Referendum aims to solve Spring Valley Fire Department’s financial woes

The Spring Valley Fire Department has always been there for the citizens of its city. Through times both good and bad, its firefighters have been ready to put their lives on the line whenever they were needed.

Now, it is hoping those citizens will be there for them and realize that, by helping the department with an upcoming referendum question, they are helping themselves.

The question on the Nov. 5 ballot will ask voters to decide on the “formation of a fire protection district to be known as the Spring Valley Fire Protection District.”

An affirmative vote would allow the SVFD to increase its tax rate from 15 cents to the maximum 30 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, providing it with the funds it needs to purchase and maintain equipment that has been in service much longer than was intended.

The increase would double the $135,000 of tax money annually directed to the SVFD.

A vote against the formation of a fire protection district would leave the department where it is now, struggling to afford new equipment and to meet recommended standards set by the National Fire Protection Association regarding the replacement and/or maintenance of its equipment.

Spring Valley Fire Chief Todd Bogatitus said new Occupational Safety and Health Administration training and medical recommendations are on the way that will cost departments about $14,000 a year.

There are some areas outside the city limits that are paid subscribers for SVFD’s fire protection, but they pay a fraction of what residents pay, the chief said. Those will be brought in under the protection of the new district and be taxed accordingly.

But that would not be enough to provide up-to-date fire services.

“In my opinion, it’s a no-brainer,” Bogatitus said. “People don’t realize how little they’re paying for this fire department (about $40 a year) because it’s not itemized on the tax bill. I think they’d be surprised to learn the (Richard A. Mautino Memorial Library) receives more tax money than the fire department does.

“The amount we’re getting is just a little piece of the pie and really isn’t enough for us to operate on. We can’t continue operating on a budget from the 1980s.”

There’s no doubt the SVFD is needed and kept busy.

In August 2023, in response to the closing of St. Margaret’s Hospital and the former Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru (since it reopened as OSF St. Elizabeth), the fire department began making emergency medical responder calls, assisting 10/33 Ambulance Service on major medical situations. The cost of that emergency medical services training and equipment of $12,000 per person was born by the department or by the firefighters themselves.

The department this year already has broken its record for calls with 368, and that’s through the end of September. Bogatitus expects it to reach 500 by year-end.

Answering calls costs money. Of the $135,000 it now receives, almost $112,000 goes to payroll, leaving little for the purchase of new equipment, the cost of which has doubled in the past 10 years, Bogatitus said.

As an example of rising costs, Bogatitus noted the SVFD’s newest engine, purchased fully equipped 10 years ago for $500,000 and now just recently paid off, would cost more than $1 million to replace unequipped today. He pointed out that the National Fire Protection Association’s unfunded guidelines say engines should be replaced every 20 years, but his department’s second-out engine is 28 years old.

Firefighter Josh Swietek said Spring Valley has borrowed the reserve truck from the Ladd Fire Department to cover instances of simultaneous calls.

But the referendum is not about millions or new fire trucks. It’s about having the funds to maintain the fire trucks that the department has, and to keep firefighters safe and properly equipped with helmets, fire-proof clothing, air packs, radios, etc., that are not past their safety limits, the fire department has said.

That latter outfitting has a price tag of $12,000 per person.

Firefighter Frank Filippi said the Fire Hawk air packs that the department uses – already six years past the NFPA’s recommended replacement time – aren’t made anymore, and the department has to scavenge parts from decommissioned packs to make any needed repairs.

“There isn’t much money left even to just pay the bills,” Bogatitus said, “so you have to pick and choose what you can do and when. Our firefighters’ safety is our No. 1 priority, and you can’t skimp on safety.

“People are paying the minimum now and, yes, it will be a little bit of an increase, but you need a fire department. It’s just like every city needs its schools, its police, its ambulances. It benefits our community and (through mutual aid) the communities around us.”

That may amount to an additional $60 per year for a $125,000 home.