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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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Regional Fire Protection Agency Act.
 
6    Section 5. Purpose and creation.
7    (a) Purpose. The General Assembly finds the consolidation
8of fire protection services on a regional basis provided by
9fire departments throughout the State of Illinois to be an
10economic benefit. Therefore, this Act establishes procedures
11for the creation of Regional Fire Protection Agencies that
12encompass wider service areas by combining existing fire
13departments and extending service areas of these departments
14into under-served geographic areas. It is the expressed intent
15of the General Assembly that Regional Fire Protection Agencies
16shall achieve a net savings in the cost of providing fire
17protection services, emergency medical services, and related
18services in the expanded service area by reducing and
19eliminating costs including, but not limited to, duplicative or
20excessive administrative and operational services, equipment,
21facilities, and capital expenditures, without a reduction in
22the quality or level of these services.
23    (b) Creation. A Regional Fire Protection Agency may be

 

 

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1formed by filing voter-initiated petitions for the purposes of
2integrating existing service areas of contiguous units of local
3government providing fire protection services to achieve the
4purposes of this Act.
 
5    Section 10. Definitions. The definitions in this Section
6apply throughout this Act unless the context clearly requires
7otherwise:
8    "Board" means the governing body of a Regional Fire
9Protection Agency.
10    "Fire protection jurisdiction" means a fire protection
11district, municipal fire department, or service organized
12under Section 5-1056.1 of the Counties Code, Sections 195 and
13200 of the Illinois Township Code, Section 10-2.1 of the
14Illinois Municipal Code, or the Illinois Fire Protection
15District Act.
16    "Joint Committee" means the group consisting of the parties
17appointed by the court in accordance with the procedures of
18this Act after a petition has been filed to create a Regional
19Fire Protection Agency. The Joint Committee meets for the
20limited purpose of negotiating the terms of an
21intergovernmental agreement to create and implement a Regional
22Fire Protection Agency.
23    "Property Tax" or "Tax" has the same meaning as the term
24"Tax", as defined in Section 1-145 of the Property Tax Code.
25    "Regional Fire Protection Agency" or "Agency" means a fire

 

 

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1protection organization formed pursuant to this Act that
2combines 2 or more units of local government with a unified
3command and operations that has boundaries that are coextensive
4with 2 or more adjacent units of local government and has been
5created by a referendum under this Act.
6    "Special Mediator" means an individual who possesses the
7qualifications specified in this Act and shall facilitate the
8negotiation of an intergovernmental agreement to create a
9Regional Fire Protection Agency.
 
10    Section 15. Elections and referenda. When a referendum is
11submitted under this Act for approval or rejection by the
12electors, the time and manner of conducting a referendum,
13including petition signature requirements, shall be in
14accordance with the general election law of the State. The
15creation of any Regional Fire Protection Agency by referendum
16shall be secured by an intergovernmental agreement that
17includes terms that meet the standards set forth in Section 25
18of this Act.
 
19    Section 20. Notice to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
20    The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall be served notice
21as to any plans of 2 or more units of local government to
22combine fire protection or emergency medical services, or both,
23as follows:
24        (1) Whenever a county clerk or other election authority

 

 

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1    places upon a ballot the question of creating or altering
2    an Agency or fire protection jurisdiction, the clerk or
3    other election authority shall notify the Office of the
4    State Fire Marshal that the proposition is to be put before
5    the electorate. The notice shall be sent to the Office of
6    the State Fire Marshal within 10 business days after the
7    question is certified to the clerk or other election
8    authority.
9        (2) Whenever the governing bodies of 2 or more adjacent
10    fire protection jurisdictions conduct a public hearing to
11    consider a plan to combine 2 or more fire protection
12    jurisdiction service areas by intergovernmental agreement,
13    the clerk of each unit of local government to be party to
14    such an intergovernmental agreement shall notify the
15    Office of the State Fire Marshal that the units of local
16    government are considering such a plan. The notice shall be
17    sent to the Office of the State Fire Marshal within 10
18    business days after notice of the meeting is published.
19        (3) Whenever the governing bodies of 2 or more adjacent
20    fire protection jurisdictions enter into an agreement to
21    combine 2 or more fire protection jurisdiction service
22    areas by intergovernmental agreement, the clerk of each
23    unit of local government to be party to such an
24    intergovernmental agreement shall notify the Office of the
25    State Fire Marshal that the units of local government have
26    entered into the intergovernmental agreement. The notice

