Warrenville voters approve tax hike to hire more firefighters

Voters approved a property tax increase that will allow the Warrenville Fire Protection District to hire new firefighters, according to Tuesday's unofficial election results.

With 100% of precincts reporting, unofficial totals showed 1,189 (64%) votes in favor and 667 votes (36%) against a tax hike for the fire protection district.

The tax increase will raise roughly $570,000 a year in additional revenue for the district that includes Warrenville and unincorporated areas near Wheaton and Naperville. District officials said that money will be used to hire more firefighters for the department, which has experienced a roughly 23 percent increase in emergency calls since 2014.

"We're just trying to maintain our service because of the increased call volume," Fire Chief Dennis Rogers said before the election.

Currently, the department has six firefighters per shift. With the tax increase, the district will be able to increase its daily staffing to eight firefighters per shift.

The plan will increase the property taxes homeowners pay to the district by $33 per $100,000 of a home's value. The median price of a home in the district is $245,100.