093_SB0524

 
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 1        AN ACT concerning fire protection.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  5.   The Fire Protection District Act is amended
 5    by changing Section 6 as follows:

 6        (70 ILCS 705/6) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 26)
 7        Sec.  6.   The  trustees  shall  constitute  a  board  of
 8    trustees for the district for which they are appointed, which
 9    board of trustees is declared to be the  corporate  authority
10    of  the  fire  protection district, and shall exercise all of
11    the powers and control all the affairs and property  of  such
12    district.  The board of trustees at their initial meeting and
13    at their first meeting following the commencement of the term
14    of any trustee shall elect one of their number  as  president
15    and  one  of  their  number  as  secretary  and shall elect a
16    treasurer for the district, who may be one of the trustees or
17    may be any other citizen of the district and who  shall  hold
18    office  during  the  pleasure of the board and who shall give
19    such bond as  may  be  required  by  the  board.   Except  as
20    otherwise provided in Sections 16.01 through 16.18, the board
21    may   appoint  and  enter  into  a  multi-year  contract  not
22    exceeding 3 years with a  fire  chief  and  may  appoint  any
23    firemen that may be necessary for the district who shall hold
24    office  during  the  pleasure of the board and who shall give
25    any bond that the board may require.  The board may prescribe
26    the duties and fix the compensation of all the  officers  and
27    employees  of  the fire protection district.  A member of the
28    board of trustees  of  a  fire  protection  district  may  be
29    compensated  as  follows:  in  a district having fewer than 4
30    full time paid firemen, a sum not to exceed $1,000 per annum;
31    in a district having more than 3 but less than 10  full  time
 
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 1    paid  firemen,  a  sum  not  to exceed $1,500 per annum; in a
 2    district having either 10 or more full time paid  firemen,  a
 3    sum  not  to  exceed  $2,000  per  annum.  In  addition, fire
 4    districts that  operate  an  ambulance  service  pursuant  to
 5    authorization  by  referendum, as provided in Section 22, may
 6    pay trustees an additional annual compensation not to  exceed
 7    50%   of   the   amount  otherwise  authorized  herein.   The
 8    additional compensation shall be an administrative expense of
 9    the ambulance service and shall be paid from revenues  raised
10    by  the  ambulance  tax  levy.   The  trustees  also have the
11    express power to execute a note or notes  and  to  execute  a
12    mortgage  or trust deed to secure the payment of such note or
13    notes; such trust deed or mortgage shall cover  real  estate,
14    or  some  part  thereof,  or  personal  property owned by the
15    district and the lien of the mortgage shall apply to the real
16    estate or personal property so mortgaged by the district, and
17    the proceeds of  the  note  or  notes  may  be  used  in  the
18    acquisition  of personal property or of real estate or in the
19    erection of improvements on such real estate.   The  trustees
20    have express power to purchase either real estate or personal
21    property  to  be used for the purposes of the fire protection
22    district   through   contracts   which   provide   for    the
23    consideration   for   such   purchase   to  be  paid  through
24    installments to be made at stated intervals during a  certain
25    period of time, but, in no case, shall such contracts provide
26    for  the  consideration to be paid during a period of time in
27    excess of 25 years.   The  trustees  have  express  power  to
28    provide  for  the benefit of its employees, volunteer firemen
29    and paid firemen, group life, health, accident, hospital  and
30    medical insurance, or any combination thereof; and to pay for
31    all  or  any portion of the premiums on such insurance.  Such
32    insurance may include provisions for employees  who  rely  on
33    treatment by spiritual means alone through prayer for healing
34    in  accord  with the tenets and practice of a well recognized
 
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 1    religious denomination. To encourage continued  service  with
 2    the  district, the board of trustees has the express power to
 3    award monetary incentives, not to exceed $240  per  year,  to
 4    volunteer firefighters of the district based on the length of
 5    service.  To  be  eligible  for the incentives, the volunteer
 6    firefighters must have at least 5 years of service  with  the
 7    district.  The  amount  of  the incentives may not be greater
 8    than 2% of the annual levy amount when all  incentive  awards
 9    are  combined.  The  board  of  trustees has express power to
10    change the corporate name of the fire protection district  by
11    ordinance  provided  that notification of any change is given
12    to the circuit  clerk  and  the  Office  of  the  State  Fire
13    Marshal.  The  board  of  trustees has full power to pass all
14    necessary ordinances,  and  rules  and  regulations  for  the
15    proper management and conduct of the business of the board of
16    trustees  of  the  fire protection district for carrying into
17    effect the objects for which the district was formed.
18    (Source: P.A. 91-948, eff. 1-1-02.)