 

 

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1    shall be sent to the Office of the State Fire Marshal
2    within 10 business days after notice of the meeting is
3    published.
 
4    Section 25. Creation of an Agency by petition and
5referendum.
6    (a) Petition. A Regional Fire Protection Agency may
7exclusively be formed upon petition signed by the lesser of:
8(i) at least 100 legal voters in each of the units of local
9government proposed to be combined; or (ii) 10% of the legal
10voters in each of the units of local government to be included
11in the Regional Fire Protection Agency. The petition shall be
12filed in the circuit court of the county in which the greater
13part of the land of the proposed Regional Fire Protection
14Agency shall be situated. The petition shall set forth the
15names of the units of local government proposed to be included,
16the name of the proposed Regional Fire Protection Agency, the
17benefits of consolidating the units of local government within
18a Regional Fire Protection Agency, the names of the
19representatives of the petitioners from each unit of local
20government who shall be authorized to serve on the Joint
21Committee, and up to 3 alternate representatives from each unit
22of local government in the event a designated representative
23ceases to be an elector of their jurisdiction or resigns from
24the Joint Committee. Upon its filing, the petition shall be
25presented to the court, and the court shall fix the date and

 

 

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1hour for a hearing.
2    (b) Notice of Hearing. Upon the filing of the petition, the
3court shall set a hearing date that is at least 4 weeks, but
4not more than 8 weeks, after the date the petition is filed.
5The court, clerk, petitioner's counsel, or sheriff shall, upon
6order of the court, give notice 21 days before the hearing in
7one or more daily or weekly newspapers of general circulation
8in each county where an affected unit of local government is
9organized. The notice must describe the units of local
10government to be included and shall state that if the
11conditions required by this Section are met, then the
12proposition for the creation of the Agency shall be submitted
13to the voters of the units of local government in the proposed
14Agency by order of the court.
15    (c) Hearing and referendum. At the hearing, the court shall
16first determine whether the petition is supported by the
17required number of valid signatures of legal voters within the
18contiguous units of local government. If the petition is
19proper, then the court shall remand the matter to a Special
20Mediator who shall mediate the negotiations regarding the terms
21of an intergovernmental agreement by the members of the Joint
22Committee as provided in subsection (d) of this Section. The
23Special Mediator shall be a member of the bar of the State of
24Illinois or a member of the faculty of an accredited law
25school. The Special Mediator shall have practiced law for at
26least 7 years and be knowledgeable about municipal, labor,

 

 

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1employment, and election law. The Special Mediator shall be
2free of any conflicts of interest. The Special Mediator shall
3have strong mediation skills and the temperament and training
4to listen well, facilitate communication, and assist with
5negotiations. Special Mediators shall have sufficient
6experience and familiarity with municipal, labor, employment,
7and election law to provide a credible evaluation and
8assessment of relative positions. The Special Mediator
9assigned to mediate the Joint Committee's negotiations shall be
10selected by the members of the Joint Committee from a panel of
117 individuals provided by the Joint Labor Management Committee,
12as it is defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department Promotion
13Act. The panel shall be randomly selected by the Joint Labor
14Management Committee from a master list maintained by the Joint
15Labor Management Committee consisting of at least 14 qualified
16Special Mediators. If the members fail to agree, the court
17shall appoint the Special Mediator. The Joint Committee may
18elect to conduct negotiations without the assistance of the
19Special Mediator upon a majority vote of the Joint Committee.
20To certify a question for referendum, the court must find that:
21(i) based upon a preponderance of the evidence, at least 2 of
22the 3 Joint Committee representatives appointed by the court
23for each unit of local government included in the proposed
24Agency have executed an intergovernmental agreement that
25includes terms that are in compliance with the requirements
26under subsection (d) of this Section; (ii) the terms of an

