schedule an
evidentiary hearing with notice thereof to determine if the
terms of the agreement are in compliance with the requirements
of subsection (e).
An agreement shall be executed by the authorized
representative of each party appointed to the committee by the
court for each unit of local government included in the
proposed District. If the agreement is not executed by

SB3255 - 5 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
representatives of all 3 parties of a unit of local government
included in the original petition, then the petition may
proceed so long as the agreement is executed by all parties
representing 2 or more units of local government included in
the original petition. The non-consenting units of local
government shall be dismissed, and an amended petition on
behalf of the consenting units shall be scheduled for an
evidentiary hearing.
The following persons or entities, or their duly authorized
representatives, shall have standing to present evidence at the
hearing: the petitioners, the units of local government that
will be included in the proposed District, and representatives
of each exclusive bargaining representative that is a party to
a collective bargaining unit within a unit of local government
included within the proposed District.
If the court finds that all of the requirements of
subsection (e) are not met, it may remand the matter for
further negotiations between the parties and consider an
amended intergovernmental agreement in the same manner as
provided in this Section for an initial intergovernmental
agreement.
If the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence,
that the petition is supported by a proper intergovernmental
agreement, the court shall enter an order certifying the
proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit
to the legal voters of each included unit of local government

SB3255 - 6 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
at an election thereafter the question of whether the creation
of the proposed District shall be approved. Notice of the
election shall be given and the election conducted in the
manner provided by the general election law. The notice shall
state the boundaries of the District. The election authority
must submit the proposition in substantially the following
form:
Shall the (names of existing departments be combined)
and (name of the Unified Fire Protection District) be
created with an aggregate tax extension of (insert amount
of tax-capped entity) with the authority to levy property
taxes for the following purposes: (insert purposes)?
The court shall cause a written statement of the results of
the election to be filed in the court. If, in each unit of
local government included within the boundaries of the
District, a majority of the voters voting on the question shall
favor the proposition, then the court shall issue an order
stating that the District has been approved.
(e) Minimum standards of service. The terms of the
intergovernmental agreement shall guarantee that all of the
following standards of service are met:
(1) The formation of the District will result in no net
increase in the cost of fire protection services and
emergency medical services for every included unit of local

SB3255 - 7 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
government based on the reduction or elimination of
duplicative administrative staff, operational costs,
services, equipment, or capital expenditures, unless the
District can demonstrate that an increase in the aggregate
cost of the fire departments of the participating units of
local government costs justify an upgrade in the quality of
services provided to the District as a whole or a
participating unit of local government, as provided in the
terms of the intergovernmental agreement.
(2) The formation of the District will not increase
average response times in any included unit of local
government.
(3) The taxing authority of a District shall be limited
to ensure that the transition from providing fire
protection by means of separate units of local government
to extended service areas by means of the District results
in no net increase in property taxes levied upon taxpayers
residing in an affected jurisdiction as follows:
(i) Any property tax levied by the District on a
resident taxpayer shall be offset by an abatement of
taxes in the affected jurisdiction in an amount equal
to the amount of the District's levy; and
(ii) Municipalities that fund fire department
operations in whole or part from revenues collected
from sources other than property taxes shall continue
to contribute those revenues to the District to fund

SB3255 - 8 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
operations and shall not substitute property taxes for
such revenues, unless otherwise agreed to by all
parties to the intergovernmental agreement.
(4) The District shall apply savings in operating costs
as follows:
(i) 50% shall be applied to reduce, pro rata, the
property tax levy for fire or emergency medical
services applied to property owners residing in the
units of local government included in the District; and
(ii) 50% shall be contributed, pro rata, as
applicable, to each included unit of local
government's Firemen's Pension Fund, and those
contributions shall be applied as a credit to reduce
the unfunded accrued liability of the Fund, if one
exists. If no unfunded accrued liabilities exist, such
savings in operating costs shall be applied to reduce,
pro rata, the property tax levy for fire or emergency
medical services applied to property owners residing
in the units of local government included in the
District that are parties to the intergovernmental
agreement.
(f) Governing Board. The District shall be governed by a
Board of 5 or 7 trustees established as provided in subsection
(j). The Board shall elect a chairperson from among its
members, who shall vote only in the case of a tie. The vote of
each trustee shall be proportional to the population of the

SB3255 - 9 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
unit of local government represented. The population for the
allocation of votes under this subsection shall be based upon
the most recent federal decennial census results. The trustees
shall be elected or appointed in the same manner and shall meet
the same eligibility requirements of other elected or appointed
fire protection district trustees.
(g) Powers and duties. The District shall have the power,
duties, and obligations of a Fire Protection District as
otherwise provided under this Act, except as modified or
limited by the provisions of this Section. The District shall
develop a budget funded at a level sufficient to ensure the
quality of service provided to the residents of the service
area within the boundary of the included units of local
government continues at a level equal to or greater than those
provided prior to the modification.
(h) Local fire departments. The establishment of a District
as a separate named unit of local government shall not prevent
its constituent units of local government from continuing to
identify their historical fire departments with the names of
their localities. In that event, local fire departments shall
be described as [local name] Branch of the [named District].
(i) Single chain of command. Upon the entry of an order
establishing a District, the fire departments of the
constituent units of local government shall lose their separate
existence under separate chains of command and shall be
operated under a single chain of command under the leadership

