Wood Dale Fire District votes to stop insurance perks

All three Wood Dale Fire Protection District trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to end the controversial practice of providing health insurance to the district's elected officials.

According to the resolution passed Tuesday, "it is no longer in the best interest of the district" to provide health insurance for district trustees, effective for all officials elected in and after 2009.

Trustee Gail Johnson is the only trustee to take advantage of the perk since she and former trustee Roy Wesley re-affirmed the benefits package in 2005 but Johnson and the district's two newest trustees Wally Takoy and Ron Herff agreed Tuesday that the approximately $13,000 could be better spent throughout the district.

Takoy, now the district president, and Herff both campaigned, prior to the March election, on their promise to end the insurance perk for elected officials.

"Why did we want to get rid of it? To help the budget, money and public opinion," Takoy said after the vote. "This basically ensures elected officials remain elected officials."

Herff said he's pleased the program is over.

"It's going to help with budgeting," he said.

Firefighters union officials also wanted the full-time benefits taken away. The district has no more part-time firefighters, since eliminating the position earlier this summer but part-timers didn't get health insurance.

Johnson, who has 7 percent of her premium deducted from her $2,000 annual salary -- union employees pay 10 percent of premiums -- voted to eliminate the benefits, noting the change won't affect her term until it ends in 2011.

"I'm fine with it now but Trustee Wesley offered it to me in 2005 and (former fire chief) Herff approved it," she said. "You can't blame me for accepting what was offered."