Full Text of SB1681 98th General Assembly
SB1681sam001 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Sen. Terry Link Filed: 3/12/2013
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1681
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1681 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Unified Fire Protection District. | 6 | | Section 5. Purpose and creation. | 7 | | (a) Purpose. The General Assembly finds the consolidation | 8 | | of fire protection services on a regional basis provided by | 9 | | fire departments throughout the State of Illinois to be an | 10 | | economic benefit. Therefore, this Act establishes procedures | 11 | | for the creation of Unified Fire Protection Districts that | 12 | | encompass wider service areas by combining existing fire | 13 | | departments and extending service areas of these departments | 14 | | into under-served geographic areas. It is the expressed intent | 15 | | of the General Assembly that Unified Fire Protection Districts | 16 | | shall achieve a net savings in the cost of providing fire |
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| 1 | | protection services, emergency medical services, and related | 2 | | services in the expanded service area by reducing and | 3 | | eliminating costs including, but not limited to, duplicative or | 4 | | excessive administrative and operational services, equipment, | 5 | | facilities, and capital expenditures, without a reduction in | 6 | | the quality or level of these services. | 7 | | (b) Creation. A Unified Fire Protection District may be | 8 | | formed by: | 9 | | (1) filing voter-initiated petitions for the purposes | 10 | | of integrating existing service areas of contiguous units | 11 | | of local government to achieve the purposes of this Act; or | 12 | | (2) entering into intergovernmental agreements made by | 13 | | and among existing units of local government providing fire | 14 | | protection services, if these agreements are approved by a | 15 | | voter referendum should a petition for such referendum be | 16 | | initiated by voters of any affected individual unit of | 17 | | government in accordance with the procedures of this Act.
| 18 | | Section 10. Definitions. The definitions in this Section | 19 | | apply throughout this Act unless the context clearly requires | 20 | | otherwise: | 21 | | "Board" means the governing body of a Unified Fire | 22 | | Protection District. | 23 | | "Fire protection jurisdiction" means a fire protection | 24 | | district, municipal fire department, or service organized | 25 | | under Section 5-1056.1 of the Counties Code, Sections 195 and |
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| 1 | | 200 of the Illinois Township Code, Section 10-2.1 of the | 2 | | Illinois Municipal Code, or the Illinois Fire Protection | 3 | | District Act. | 4 | | "Intergovernmental Authority" means the governing bodies | 5 | | of 2 or more adjacent fire protection jurisdictions who meet | 6 | | for the limited purpose of creating a Unified Fire Protection | 7 | | District without referendum approval in accordance with the | 8 | | provisions of this Act. | 9 | | "Plan" means a plan developed by a Planning Committee or | 10 | | the parties pursuant to a petition to create a Unified Fire | 11 | | Protection District for a particular geographic area. These | 12 | | plans shall cover the financing of a District project or | 13 | | projects including, but not limited to, specific capital | 14 | | projects, maintaining the quality and level of fire operations | 15 | | and emergency service operations, and the preservation and | 16 | | maintenance of existing or future facilities. | 17 | | "Property Tax" or "Tax" has the same meaning as the term | 18 | | "Tax", as defined in Section 1-145 of the Property Tax Code. | 19 | | "Planning Committee" means the advisory committee created | 20 | | under Sections 4.01, 4.02 of the Fire Protection District Act | 21 | | to facilitate the combination of fire protection services and | 22 | | create Unified Fire Protection Districts to achieve the | 23 | | purposes of this Act.
