Fox River Fire District to ask voters for 7th time to approve $13M bond to upgrade equipment, establish third station

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – The Fox River and Countryside Fire Rescue District is putting a seventh referendum before the voters on the June 28 primary ballot, seeking a $13 million bond issue.

The bond is intended to replace aging apparatuses, buy new equipment, restructure current debt and establish a third fire station in the middle of the district, district officials stated in a news release.

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.

The district serves more than 25,000 residents over 38 square miles in the unincorporated areas of St. Charles and Campton townships and the villages of Campton Hills and Wayne. The district asked voters for an increase in 2006, 2009, 2015, 2017 and 2018, and the last one in 2019 lost by five votes.

This time around, fire officials hope voters will support a bond request with a 10-year pay off instead of a rate increase, said Kenneth Shepro, attorney for the fire district.

“This is a specific issuance of bonds for a purpose,” Shepro said. “The others were to increase the limiting rate.”

The problem with the tax rate request was the confusing legal language required for the ballot, Shepro said.

“The question as posed by the statute for that was very vague and a lot of people, I believe, didn’t feel they knew what the money was going to be spent on,” Shepro said. “This time … at least it’s an understandable question.”

Fox River and Countryside Fire Rescue District was formerly known as the St. Charles Countryside Fire Protection District, and it provided services through a contract with the St. Charles Fire Department.

That relationship ended May 1, 2011, when the Fox River & Countryside Fire Protection District was established to begin operating its own stations.

The district had 1,216 calls in 2012, its first full year of operations. In 2021, it had 1,837 calls, an increase of 621 calls or 51%, officials stated in a corrected news release.

“Those 600 calls puts a lot of miles on our vehicles, costs a lot of gas, puts a lot of wear and tear on our equipment,” Fire District Board President Kristin LeBlanc said. “Our approach to this referendum was our due diligence – crunching these numbers – and this is what our community needs. The one thing we know is, we are here to serve the public and we need the resources to do it.”

If the bond issue passes, the fire district would retire approximately $3 million of its debt obligations, which were originally issued to construct the fire stations, purchase vehicles and equipment, officials said.

“If we restructure our operations, we will be able to stabilize our staff, our training and day-to-day operations,” LeBlanc said.

Mueller Communications

What is different this time around is also the hiring of a professional marketing firm, Mueller Communications, based in Milwaukee. According to its website, the company has represented Meijer, Johnson Controls, BMO Harris Bank and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“They are going to community groups throughout the next six weeks so every group has the same presentation and same financial information,” LeBlanc said of the marketing company.

“This is what we missed in the past. Voter education was not consistent,” LeBlanc said. “All the information is easy for everybody to understand, easier to question and understand that the need is there. We have exhausted all other resources and this is what needs to be done. This needs to be communicated to our constituents.”

Trustee support not unanimous

However, support for the referendum and hiring Mueller Communications for $60,000 did not have unanimous support from the fire district board.

Minutes from the Feb. 28 meeting show that Fire District Trustee James Wegman voted no to put the $13 million on the ballot and no to hire the marketing firm. Wegman also resigned as the board treasurer that night.

In an email, Wegman wrote that he supported general obligation bonds for the district’s debt to be restructured, to allow for equipment and vehicles to be replaced. He also supported taking the costs saved from debt payments and equipment repairs to be used to convert the department to a more traditional model.

“My concerns lie with the funding levels for the district and community funding when they go back to generally the same funding levels they are currently at,” Wegman’s email stated.

“At the current levels the district struggles to maintain equipment and proper staffing. The increased demands of a third station, in my opinion, will create an unsustainable strain on the future budget,” Wegman’s email stated.

“This would force the district to go back to the voters and ask for a permanent tax increase or another bond to continue operations at the future proposed capacity,” Wegman wrote. “Spending the GO (general obligation) money as outlined creates the requirement for a permanent long term solution to be put in place to avoid the potential future heartbreaking and painful decision to close fire stations and lay off personnel due to lack of funding.”

Wegman said he laid out a different path, to have the community support a long-term solution through a tax rate increase. He resigned as treasurer because overseeing the referendum as proposed was not in the best interest of the district.

‘This is easier to understand’

But Board Member John Karr, who voted to put the question on the ballot and to hire the marketing company, said he agreed the tax increase question was too confusing for voters and a bond issue was clearer.

The wording on the tax rate question was to increase the rate 60% to 43 cents from 27 cents per $100 equalized assessed valuation, Karr said.

“I personally feel that people looking at that thought their taxes were going up 60%. It came up again and again,” Karr said. “In my opinion, this is easier to understand and straighter to the point.”

As to the marketing firm, Karr said he was familiar with speaking to neighbors in Wayne about supporting the fire district referendum. But agreed that a professional company like Mueller Communications would do better to get the district’s message out on social media.

“I’m old old school, not a social media guy at all,” Karr said. “Everyone I talk to all feel that social media is the way to go. It’s a big district, 38 square miles. … We have to do something to really try to get a blast out to people. … I’m all for the PR firm. … It’s my opinion that we needed that help, something to put it over the edge.”

What’s at stake is the district being able to function at all.

“Our district is at 27 cents per $100 EAV. Other departments’ budgets are double and three times ours,” Karr said. “We are not going to be able to keep up the service or to get new equipment. The third firehouse is a good idea, it cuts the response time between the other two. The amount is a fair amount.”