Prospect Heights Fire District to ask voters for $10 million in April 4 election
The Prospect Heights Fire Protection District will seek voter approval April 4 for a tax hike to issue $10 million in bonds for modernization of its equipment and the first upgrade to its 79-year-old station since an addition in 1992.
The district will host an informational open house at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the station at 10 E. Camp McDonald Road in Prospect Heights.
Residents of the fire district also will receive a special referendum edition of the newsletter in the mail.
If voters approve the request, the owner of a $300,000 house in the district would pay about $135 more a year. Residents can estimate their own increase by finding the fire district's charge on their last tax bill and multiplying it by 15 percent (0.15).
The district's board of trustees last year approved a comprehensive plan calling for a restoration of its infrastructure.
Though the 10,000-square-foot station is significantly smaller than the average 25,000-square-foot station of the region, Prospect Heights Fire Chief Drew Smith said the plan is to make it more usable without expanding.
The fire district is a separate taxing body from the city, and property taxes are its primary source of revenue, Smith said.
The district previously implemented cost-cutting initiatives. The agency reduced its personnel by 12 people, leading to fewer firefighters on duty and a smaller administrative staff.
"We know what our needs are based on the comprehensive plan and we've cut staffing to balance the budget, but we have no way to cut costs anymore," Smith said in a statement. "Without resident support, we cannot maintain the quality residents have come to expect from Prospect Heights."
When the station was first designed, most of its employees were volunteers or part-time. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated a need to switch from communal living quarters to individualized sleeping areas and reconfigure the showers into individual stalls.
The station also requires new roofing, plumbing, heating/air conditioning and garage doors.
Meanwhile, firefighters just saw their busiest year ever with 2,722 calls answered. Emergencies have grown by 49% over the last decade, placing more wear on the district's vehicles and protective clothing.
Several of the vehicles need to be replaced, including two 16-year-old ambulances and the 30-year-old aerial ladder truck.
The department hopes to combine one pump engine with a tanker truck to ensure water is readily available on the west side of town.