| 24 | | "Special mediator" shall be a member of the bar of the | 25 | | State of Illinois or member of the faculty of an accredited law | 26 | | school. A "special mediator" shall have practiced law for at |
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| 1 | | least 7 years and be knowledgeable about municipal, labor, | 2 | | employment, and election law. A "special mediator" shall be | 3 | | free of any conflicts of interests. A "special mediator" shall | 4 | | have strong mediation skills and the temperament and training | 5 | | to listen well, facilitate communication, and assist with | 6 | | negotiations. "Special mediators" shall have sufficient | 7 | | experience and familiarity with municipal, labor, employment, | 8 | | and election law to provide a credible evaluation and | 9 | | assessment of relative positions. | 10 | | "Unified Fire Protection District" or "District" means a | 11 | | county, municipal corporation, fire protection district, | 12 | | township, or unit of local government, as defined under the | 13 | | meaning of Article VII, Section 1 of the Illinois State | 14 | | Constitution, that has boundaries that are coextensive with 2 | 15 | | or more adjacent fire protection jurisdictions and has been | 16 | | created by either a referendum under this Act, or by agreement | 17 | | under Article VII of Section 10 of the Illinois Constitution, | 18 | | the Illinois Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, and the | 19 | | provisions of this Act.
| 20 | | Section 15. Elections and referenda. If a referendum must | 21 | | be submitted under this Act for approval or rejection by the | 22 | | electors, the time and manner of conducting a referendum, | 23 | | including petition signature requirements, shall be in | 24 | | accordance with the general election law of the State. The | 25 | | creation of any Unified Fire Protection District by referendum |
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| 1 | | shall be secured by an intergovernmental agreement that | 2 | | includes terms that meet the standards set forth in Section 25 | 3 | | of this Act. | 4 | | Section 20. Notice to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. | 5 | | Whenever a county clerk or other election authority places upon | 6 | | a ballot the question of creating or altering a District, or | 7 | | upon recording of an intergovernmental agreement creating a | 8 | | District, the clerk or other election authority shall notify | 9 | | the Office of the State Fire Marshal that the proposition is to | 10 | | be put before the electorate or has been recorded, as | 11 | | appropriate. The notice shall be sent to the Office of the | 12 | | State Fire Marshal within 10 working days after the question is | 13 | | certified to the clerk or other election authority, or the | 14 | | intergovernmental agreement is recorded. | 15 | | Section 25. Creation of a District by petition and | 16 | | referendum.
| 17 | | (a) Petition. A Unified Fire Protection District may be | 18 | | formed upon petition signed by the lesser of: (i) at least 100 | 19 | | legal voters in each of the units of local government proposed | 20 | | to be unified; or (ii) 10% of the legal voters in each of the | 21 | | units of local government to be included in the Unified Fire | 22 | | Protection District. The petition shall be filed in the circuit | 23 | | court of the county in which the greater part of the land of | 24 | | the proposed Unified Fire Protection District shall be |
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| 1 | | situated. The petition shall set forth the names of the units | 2 | | of local government proposed to be included, the name of the | 3 | | proposed Unified Fire Protection District, the benefits of | 4 | | consolidating the units of local government within a Unified | 5 | | Fire Protection District, and whether the trustees shall be | 6 | | elected or appointed. Upon its filing, the petition shall be | 7 | | presented to the court, and the court shall fix the date and | 8 | | hour for a hearing.