 

 

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1agreed-upon intergovernmental agreement have been approved by
2the requisite governing bodies of each of the units of local
3government; and (iii) should the terms of an agreed-upon
4intergovernmental agreement change the terms of the collective
5bargaining agreement for a bargaining unit of employees of any
6local unit of government of the proposed Regional Fire
7Protection Agency, any affected collective bargaining units
8must also approve all such changes in the terms of the
9collective bargaining agreement.
10    (d) Joint Committee. The court shall allow appointments to
11the Joint Committee as follows:
12        (1) A representative of each unit of local government
13    included within the proposed service area of the proposed
14    Agency.
15        (2) A representative of each collective bargaining
16    unit that is a party to a collective bargaining agreement
17    with a unit of local government to provide fire suppression
18    or emergency medical services, or both, included within the
19    proposed Agency.
20        (3) A representative for the petitioners from each unit
21    of local government included within the proposed Agency, as
22    designated by the petition, or, if none are designated or
23    willing to serve, then chosen by the court from among the
24    legal voters that signed the petition.
25    (e) Joint Committee Negotiations. After remand, the
26Special Mediator shall schedule a meeting of the Joint

 

 

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1Committee and facilitate the members in negotiating the terms
2of an intergovernmental agreement. The first order of business
3shall be to establish a financial baseline for the current
4costs of fire and emergency medical services provided by the
5units of local government party to the Joint Committee. To this
6end, each unit of local government party to the Joint Committee
7shall disclose to the Joint Committee the total aggregate
8expenditures it allocates for providing all fire, rescue, and
9emergency medical services. These expenditures shall include,
10but are not limited to, the following cost factors: (i) all
11expenses from the corporate fund and other operational funds
12related to fire protection services, whether direct or
13indirect, for the current fiscal year; and (ii) all costs,
14whether direct or indirect, paid from other funds, including,
15but not limited to, capital or building funds, pension funds,
16workers' compensation funds, health insurance funds,
17enterprise funds, administrative funds, and all other funds
18from which money is, or may be, paid or transferred to pay for
19the administration and compensation or benefits for employees
20or persons assigned to provide fire or emergency medical
21services or related services, equipment, and buildings and
22their maintenance or operation and debt service for any
23expenditures related to these or related cost factors.
24    The Special Mediator or the court, or both if necessary,
25shall facilitate the computation and production of this
26financial baseline unless the Joint Committee elects to conduct

 

 

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1negotiations without the assistance of the Special Mediator.
2The financial baseline shall serve as the predicate to: (i) the
3annual contributions to be made by each unit of local
4government to the costs of providing fire and emergency medical
5services to the service area established for the proposed
6Regional Fire Protection Agency; and (ii) for the court's
7findings pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section.
8    The Joint Committee may take note or give due consideration
9to available resources, studies, and plans that may facilitate
10the resolution of issues relating to the terms of an agreement.
11Negotiations may continue for a period of 90 days or, if the
12court determines that additional time will facilitate
13agreement, longer.
14    If no agreement is reached, the court shall dismiss the
15petition. If an agreement is reached, the court shall schedule
16an evidentiary hearing with notice to determine if the terms of
17the agreement are in compliance with the requirements of
18subsection (f) of this Section. The expenses of the Special
19Mediator shall be apportioned equally among the included units
20of local government unless the parties agree otherwise in the
21intergovernmental agreement.
22    If the intergovernmental agreement has been approved by the
23governing bodies of at least 2 units of local government
24included in the original petition, then the petition may
25proceed, provided that the agreement is also executed by at
26least 2 of 3 Joint Committee representatives from each affected

