Fox River fire district makes final push for tax hike support

With less than two weeks until the March primary, the Fox River & Countryside Fire/Rescue District is making a final push to inform voters of a referendum seeking a tax increase - and what could happens if it fails.

Fire officials held informational sessions and spoke at public forums, meetings and even a resident's home, volunteer Doreen Anderson said. Signs have been placed in yards, social media posts have escalated, and flyers have been handed out to homeowners' associations.

"I'm trying to motivate and educate and really push hard," Anderson said. "There's a lot of people who just don't know all the information. We've got to educate them."

The binding referendum question asks for a 60 percent increase in the taxes paid to the fire district to fund equipment replacements, and pay raises for emergency personnel. That would result in a $53 annual increase in property taxes for the owner of a $100,000 home.

The request is lower than the district's previous three attempts at a tax hike, each of which was rejected by voters.

If the measure does not pass, Board President Bob Handley said the cash-strapped district will have to cut nine firefighter positions and rotate closing one of its two fire stations every day. As a result, he said, response times for calls on the opposite side of the district could more than double.

The district's tax rate of 27 cents per $100 of equalized assessed valuation is the lowest in the area, Handley said, pointing to a 61-cent rate in Bartlett and a 77-cent rate in Pingree Grove. The property taxes collected by Fox River & Countryside have been insufficient to adequately fund apparatus maintenance or pay staff, resulting in personnel turnover, he said.

The district has not seen a tax rate increase in about 12 years. If the March referendum is passed, the tax rate would increase to 43 cents per $100 of equalized assessed value.

"It's a Catch-22. We can't service (residents) without equipment, and we can't get the equipment ... or pay our guys without the money," Handley said. "We've got to have the money. It's as simple as that."