| 9 | | (b) Notice of Hearing. Upon the filing of the petition, the | 10 | | court shall set a hearing date that is at least 4 weeks, but | 11 | | not more than 8 weeks, after the date the petition is filed. | 12 | | The court, or the clerk or sheriff upon order of the court, | 13 | | shall give notice 21 days before the hearing in one or more | 14 | | daily or weekly newspapers of general circulation in each | 15 | | county where an affected unit of local government is organized | 16 | | and by posting at least 10 copies of the notice in conspicuous | 17 | | places within the proposed District. The notice must describe | 18 | | the units of local government to be included and shall state | 19 | | that if the conditions required by this Section are met, then | 20 | | the proposition for the creation of the District shall be | 21 | | submitted to the voters of the units of local government in the | 22 | | proposed District by order of the court. | 23 | | (c) Hearing and referendum. To certify a question for | 24 | | referendum, the court must find that: (i) based upon a | 25 | | preponderance of the evidence, the representatives of each of | 26 | | the parties to the proposed District has executed an |
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| 1 | | intergovernmental agreement that includes terms that are in | 2 | | compliance with the requirement under subsection (d) of this | 3 | | Section; and (ii) the terms of an agreed-upon intergovernmental | 4 | | agreement have been approved by the requisite governing bodies | 5 | | of each of the units of local government and any collective | 6 | | bargaining units involved. | 7 | | At the hearing, the court shall first determine if the | 8 | | petition is supported by the required number of valid | 9 | | signatures of legal voters within the contiguous units of local | 10 | | government. | 11 | | (d) Joint Committee. If the petition is proper, then the | 12 | | court shall remand the matter to a special mediator who shall | 13 | | mediate the negotiations regarding the terms of an | 14 | | intergovernmental agreement by the members of the Joint | 15 | | Committee. The court shall allow appointments to the Joint | 16 | | Committee as follows:
| 17 | | (1) A representative of each unit of local government | 18 | | included within the proposed service area of the proposed | 19 | | District.
| 20 | | (2) A representative of each exclusive bargaining unit | 21 | | that is a party to a collective bargaining agreement with a | 22 | | fire protection jurisdiction within a unit of local | 23 | | government included within the proposed District. | 24 | | (3) A representative for the petitioners from each unit | 25 | | of local government included within the proposed District, | 26 | | chosen from among the legal voters that signed the |
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| 1 | | petition. | 2 | | (4) The special mediator assigned to the Joint | 3 | | Committee shall be selected by the members of the Joint | 4 | | Committee from a panel of 7 individuals provided by the | 5 | | Joint Labor Management Committee. The panel shall be | 6 | | selected at random from a master list consisting of at | 7 | | least 14 qualified special mediators maintained by the | 8 | | Joint Labor Management Committee, as it is defined in | 9 | | Section 50 of the Fire Department Promotion Act. If the | 10 | | members fail to agree, the court shall appoint the special | 11 | | mediator. | 12 | | After selection, the special mediator shall schedule a | 13 | | meeting of the Joint Committee and facilitate the members in | 14 | | negotiating the terms of an intergovernmental agreement. The | 15 | | Joint Committee may take note or give due consideration to | 16 | | available resources, studies, and plans that may facilitate the | 17 | | resolution of issues relating to the terms of an agreement. | 18 | | Negotiations may continue for a period of 90 days or, if the | 19 | | court determines that additional time will facilitate | 20 | | agreement, longer. | 21 | | If no agreement is reached, the court shall dismiss the | 22 | | petition. If an agreement is reached, the court shall schedule | 23 | | an evidentiary hearing with notice to determine if the terms of | 24 | | the agreement are in compliance with the requirements of | 25 | | subsection (e) of this Section. | 26 | | An agreement shall be executed by at least 2 of the 3 Joint |
