97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB3667

 

Introduced 2/10/2012, by Sen. Terry Link

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
70 ILCS 705/30 new

    Amends the Fire Protection District Act. Provides for the creation of unified fire protection districts by contiguous units of local government (municipalities, counties, fire protection districts, and townships) to reduce the costs of providing fire protection and emergency medical services. Provides that unified fire protection districts may be created by an intergovernmental agreement. Sets forth the requirements for the petition and intergovernmental agreement, including referendum approval of the agreement. Sets forth the process for referendum approval. Contains other provisions. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3667LRB097 20161 KMW 65566 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by
5adding Section 30 as follows:
 
6    (70 ILCS 705/30 new)
7    Sec. 30. Unified Fire Protection District.
8    (a) Purpose. A Unified Fire Protection District may be
9formed by filing a petition for a referendum for the purpose of
10integrating existing service areas within contiguous units of
11local government to achieve a net savings in the cost of fire
12protection and emergency medical services in every included
13jurisdiction by the reduction or elimination of duplicative
14administrative costs, equipment, or capital expenditures, to a
15level that is preferably less, but no greater than, the
16aggregate costs of the fire departments included in the
17petition; unless the District can demonstrate any increase in
18the aggregate costs or an increase in the costs of the fire
19department of a participating unit of local government would
20justify an upgrade of the quality of services provided by the
21District or unit of local government, pursuant to an
22intergovernmental agreement. For the purpose of this Act, any
23county, municipality, fire protection district, or township is

 

 

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1a unit of local government eligible to petition for unification
2with another unit of local government. The creation of a
3Unified Fire Protection District shall be secured by an
4intergovernmental agreement that includes terms that meet the
5standards set forth in subsection (e).
6    (b) Petition. A Unified Fire Protection District may be
7formed upon petition signed by the lesser of: (i) at least 100
8legal voters in each of the units of local government proposed
9to be unified or (ii) or 10% of the legal voters in each of the
10units of local government to be included in the Unified Fire
11Protection District. The petition shall be filed in the circuit
12court for the county in which the greater part of the land in
13the proposed Unified Fire Protection District will be situated.
14The petition shall set forth (i) the names of the units of
15local government proposed to be included, (ii) the name of the
16proposed Unified Fire Protection District, (iii) the
17advantages to be derived from the inclusion of the units of
18local government in a Unified Fire Protection District, (iv)
19the number of trustees who shall serve on the board, and (v)
20whether the trustees shall be elected or appointed. Upon its
21filing, the petition shall be presented to the court, and the
22court shall fix the date and hour for a hearing.
23    (c) Notice of hearing. Upon the filing of the petition, the
24court shall set a hearing date that is at least 4 weeks but not
25more than 8 weeks after the date the petition is filed, and the
26court, or the clerk or sheriff upon order of the court, shall

 

 

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1give notice 21 days before the hearing in one or more daily or
2weekly newspapers of general circulation in each county where a
3unit of local government included in the petition is organized
4and by posting at least 10 copies of the notice in conspicuous
5places in the proposed District. The notice must describe the
6proposed units of local government to be included and must
7state that if the conditions required by this Section are met,
8then the proposition for the creation of the District shall be
9submitted to the voters of the proposed District by order of
10the court.
11    (d) Hearing and referendum. To certify a question for
12referendum approval, the court must find that: (i) based upon a
13preponderance of the evidence, the representatives of each of
14the parties to the proposed District has executed an
15intergovernmental agreement that includes terms that are in
16compliance with the standards required for the formation of a
17District, as set forth in subsection (e); and (ii) the terms of
18an agreed upon intergovernmental agreement have been approved
19by the governing bodies of each of the units of local
20government and any collective bargaining unit involved.
21    At the hearing, the court shall first determine if the
22petition is supported by the required number of valid
23signatures of legal voters within the contiguous units of local
24government. If the petition is proper, then the court shall
25remand the matter to a joint committee for the purpose of
26negotiating the terms of an intergovernmental agreement. The

 

 

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1court shall appoint members of the joint committee from the
2following parties:
3        (1) At least one representative of each unit of local
4    government included within the proposed service area of the
5    proposed District;
6        (2) At least one representative of each exclusive
7    bargaining representative that is a party to a collective
8    bargaining unit within a unit of local government included
9    within the proposed District; and
10        (3) At least one representative of the petitioners from
11    each unit of local government included within the proposed
12    District after an election among the legal voters signatory
13    to the petition from such units of local government.
14    Committee members shall meet from time to time to negotiate
15an intergovernmental agreement. Negotiations may continue for
16a period of 90 days or, if the court determines that additional
17time will facilitate agreement, longer. If no agreement is
18reached, the court shall dismiss the petition.
19    If an agreement is reached, the court shall schedule an
20evidentiary hearing with notice thereof to determine if the
21terms of the agreement are in compliance with the requirements
22of subsection (e).
23    An agreement shall be executed by the authorized
24representative of each party appointed to the committee by the
25court for each unit of local government included in the
26proposed District. If the agreement is not executed by