 

 

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1unit of local government included in the original petition. The
2units of local government that did not consent to inclusion
3shall be dismissed, and an amended petition on behalf of the
4consenting units of local government shall be scheduled for an
5evidentiary hearing.
6    The persons or entities, or their duly authorized
7representatives, that shall have standing to present evidence
8at the hearing are the petitioners, the units of local
9government that sought to be included in the proposed Agency,
10and the representatives of each collective bargaining unit that
11is a party to a collective bargaining agreement with a fire
12protection jurisdiction within a unit of local government
13included within the proposed Agency.
14    If the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence,
15that the petition is supported by a proper intergovernmental
16agreement, the court shall enter an order certifying the
17proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit
18the question of the creation of the proposed Agency to the
19legal voters of each included unit of local government at the
20next election. Notice of the election shall be given and the
21election conducted in the manner provided by the general
22election law. The notice shall state the boundaries of the
23proposed Agency.
24    The question shall be submitted in substantially the
25following form:
26        Shall the service areas of (names of existing units of

 

 

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1    local government to be combined) be combined to create the
2    (name of the Regional Fire Protection Agency)?
3    Responses shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
4    A written statement of the election results shall be filed
5with the court. If, in each unit of local government included
6within the boundaries of the Regional Fire Protection Agency, a
7majority of the voters voting on the question favor the
8proposition, then the court shall issue an order stating that
9the Agency has been approved.
10    (f) Intergovernmental agreement; minimum standards of
11service. The terms of the intergovernmental agreement shall
12ensure that all of the following standards of service are met:
13        (1) The formation of the Agency shall result in no net
14    increase in the cost of fire protection services and
15    emergency medical services to the units of local government
16    in the proposed Agency due to the reduction or elimination
17    of duplicative administrative costs, operational costs,
18    equipment costs, or capital expenditures unless members of
19    the Joint Committee can demonstrate that an increase in the
20    cost to a participating unit of local government is
21    justified by a corresponding increase in the level of
22    services provided under the terms of the intergovernmental
23    agreement.
24        (2) The formation of the Agency shall not increase the
25    average response times in any included unit of local
26    government.

 

 

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1        (3) Agencies shall have no independent ability to levy
2    taxes and shall rely on the fiscal support and
3    contributions from component fire protection
4    jurisdictions, as required under the terms of the
5    intergovernmental agreement.
6        (4) The Agency shall apply savings in costs as follows:
7    A minimum of 50% of cost savings shall be contributed, pro
8    rata, to the Firemen's Pension Fund of each included unit
9    of local government as applicable. Those contributions
10    shall be applied as a credit to reduce the unfunded accrued
11    liability of the Fund, if one exists. If no unfunded
12    accrued liabilities exist, a minimum of 50% of the savings
13    in costs shall be divided pro rata and applied to reduce
14    the Firemen's Pension Fund contributions otherwise
15    required of the unit of local government under the Pension
16    Code, unless otherwise agreed to in the terms of the
17    intergovernmental agreement.
 
18    Section 30. Judicial notice. All courts in this State shall
19take judicial notice of the existence of any Agency organized
20under this Act, and every such Agency shall constitute a body
21corporate that may sue or be sued in all courts.
 
22    Section 35. Support. Notwithstanding any provision of this
23Act, a Regional Fire Protection Agency may receive
24supplementary funding, fiscal support, or other revenue or

 

 

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1property consideration from the State, including the Office of
2the State Fire Marshal, a county, or any other unit of local
3government, to defray the expenses of organizing a new Agency
4or as may be deemed necessary or appropriate, and may be
5appropriated by that entity to the Agency.
 