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| 1 | | Committee representatives appointed by the court for each unit | 2 | | of local government included in the proposed District. If the | 3 | | agreement is executed by representatives of at least 2 units of | 4 | | local government included in the original petition, then the | 5 | | petition may proceed, provided that the agreement is executed | 6 | | by at least 2 of 3 Joint Committee representatives within 2 or | 7 | | more units of local government included in the original | 8 | | petition. The units of local government that did not consent to | 9 | | inclusion shall be dismissed, and an amended petition on behalf | 10 | | of the consenting units shall be scheduled for an evidentiary | 11 | | hearing. | 12 | | The persons or entities, or their duly authorized | 13 | | representatives, that shall have standing to present evidence | 14 | | at the hearing are the petitioners, the units of local | 15 | | government that shall be included in the proposed District, and | 16 | | representatives of each exclusive bargaining unit that is a | 17 | | party to a collective bargaining unit with a fire protection | 18 | | jurisdiction within a unit of local government included within | 19 | | the proposed District. | 20 | | If the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, | 21 | | that the petition is supported by a proper intergovernmental | 22 | | agreement, the court shall enter an order certifying the | 23 | | proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit | 24 | | the question of the creation of the proposed District to the | 25 | | legal voters of each included unit of local government at the | 26 | | next election. Notice of the election shall be given and the |
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| 1 | | election conducted in the manner provided by the general | 2 | | election law. The notice shall state the boundaries of the | 3 | | proposed District. | 4 | | The question shall be submitted in substantially the | 5 | | following form: | 6 | | Shall the service areas of (names of existing units of | 7 | | local government to be combined) be combined to create the | 8 | | (name of the Unified Fire Protection District)? | 9 | | Responses shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". | 10 | | A written statement of the election results shall be filed | 11 | | with the court. If, in each unit of local government included | 12 | | within the boundaries of the Unified Fire Protection District, | 13 | | a majority of the voters voting on the question shall favor the | 14 | | proposition, then the court shall issue an order stating that | 15 | | the Unified District has been approved. | 16 | | (e) Intergovernmental agreement; minimum standards of | 17 | | service. The terms of the intergovernmental agreement shall | 18 | | ensure that all of the following standards of service are met: | 19 | | (1) The formation of the District shall result in no | 20 | | net increase in the cost of fire protection services and | 21 | | emergency medical services to each unit of local government | 22 | | due to the reduction or elimination of
duplicative | 23 | | administrative costs, operational costs, equipment costs, | 24 | | or capital expenditures unless members of the Joint | 25 | | Committee can demonstrate that an increase in the cost to a | 26 | | participating unit of local government is justified by a |
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| 1 | | corresponding increase in the level of services provided to | 2 | | a participating unit of local government under the terms of | 3 | | the intergovernmental agreement. | 4 | | (2) The formation of the District shall not increase | 5 | | the average response times in any included unit of local | 6 | | government.
| 7 | | (3) Districts shall have no independent ability to levy | 8 | | taxes and shall rely on the fiscal support and | 9 | | contributions from component fire protection | 10 | | jurisdictions, as required under the terms of the | 11 | | intergovernmental agreement. | 12 | | (4) The District shall apply savings in operating costs | 13 | | as follows: A minimum of 50% of cost savings shall be | 14 | | contributed, pro rata, to the Firemen's Pension Fund of | 15 | | each included unit of local government as applicable. Those | 16 | | contributions shall be applied as a credit to reduce the | 17 | | unfunded accrued liability of the Fund, if one exists. If | 18 | | no unfunded accrued liabilities exist, the savings in | 19 | | operating costs shall be divided into equal amounts and | 20 | | applied to reduce the contributions otherwise required by | 21 | | the unit of government and its firefighter employees under | 22 | | the Pension Code.
| 23 | | Section 30. Creation of a District by an Intergovernmental | 24 | | Authority. The governing bodies of 2 or more adjacent fire | 25 | | protection jurisdictions may commence and implement action to |
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| 1 | | adopt a proposed Plan pursuant to Section 10 of Article VII of | 2 | | the Illinois Constitution and the Illinois Intergovernmental | 3 | | Cooperation Act and create a Unified Fire Protection District.
| 4 | | (a) Notice. The governing body of a fire protection | 5 | | jurisdiction seeking to implement and adopt a Plan under | 6 | | Section 50 of this Act through an Intergovernmental Authority | 7 | | shall publish a written notice regarding their intentions and | 8 | | hold a public hearing.