 

 

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1representatives of all 3 parties of a unit of local government
2included in the original petition, then the petition may
3proceed so long as the agreement is executed by all parties
4representing 2 or more units of local government included in
5the original petition. The non-consenting units of local
6government shall be dismissed. An amended petition may be filed
7by a consenting unit of local government on behalf of the
8remaining consenting units. In that event, the Court shall
9schedule an evidentiary hearing concerning the creation of a
10District consisting of only the consenting units of local
11government.
12    The following persons or entities, or their duly authorized
13representatives, shall have standing to present evidence at the
14hearing: the petitioners, the units of local government that
15will be included in the proposed District, and representatives
16of each exclusive bargaining representative that is a party to
17a collective bargaining unit within a unit of local government
18included within the proposed District.
19    If the court finds that all of the requirements of
20subsection (e) are not met, it may remand the matter for
21further negotiations between the parties and consider an
22amended intergovernmental agreement in the same manner as
23provided in this Section for an initial intergovernmental
24agreement.
25    If the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence,
26that the petition is supported by a proper intergovernmental

 

 

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1agreement, the court shall enter an order certifying the
2proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit
3to the legal voters of each included unit of local government
4at an election thereafter the question of whether the creation
5of the proposed District shall be approved. Notice of the
6election shall be given and the election conducted in the
7manner provided by the general election law. The notice shall
8state the boundaries of the District. The election authority
9must submit the proposition in substantially the following
10form:
 
11        Shall the service areas of (names of existing
12    departments') fire protection and emergency medical
13    services be combined under a single chain of command
14    according to the terms of an intergovernmental agreement
15    approved by the Circuit Court of (insert county and number
16    of judicial circuit) and (name of the Unified Fire
17    Protection District) be created with an aggregate tax
18    extension of (insert amount stipulated in
19    intergovernmental agreement) with the authority to levy
20    property taxes for the following purposes: (insert
21    purposes specified in intergovernmental agreement)?
 
22    The court shall cause a written statement of the results of
23the election to be filed in the court. If, in each unit of
24local government included within the boundaries of the

 

 

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1District, a majority of the voters voting on the question shall
2favor the proposition, then the court shall issue an order
3stating that the District has been approved.
4    (e) Minimum standards of service. The terms of the
5intergovernmental agreement shall guarantee that all of the
6following standards of service are met:
7        (1) The formation of the District will result in no net
8    increase in the cost of fire protection services and
9    emergency medical services for every included unit of local
10    government based on the reduction or elimination of
11    duplicative administrative staff, operational costs,
12    services, equipment, or capital expenditures, unless the
13    District can demonstrate that an increase in the aggregate
14    cost of the fire departments of the participating units of
15    local government costs justify an upgrade in the quality of
16    services provided to the District as a whole or a
17    participating unit of local government, as provided in the
18    terms of the intergovernmental agreement.
19        (2) The formation of the District will not increase
20    average emergency response times in any included unit of
21    local government. In addition, the intergovernmental
22    agreement shall identify the existing levels of emergency
23    service as measured by nationally acceptable practices and
24    shall include terms that ensure the levels of emergency
25    service shall not be diminished in any of the included
26    units of local government. Established Districts shall

 

 

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1    annually report the actual performance of the district
2    relative to its established performance standards.
3        (3) The taxing authority of a District shall be limited
4    to ensure that the transition from providing fire
5    protection by means of separate units of local government
6    to extended service areas by means of the District results
7    in no net increase in property taxes levied upon taxpayers
8    residing in an affected jurisdiction as follows:
9            (i) Any property tax levied by the District on a
10        resident taxpayer shall be offset by an abatement of
11        taxes in the affected jurisdiction in an amount equal
12        to the amount of the District's levy; and
13            (ii) Municipalities that fund fire department
14        operations in whole or part from revenues collected
15        from sources other than property taxes shall continue
16        to contribute those revenues to the District to fund
17        operations and shall not substitute property taxes for
18        such revenues, unless otherwise agreed to by all
19        parties to the intergovernmental agreement.
20        (4) The District shall apply savings in operating costs
21    as follows:
22            (i) 50% shall be applied to reduce, pro rata, the
23        property tax levy for fire or emergency medical
24        services applied to property owners residing in the
25        units of local government included in the District; and
26            (ii) 50% shall be contributed, pro rata, as