SB3255 - 10 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
of one fire chief who shall be appointed by the Board of the
District. Chiefs and subordinate chief officers who are
redundant under the single chain of command or consolidated
shifts established under the Board shall be eligible to apply
for vacancies in positions, including but not limited to
training officer, EMS coordinator, fire inspector, or company
officer, that may be established under the terms of the
intergovernmental agreement entered into by the parties,
provided that the positions shall not be available to any
person who is already retired and receiving benefits under
Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Code. Any reduction to a
bargaining unit position resulting from the abolishment of a
non-bargaining unit position shall be subject to compliance
with the bargaining rights of any affected collective
bargaining representative. Upon taking office, the fire chief
of the District shall command all shifts covering the unified
service area of the units of local government included in the
District. The District shall thereupon become a body politic
and corporate with all the powers, rights, duties, and
obligations vested in it under the terms of the
intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise provided under
the provisions of this Act.
(j) Trustees. Upon the organization of the District, the
duties of each included unit of local government relating to
operating a fire department and emergency medical services
within the boundaries of the District shall be transferred to

SB3255 - 11 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
the Board of the District to be exercised according to the
terms of the intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise
provided under the provisions of this Act. If a District is
wholly contained within a single county, the trustees for the
District shall be appointed by the chief executive officer of
the county board with the advice and consent of the county
board. If the District lies within more than one county, the
number of trustees who are residents of a county shall be in
proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the number of
residents of the District who reside in that county in relation
to the total population of the District, unless the District
has voted by referendum to elect the trustees.
Thereafter, each trustee shall be succeeded by a resident
of the same county who shall be appointed by the same
appointing authority. The appropriate appointing authorities
shall appoint at least 5 trustees of the District within 60
days after the entry of the order establishing the District.
The trustees shall be electors in the District, provided that
the Board shall consist of a trustee representing each unit of
local government included in the District. The trustees shall
hold such terms of offices and shall have the powers and
qualifications that are provided for trustees under Section 4.
In the event of a conflict between the terms of the
intergovernmental contract and the powers of the trustees
otherwise provided by law, the terms of the intergovernmental
contract shall prevail and supersede.

SB3255 - 12 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
(k) Firefighters and EMS personnel employed by a unit of
local government included in the District. All firefighters and
EMS personnel lawfully in the employment of any unit of local
government included in the District shall remain members of the
fire departments that they are serving on the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, but shall be
subject to the unified chain of command established under the
Board.
A District consisting of any fire department that employs
full-time officers or members shall be subject to Sections
16.01 through 16.18 of this Act unless agreed otherwise by
terms of the intergovernmental agreement agreed to by the units
of local government and the exclusive bargaining agents
representing employees engaged in providing fire protection or
emergency medical services within the service area of the
District.
(l) Contracts between an exclusive bargaining agent and a
unit of local government. Contracts in effect between an
exclusive bargaining agent and a unit of local government shall
continue according to their terms. Successor contracts shall be
negotiated in accordance with the provisions of the Illinois
Public Labor Relations Act. Upon agreement of any 2 or more
units of local government and corresponding exclusive
bargaining representatives, and approval of that agreement by a
majority of the members of each respective bargaining unit, any
2 or more bargaining units may be consolidated within a single

SB3255 - 13 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
bargaining unit.
(m) Distribution of specified taxes. Any unit of local
government that is included in a District shall be exempt from
any reduction in the formula for distribution of income tax
revenues, pursuant to Section 901 of the Illinois Income Tax
Act, and personal property replacement tax revenues, pursuant
to subsection (c) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax
Act, collected from local taxpayers by State agencies and
heretofore redistributed to the units of local government based
on the formula and laws in effect as of the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.
A District shall be eligible to receive the distribution of
income tax revenues collected from local taxpayers according to
the same formula applicable to municipalities.
(n) Outstanding bonds and notes. In the case of any unit of
local government included in a District that has bonds or notes
outstanding that fund the operation of its fire department that
are a lien on funds on hand in the treasury at the time of
inclusion, the lien shall be unimpaired by the inclusion and
the lien shall continue in favor of the bond or note holders.
The funds on hand subject to the lien shall be set apart and
held for the purpose of retiring such secured debt, and no such
funds shall be transferred into the general funds of the
District until all indebtedness of the unit of local government
entering into the District has been discharged.
In the case of any unit of local government joined into a

SB3255 - 14 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
District that has unsecured debts outstanding at the time of
inclusion, any funds in the treasury of the unit of local
government otherwise available and not committed shall, to the
extent necessary, be applied to the payment of those debts.
All property in the District, without discrimination
between the territory in the several units of local government,
shall be subject to taxation to pay the debts, bonds, and
obligations created after the establishment of the District.
(o) Effects of inclusion. The inclusion of any unit of
local government into a District shall not, unless agreed upon
in an intergovernmental agreement, affect the obligation of any
contract entered into by the unit of local government. Such
contracts shall remain the obligation of the unit of local
government that incurred the obligation.
The inclusion of units of local government shall not
adversely affect proceedings for the collection or enforcement
of any tax. The proceedings shall proceed to a finality as
though no inclusion had taken place. The proceeds thereof shall
be paid over to the treasurer of the unit of local government
subject to the terms of the intergovernmental agreement to be
used, however, for the purpose for which the tax was levied or
assessed.
All suits pending in any court on behalf of or against any
unit of local government relating to the provision of fire or
emergency medical services when the unit of local government is
joined into a District may be prosecuted or defended in the

SB3255 - 15 - LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b
name of the unit of local government unless otherwise provided
in the intergovernmental agreement. All judgments obtained for
any unit of local government joined into a District shall be
collected and enforced by the District for its benefit unless
otherwise provided in the intergovernmental agreement.
The title to all property of a unit of local government
related to providing fire or emergency medical services in the
District that is transferred to the District under the terms of
the intergovernmental agreement shall remain vested in the unit
of local government, to be held for the same purposes and uses,
and subject to the same conditions as before inclusion.
(p) Exclusivity. Any intergovernmental contracts otherwise
authorized by law that relate to the combining of contracts or
the integration of service areas where fire protection or
emergency medical services are performed shall be done
exclusively by referendum in accordance with this Section.