| 9 | | If the fire protection jurisdiction is located entirely in | 10 | | one county, the notice shall be published in an English | 11 | | language newspaper of general circulation published in the fire | 12 | | protection jurisdiction, or, if no such newspaper exists, then | 13 | | in an English language newspaper of general circulation | 14 | | published in the county and having circulation in the fire | 15 | | protection jurisdiction. | 16 | | If the fire protection jurisdiction is located primarily in | 17 | | one county but extends into smaller portions of adjoining | 18 | | counties, the notice shall be published in a newspaper of | 19 | | general circulation published in the Fire Protection | 20 | | Jurisdiction, or, if no such newspaper exists, then in a | 21 | | newspaper of general circulation published in each county in | 22 | | which any part of the fire protection jurisdiction is located. | 23 | | If the fire protection jurisdiction includes all or a large | 24 | | portion of two or more counties, the notice shall be published | 25 | | in a newspaper of general circulation published in each county | 26 | | in which any part of the fire protection jurisdiction is |
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| 1 | | located.
| 2 | | The notice shall appear not more than 30 and no less than | 3 | | 10 days prior to the date of the public hearing.
| 4 | | (b) All hearings shall be open to the public. The corporate | 5 | | authority of each participating fire protection jurisdiction | 6 | | to an Intergovernmental Authority shall explain the reasons for | 7 | | the proposed creation of an Unified Fire Protection District | 8 | | and provide persons with an opportunity to present testimony | 9 | | within reasonable time limits, as determined by the corporate | 10 | | entities of the affected fire protection jurisdictions.
| 11 | | (c) An Intergovernmental Authority, under the provisions | 12 | | of this Section, may, on its own initiative or shall upon | 13 | | receiving notice that a petition has been filed under Section | 14 | | 25 of this Act, convert the proposed District into a District | 15 | | formed by petition, subject to
approval by the affected voters | 16 | | in accordance with the procedures of this Act. | 17 | | (d) Adoption of Plan. An Intergovernmental Authority, | 18 | | following each participating fire protection jurisdiction's | 19 | | approval and open hearing, shall adopt a Plan as set forth in | 20 | | Section 50 of this Act.
| 21 | | (e) Dissolution. Any participating fire protection
| 22 | | jurisdiction to an Intergovernmental Authority may withdraw | 23 | | upon 10 days written notice to all other fire protection | 24 | | jurisdictions that are members of the Intergovernmental | 25 | | Authority. An Intergovernmental Authority shall dissolve | 26 | | within 120 days of its first meeting should it not adopt a |
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| 1 | | Unified Fire Protection District Plan. | 2 | | Section 35. Judicial Notice. All courts in this State shall | 3 | | take judicial notice of the existence of any District organized | 4 | | under this Act, and every such District shall constitute a body | 5 | | corporate that may sue or be sued in all courts. | 6 | | Section 40. Support. Notwithstanding any provision of this | 7 | | Act, a Unified Fire Protection District, whether created by | 8 | | referendum or an Intergovernmental Authority, may receive | 9 | | supplementary funding, fiscal support, or other revenue or | 10 | | property consideration from the State, including the Office of | 11 | | the State Fire Marshal, a county, or any other unit of local | 12 | | government to defray the expenses of organizing a new District | 13 | | or as may be deemed necessary or appropriate, and may be | 14 | | appropriated by that entity to the Authority.