 

 

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1        applicable, to each included unit of local
2        government's Firemen's Pension Fund, and those
3        contributions shall be applied as a credit to reduce
4        the unfunded accrued liability of the Fund, if one
5        exists. If no unfunded accrued liabilities exist, such
6        savings in operating costs shall be applied to reduce,
7        pro rata, the property tax levy for fire or emergency
8        medical services applied to property owners residing
9        in the units of local government included in the
10        District that are parties to the intergovernmental
11        agreement.
12    (f) Governing Board. The District shall be governed by a
13Board of 5 or 7 trustees established as provided in subsection
14(j). The Board shall elect a chairperson from among its
15members, who shall vote only in the case of a tie. The vote of
16each trustee shall be proportional to the population of the
17unit of local government represented. The population for the
18allocation of votes under this subsection shall be based upon
19the most recent federal decennial census results. The trustees
20shall be elected or appointed in the same manner and shall meet
21the same eligibility requirements of other elected or appointed
22fire protection district trustees.
23    (g) Powers and duties. The District shall have the power,
24duties, and obligations of a Fire Protection District as
25otherwise provided under this Act, except as modified or
26limited by the provisions of this Section. The District shall

 

 

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1develop a budget funded at a level sufficient to ensure the
2quality of service provided to the residents of the service
3area within the boundary of the included units of local
4government continues at a level equal to or greater than those
5provided prior to the modification.
6    (h) Local fire departments. The establishment of a District
7as a separate named unit of local government shall not prevent
8its constituent units of local government from continuing to
9identify their historical fire departments with the names of
10their localities. In that event, local fire departments shall
11be described as (local name) Branch of the (named District).
12    (i) Single chain of command. Upon the entry of an order
13establishing a District, the fire departments of the
14constituent units of local government shall lose their separate
15existence under separate chains of command and shall be
16operated under a single chain of command under the leadership
17of one fire chief who shall be appointed by the Board of the
18District. Chiefs and subordinate chief officers who are
19redundant under the single chain of command or consolidated
20shifts established under the Board shall be eligible to apply
21for vacancies in positions, including but not limited to
22training officer, EMS coordinator, fire inspector, or company
23officer, that may be established under the terms of the
24intergovernmental agreement entered into by the parties,
25provided that the positions shall not be available to any
26person who is already retired and receiving benefits under

 

 

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1Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Code. Any proposed reduction
2to a bargaining unit position resulting from the abolishment of
3a non-bargaining unit position shall be subject to compliance
4with the bargaining rights of any affected collective
5bargaining representative. Upon taking office, the fire chief
6of the District shall command all shifts covering the unified
7service area of the units of local government included in the
8District. The District shall thereupon become a body politic
9and corporate with all the powers, rights, duties, and
10obligations vested in it under the terms of the
11intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise provided under
12the provisions of this Act.
13    (j) Trustees. Upon the organization of the District, the
14duties of each included unit of local government relating to
15operating a fire department and emergency medical services
16within the boundaries of the District shall be transferred to
17the Board of the District to be exercised according to the
18terms of the intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise
19provided under the provisions of the Fire Protection District
20Act. If a District is wholly contained within a single county,
21the trustees for the District shall be appointed by the chief
22executive officer of the county board with the advice and
23consent of the county board. If the District lies within more
24than one county, the number of trustees who are residents of a
25county shall be in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the
26number of residents of the District who reside in that county

 

 

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1in relation to the total population of the District. The
2procedures for the appointment or election of trustees shall be
3as otherwise provided by the Fire Protection District Act.
4    Thereafter, each trustee shall be succeeded by a resident
5of the same county who shall be appointed by the same
6appointing authority. The appropriate appointing authorities
7shall appoint at least 5 trustees of the District within 60
8days after the entry of the order establishing the District.
9The trustees shall be electors in the District, provided that
10the Board shall consist of a trustee representing each unit of
11local government included in the District. The trustees shall
12hold such terms of offices and shall have the powers and
13qualifications that are provided for trustees under Section 4
14of the Fire Protection District Act. In the event of a conflict
15between the terms of this Act or the terms of an
16intergovernmental contract negotiated and approved in
17accordance with the procedures of the Act and the powers of the
18trustees as otherwise provided by the Fire Protection District
19Act, the terms of this Act and the terms of the
20intergovernmental contract shall prevail and supersede.
21    (k) Firefighters and EMS personnel employed by a unit of
22local government included in the District. All firefighters and
23EMS personnel lawfully in the employment of any unit of local
24government included in the District shall remain members of the
25fire departments that they are serving on the effective date of
26this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, but shall be