6    Section 40. Enforcement of an intergovernmental agreement.
7In the event of a default of payment, the Agency shall be
8authorized to secure collection of promised contributions from
9the defaulting unit of local government by court order
10authorizing the interception of or turning over of: (1) monies
11deposited or to be deposited into any fund of the defaulting
12unit of local government; or (2) grants or other revenues or
13taxes expected to be received by the unit of local government
14from the State, county, or federal government, including taxes
15imposed by the governmental unit pursuant to a grant of
16authority by the State, such as property, sales or use taxes or
17utility taxes.
18    Any interception authorized under this Section by the
19Agency shall be valid and binding from the time the
20interception order is made until the defaulting unit of local
21government has paid in full its past due obligations to the
22Agency and has been current in its obligations to the Agency
23for a minimum of 12 months. The revenues, monies, and other
24funds intercepted and to be intercepted by the Agency shall
25immediately be subject to the Agency's lien. The lien shall be

 

 

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1valid and binding against all parties having claims of any kind
2in tort, contract, or otherwise against the defaulting unit of
3local government, irrespective of whether such parties have
4notice. Under any such interception, a defaulting unit of local
5government may bind itself to impose rates, charges, or taxes
6to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Any
7ordinance, resolution, trust agreement, or other instrument by
8which a lien is created shall be filed in the records of the
9Agency.
10    The State Treasurer, the State Comptroller, the Department
11of Revenue, the Department of Transportation, and any county
12official charged with collecting and disbursing property taxes
13shall deposit or cause to be deposited any amount of grants or
14other revenues or taxes expected to be received by the
15defaulting unit of local government from that official or
16entity that has been pledged to the defaulting unit of local
17government, directly into a designated escrow account
18established by the Agency at a trust company or bank having
19trust powers, unless otherwise prohibited by law. The court
20order authorizing that disposition shall, within 10 days after
21issuance, be filed with the official or entity with custody of
22the garnished grants or other revenues or taxes.
 
23    Section 45. Initial startup.
24    (a) An Agency shall commence operations no later than 90
25days after the date of the election unless an alternative date

 

 

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1is agreed to by the terms of the intergovernmental agreement
2and shall operate for the purposes set forth in the
3intergovernmental agreement. An Agency's governing body shall
4consist of representatives designated by the governing bodies
5of the participating units of local government as set forth in
6this Act, and shall be considered to be formed upon approval of
7the governing body of each member unit of local government
8unless otherwise agreed to by the terms of the
9intergovernmental agreement.
10    (b) The Regional Fire Protection Agency shall be governed
11by a 5-member Board of Trustees. Each trustee shall be a
12resident of a unit of local government within the Agency. The
13Board shall elect a Chairperson from among its members.
14    The number of trustees from each unit of local government
15shall be in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the number
16of residents of the Agency who reside in that unit of local
17government in relation to the total population of the Agency.
18Thereafter, each trustee shall be succeeded by a resident of
19the same unit of local government and shall be appointed by the
20same appointing authority. The appropriate appointing
21authorities shall appoint 5 trustees of the Agency within 60
22days after the entry of the order establishing the Agency. The
23trustees shall be electors in one of the units of local
24government of the Agency, provided that the Board shall consist
25of at least one trustee from each unit of local government,
26subject to the intergovernmental agreement, within the

 

 

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1Regional Fire Protection Agency. The trustees shall hold the
2terms of office and shall have the powers and qualifications
3that are provided for trustees under Section 4 of the Fire
4Protection District Act.
5    In the event of a conflict between the terms of the
6intergovernmental agreement and the powers of the trustees
7otherwise provided by law, the terms of the intergovernmental
8agreement shall prevail and supersede.
9    (c) The Agency shall have the power, duties, and
10obligations of a fire protection district as otherwise provided
11by the Fire Protection District Act, except as modified or
12limited by the provisions of this Act or terms of the
13intergovernmental agreement. The Agency shall develop a budget
14funded at a level sufficient to ensure that the quality of
15services provided to the residents of the service area within
16the boundary of the included units of local government
17continues at a level equal to or greater than those provided
18prior to the modification.
19    (d) The establishment of an Agency as a separately named
20unit of local government shall not prevent the units of local
21government within it from identifying their historical fire
22departments with the names of their localities. In that event,
23local fire departments shall be described as [local name]
24Branch of the [name of the Agency].
25    (e) Upon the formation of an Agency under this Act, the
26fire departments of the participating units of local government