| 15 | | Section 45. Enforcement of an intergovernmental agreement. | 16 | | In the event of a default, the District shall be authorized to | 17 | | secure collection of promised contributions from the unit of | 18 | | local government by intercepting: (1) monies deposited or to be | 19 | | deposited into any special fund of the defaulting unit of local | 20 | | government; or (2) grants or other revenues or taxes expected | 21 | | to be received by the unit of local government from the State | 22 | | or Federal government, including taxes imposed by the | 23 | | governmental unit pursuant to a grant of authority by the |
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| 1 | | State, such as sales or use taxes or utility taxes. | 2 | | Any interception authorized under this Section by the | 3 | | District shall be valid and binding from the time the | 4 | | interception is made. The revenues, monies, and other funds | 5 | | intercepted and to be intercepted by the District shall | 6 | | immediately be subject to the District's lien. The lien shall | 7 | | be valid and binding against all parties having claims of any | 8 | | kind in tort, contract, or otherwise against the defaulting | 9 | | unit of local government, irrespective of whether such parties | 10 | | have notice. Under any such interception, a defaulting unit of | 11 | | local government may bind itself to impose rates, charges, or | 12 | | taxes to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Any | 13 | | ordinance, resolution, trust agreement, or other instrument by | 14 | | which a lien is created shall be filed in the records of the | 15 | | District. | 16 | | The State Treasurer, the State Comptroller, the Department | 17 | | of Revenue, and the Department of Transportation shall deposit | 18 | | or cause to be deposited any amount of grants or other revenues | 19 | | or taxes expected to be received by the defaulting unit of | 20 | | local government from that official or entity that has been | 21 | | pledged to the defaulting unit of local government, directly | 22 | | into a designated escrow account established by the District at | 23 | | a trust company or bank having trust powers, unless otherwise | 24 | | prohibited by law. The ordinance authorizing that disposition | 25 | | shall, within 10 days after adoption by the governing body of | 26 | | the District, be filed with the official or entity with custody |
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| 1 | | of the garnished grants or other revenues or taxes. | 2 | | Section 50. Planning committee; formation; powers. A | 3 | | Planning Committee is an advisory entity that is created, | 4 | | convened, and empowered as provided in this Section. | 5 | | (a) Creation. An Intergovernmental Authority may create a | 6 | | Planning Committee to discuss the formation of a Unified Fire | 7 | | Protection District. | 8 | | Each governing body of a participating fire protection | 9 | | jurisdiction under this Section shall appoint two officials or | 10 | | employees to the Planning Committee. Each exclusive | 11 | | representative of any collective bargaining unit containing | 12 | | fire department related employees of each affected fire | 13 | | protection jurisdiction shall appoint 2 members or officials to | 14 | | the Planning Committee. Members of a Planning Committee may be | 15 | | reimbursed for travel and incidental expenses at the discretion | 16 | | of the governing body of each respective fire protection | 17 | | jurisdiction.
| 18 | | (b) Funding. A Planning Committee may receive state | 19 | | funding, as appropriated by the legislature or from the Office | 20 | | of the State Fire Marshal or any affected fire protection | 21 | | jurisdiction for initial funding to pay for salaries, expenses, | 22 | | overhead, supplies, and similar expenses ordinarily and | 23 | | necessarily incurred.
| 24 | | (c) A Planning Committee shall conduct its affairs and | 25 | | formulate a Plan as provided under Section 55 of this Act.
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| 1 | | (d) At its first meeting, a Planning Committee may elect | 2 | | officers and provide for the adoption of rules and other | 3 | | operating procedures.
| 4 | | (e) Dissolution. A Planning Committee may dissolve itself | 5 | | at any time by a majority vote of the total membership of the | 6 | | Planning Committee. Any participating fire protection | 7 | | jurisdiction may withdraw upon 10 days written notice to all | 8 | | other fire protection jurisdictions that are members of the | 9 | | Planning Committee.
| 10 | | (f) Planning Committees are subject to the requirements of | 11 | | the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
| 12 | | Section 55. Planning Committee; duties; formulation of | 13 | | plan.