 

 

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1subject to the unified chain of command established under the
2Board.
3    A District consisting of any fire department that employs
4full-time officers or members shall be subject to Sections
516.01 through 16.18 of this Act unless agreed otherwise by
6terms of the intergovernmental agreement agreed to by the units
7of local government and the exclusive bargaining agents
8representing employees engaged in providing fire protection or
9emergency medical services within the service area of the
10District.
11    (l) Contracts between an exclusive bargaining agent and a
12unit of local government. Contracts in effect between an
13exclusive bargaining agent and a unit of local government shall
14continue according to their terms. Successor contracts shall be
15negotiated in accordance with the provisions of the Illinois
16Public Labor Relations Act. Upon agreement of any 2 or more
17units of local government and corresponding exclusive
18bargaining representatives, and approval of that agreement by a
19majority of the members of each respective bargaining unit, any
202 or more bargaining units may be consolidated within a single
21bargaining unit.
22    (m) Distribution of specified taxes. Any unit of local
23government that is included in a District shall be exempt from
24any reduction in the formula for distribution of income tax
25revenues, pursuant to Section 901 of the Illinois Income Tax
26Act, and personal property replacement tax revenues, pursuant

 

 

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1to subsection (c) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax
2Act, collected from local taxpayers by State agencies and
3heretofore redistributed to the units of local government based
4on the formula and laws in effect as of the effective date of
5this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.
6    A District shall be eligible to receive the distribution of
7income tax revenues collected from local taxpayers according to
8the same formula applicable to municipalities.
9    (n) Outstanding bonds and notes. In the case of any unit of
10local government included in a District that has bonds or notes
11outstanding that fund the operation of its fire department that
12are a lien on funds on hand in the treasury at the time of
13inclusion, the lien shall be unimpaired by the inclusion and
14the lien shall continue in favor of the bond or note holders.
15The funds on hand subject to the lien shall be set apart and
16held for the purpose of retiring such secured debt, and no such
17funds shall be transferred into the general funds of the
18District until all indebtedness of the unit of local government
19entering into the District has been discharged.
20    In the case of any unit of local government joined into a
21District that has unsecured debts outstanding at the time of
22inclusion, any funds in the treasury of the unit of local
23government otherwise available and not committed shall, to the
24extent necessary, be applied to the payment of those debts.
25    All property in the District, without discrimination
26between the territory in the several units of local government,

 

 

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1shall be subject to taxation to pay the debts, bonds, and
2obligations created after the establishment of the District.
3    (o) Effects of inclusion. The inclusion of any unit of
4local government into a District shall not, unless agreed upon
5in an intergovernmental agreement, affect the obligation of any
6contract entered into by the unit of local government. Such
7contracts shall remain the obligation of the unit of local
8government that incurred the obligation.
9    The inclusion of units of local government shall not
10adversely affect proceedings for the collection or enforcement
11of any tax. The proceedings shall proceed to a finality as
12though no inclusion had taken place. The proceeds thereof shall
13be paid over to the treasurer of the unit of local government
14subject to the terms of the intergovernmental agreement to be
15used, however, for the purpose for which the tax was levied or
16assessed.
17    All suits pending in any court on behalf of or against any
18unit of local government relating to the provision of fire or
19emergency medical services when the unit of local government is
20joined into a District may be prosecuted or defended in the
21name of the unit of local government unless otherwise provided
22in the intergovernmental agreement. All judgments obtained for
23any unit of local government joined into a District shall be
24collected and enforced by the District for its benefit unless
25otherwise provided in the intergovernmental agreement.
26    The title to all property of a unit of local government

 

 

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1related to providing fire or emergency medical services in the
2District that is transferred to the District under the terms of
3the intergovernmental agreement shall remain vested in the unit
4of local government, to be held for the same purposes and uses,
5and subject to the same conditions as before inclusion.
6    (p) Exclusivity. Any intergovernmental contracts otherwise
7authorized by law that relate to the combining of contracts or
8the integration of service areas where fire protection or
9emergency medical services are performed shall be done
10exclusively by referendum in accordance with this Section.
 
11    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12becoming law.