 

 

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1shall be operated under a single chain of command under the
2leadership of one fire chief appointed by the Board of the
3Agency. The manner in which chiefs and subordinate chief
4officers who are redundant under the single chain of command
5and who are eliminated or integrated into the new unified chain
6of command shall be defined within the terms of the
7intergovernmental agreement entered into by the parties. The
8chiefs and other chief officers shall retain any rights they
9may have as established by other applicable law, provided that
10positions shall not be available to any person who is already
11retired and receiving benefits under Article 4 of the Illinois
12Pension Code. Any proposed reduction to a bargaining unit
13position resulting from the abolishment of a non-bargaining
14unit position shall be subject to compliance with the
15bargaining rights of any affected collective bargaining
16representative.
17    Upon taking office, the fire chief of the Agency shall
18command all operations of the unified service area of the
19Agency. The District shall become a body politic and corporate
20with all the powers, rights, duties, and obligations vested in
21it under the terms of the intergovernmental agreement and as
22otherwise provided under the provisions of this Act.
23    (f) Upon the organization of the Agency, the duties of each
24included unit of local government relating to the operation of
25a fire department and emergency medical services within the
26boundaries of the Agency shall be transferred to the Board of

 

 

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1the Agency to be exercised according to the terms of the
2intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise provided under
3the provisions of this Act.
4    (g) Unless otherwise agreed upon, all firefighters,
5emergency medical services personnel, and other personnel
6lawfully in the employment of any unit of local government
7included in the Agency shall maintain identity with the fire
8departments that they were serving on prior to the creation of
9the Regional Fire Protection Agency, but shall be subject to
10the unified chain of command established by the Board.
11    An Agency consisting of any fire department that employs
12full-time officers or members shall be subject to Sections
1316.01 through 16.18 of the Fire Protection District Act unless
14the terms of the intergovernmental agreement agreed to by the
15included units of local government and included collective
16bargaining unit agents representing employees engaged in
17providing fire protection or emergency medical services, or
18both, within the Agency's service area provide otherwise.
19    (h) Contracts in effect between an exclusive bargaining
20agent representing employees engaged in providing fire
21protection or emergency medical services, or both, within the
22Agency's service area and a participating unit of local
23government shall continue according to their terms. Successor
24contracts shall be negotiated in accordance with the provisions
25of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. Upon agreement of
26any 2 or more units of local government and corresponding

 

 

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1exclusive bargaining representatives, and approval of that
2agreement by a majority of the members of each respective
3bargaining unit who vote on the issue, any 2 or more bargaining
4units may be consolidated into a single bargaining unit.
5    (i) Any unit of local government that is included in an
6Agency shall be exempt from any reduction in the formula for
7distribution of income tax revenues under Section 901 of the
8Illinois Income Tax Act and personal property replacement tax
9revenues under subsection (c) of Section 201 of the Illinois
10Income Tax Act collected from local taxpayers by State agencies
11and redistributed to the units of local government based on the
12formula and laws in effect as of the effective date of this
13amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly.
14    An Agency shall be eligible to receive the distribution of
15income tax revenues collected from local taxpayers according to
16the same formula applicable to municipalities.
 
