Government vs. government lawsuit: St. Charles sues new fire district

The city of St. Charles has sued the Fox River and Countryside Fire/Rescue District for breach of contract, saying the city is owed $37,500.

Meanwhile, the district has fired back, calling the lawsuit vindictive and pledging to file a counterclaim.

Both sides are due in court Oct. 6 before Kane County Judge Ed Schreiber.

Gerald Gorski, city attorney, said the city filed the suit as a last resort after the district broke off from the city earlier this year but still owed the city for fire and ambulance services provided under an agreement that expired April 30.

“We have been trying forever to get them to simply pay what they owe us under the contract,” Gorski said.

The board of trustees for the fire district, which serves unincorporated areas north and west of the city, issued its own statement late Monday, calling the lawsuit “vindictive” and promising a counterclaim that the city has taken several steps to compromise public safety.

“We feel disheartened that the city has elected to file a lawsuit which will needlessly expend taxpayer monies instead of attempting to reasonably resolve our differences,” part of the board’s statement read.

The board accused the city of:

Ÿ Removing some 225 key boxes that give firefighters emergency access to homes and businesses.

Ÿ Failing to provide the district with two months worth of operational reports while the city’s fire chief skipped meetings.

Ÿ Removing in August a severe weather warning siren from Anderson Elementary School in unincorporated St. Charles and later offering the warning siren to the village of Campton Hills.

The board also argues the city has failed to discuss the district’s contribution to a tanker truck that the city no longer needs.

Gorski said the district has been trying to demand the city give it firefighting equipment, such as the tanker truck, in exchange for paying the balance the district owes.

“They keep bringing up all these collateral issues that have nothing to do with this,” Gorski said. “It just isn’t fair to our taxpayers to walk away from $37,500. (Filing suit) isn’t what we wanted to do.”