17    Section 50. Levy of taxes; limitations; indebtedness.
18    (a) To carry out the purposes for which an Agency is
19created, the Agency Board is empowered to take all actions
20authorized by law and authorized under this Act for the purpose
21of enforcing payment of any and all contributions and payments
22required under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement
23executed under the provisions of this Act.
24    (b) The inclusion of any unit of local government into an
25Agency shall not affect the obligation of any contract entered

 

 

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1into by the unit of local government unless otherwise agreed
2upon in the intergovernmental agreement. Such contracts shall
3remain the obligation of the unit of local government that
4incurred the obligation.
5    The inclusion of a unit of local government in an Agency
6shall not adversely affect proceedings for the collection or
7enforcement of any tax debt, or other obligation owed to the
8unit of local government. The proceedings shall continue to
9finality as if no inclusion had taken place. The proceeds
10thereof shall be paid to the treasurer of the unit of local
11government, subject to the terms of the intergovernmental
12agreement.
13    All suits pending in any court on behalf of or against any
14participating unit of local government relating to the
15provision of fire or emergency medical services on the date
16that the unit of local government is joined into an Agency
17under this Act may be prosecuted or defended in the name of the
18unit of local government unless otherwise provided in the
19intergovernmental agreement. All judgments obtained for any
20unit of local government joined into an Agency shall be
21collected and enforced by the Agency for its benefit unless
22otherwise provided in the intergovernmental agreement.
23    The intergovernmental agreement shall define ownership
24interests and rights of each unit of local government's fire
25department related assets and liabilities.
 

 

 

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1    Section 55. Petition to dissolve a District; referendum.
2The Board of an Agency established by referendum may certify
3and submit the question of dissolution of the Agency to the
4electors of the Agency. The Board may draft a ballot title,
5give notice as required by the general election law, and
6perform other duties as required to put the question before the
7voters of the Agency for their approval or rejection as a
8single ballot measure. The electorate consists of the voters
9voting within the boundaries of the existing Agency. A simple
10majority of the registered voters voting on the single ballot
11measure is required to approve dissolution of the Agency. The
12Agency seeking dissolution is liable for its proportionate
13share of the costs of the election.
14    The question shall be in substantially the following form:
15        Shall the [name of Regional Fire Protection Agency] be
16    dissolved?    
17    Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
18    If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the
19dissolution, the assets, liabilities, obligations, and
20personnel assigned or belonging to the Agency shall revert to
21the component units of local government comprising or
22contributing to the Agency, proportional to each unit of local
23government's contribution. All such transfers and
24reassignments shall be made in an expeditious and timely
25manner, and no longer than 120 days after the date upon which
26the Agency's dissolution vote was certified by local election

 

 

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1authorities.
 
2    Section 60. Powers; exclusive. The powers provided by this
3Act for the creation of Regional Fire Protection Agencies do
4not prohibit a unit of local government from entering into an
5intergovernmental agreement to merge, consolidate, or
6otherwise cooperate with other units of local government to
7provide fire, rescue, or emergency medical services as
8otherwise provided by Section 10 of Article VII of the Illinois
9Constitution and the Illinois Intergovernmental Cooperation
10Act. However, the powers and benefits provided by this Act for
11the combination of fire protection or emergency medical
12services, or both, of 2 or more units of local government shall
13be limited to Regional Fire Protection Agencies operated
14according to the terms of an intergovernmental agreement that
15has been approved by referendum in accordance with this Act.
16The terms of any intergovernmental agreement of an Agency
17created by referendum shall supersede and control over any and
18all other intergovernmental agreements that may exist that
19relate to the provision of fire protection or emergency medical
20services, or both, in geographic areas incorporated within the
21service areas combined under the terms of a referendum-approved
22intergovernmental agreement.
 
23    Section 65. Home rule. A home rule municipality may not
24administer fire protection services or emergency medical

 

 

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1services, or both, in geographic areas incorporated within the
2service area of an Agency in a manner that is inconsistent with
3the terms of an intergovernmental agreement approved in
4accordance with this Act. This Section is a limitation under
5subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
6Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
7powers and functions exercised by the State.
 
8    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
9becoming law.