| 14 | | (a) A Planning Committee shall adopt a Plan providing for | 15 | | the design, financing, and development of fire protection | 16 | | services for the territory to comprise the new District. The | 17 | | Planning Committee may coordinate its activities with | 18 | | neighboring municipalities, fire protection districts, and | 19 | | other local governments that engage in fire protection | 20 | | planning. The Planning Committee may consider land use planning | 21 | | criteria and the input of local government officials located | 22 | | within, or partially within, a participating fire protection | 23 | | jurisdiction. | 24 | | (b) The Planning Committee shall:
| 25 | | (1) create opportunities for public input in the |
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| 1 | | development of the Plan; | 2 | | (2) adopt a Plan proposing the creation of a District | 3 | | and recommending design, financing, and development of | 4 | | fire protection and emergency service facilities and | 5 | | operations, including maintenance and preservation of | 6 | | facilities or systems which may include the provision of | 7 | | ambulance and other fire department related services. The | 8 | | Plan shall identify the existing levels of fire department | 9 | | emergency services as measured by nationally acceptable | 10 | | practices. It shall ensure that, absent an increase in the | 11 | | level of services to be provided to the territory of the | 12 | | proposed District, no net increase in cost of services | 13 | | shall occur. The Plan shall also provide that the average | 14 | | emergency services response times in the District shall not | 15 | | be increased compared with those of each affected fire | 16 | | protection jurisdiction; | 17 | | (3) adopt, as part of the Plan, recommended and | 18 | | identified resources and assets to be available to the | 19 | | District from prospective contributing or component fire | 20 | | protection jurisdictions, or other sources; | 21 | | (4) adopt, as part of the Plan, recommended and | 22 | | identified obligations and liabilities to be assumed by the | 23 | | District from prospective contributing or component
fire | 24 | | protection jurisdictions, or to be retained by the | 25 | | prospective contributing or component fire protection | 26 | | jurisdictions; |
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| 1 | | (5) adopt, as part of the Plan, a recommended timeline | 2 | | for establishing common and uniform operating procedures, | 3 | | standards, and guidelines, as well as rules and policies, | 4 | | to be applicable to the District upon approval by the | 5 | | District subsequent to its activation as a viable entity; | 6 | | (6) recommend sources of revenue authorized by Section | 7 | | 60 of this Act and undertake financial and budgeting | 8 | | processes to fund selected fire protection service | 9 | | projects. The Plan shall include amendment, termination, | 10 | | and enforcement provisions, specifically to include breach | 11 | | or default in the payment and funding provisions of the | 12 | | Plan and the penalties for such a breach, as well as the | 13 | | means to enforce the provisions of the Plan by the affected | 14 | | fire protection jurisdictions; | 15 | | (7) identify the composition of the Board and the | 16 | | relative representation of each fire protection | 17 | | jurisdiction on the Board; and
| 18 | | (8) determine whether to seek a voter-approved Plan for | 19 | | any non-elector initiated Unified Fire Protection | 20 | | District.
| 21 | | (c) Once adopted, the Plan shall be forwarded to the | 22 | | participating fire protection jurisdictions' governing bodies | 23 | | for their approval, and, if approved by all affected fire | 24 | | protection jurisdictions, to either initiate the petition | 25 | | process under Section 25 of this Act, or for implementation by | 26 | | intergovernmental agreement under Section 30 of this Act.
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| 1 | | (d) For elector-approved Plans initiated by the fire | 2 | | protection jurisdictions, if the ballot measure to adopt the | 3 | | Plan is not approved by the voters, the Planning Committee may | 4 | | reconvene to redefine the scope and purpose of the District, | 5 | | its projects, financing plan, and the ballot measure. The | 6 | | governing bodies of the member fire protection jurisdictions | 7 | | may approve a new Plan and ballot measure, and may then submit | 8 | | the revised proposition to the voters at a subsequent regular | 9 | | election. Alternatively, the Plan may be approved and | 10 | | implemented under provisions creating an Intergovernmental | 11 | | Authority pursuant to Section 30 of this Act.
| 12 | | Section 60. Unified Fire Protection District; initial | 13 | | startup.
| 14 | | (a) A District formed by voter petition in accordance with | 15 | | Section 25, or as otherwise provided in this Act, shall | 16 | | commence operations no later than 90 days after the date of the | 17 | | election and shall operate for the purposes set forth in the | 18 | | Plan.
An Intergovernmental Authority comprised of governing | 19 | | bodies of 2 or more fire protection jurisdictions shall be | 20 | | considered to be formed upon approval of the governing bodies | 21 | | of each member fire protection jurisdiction. The | 22 | | Intergovernmental Authority shall commence operations on the | 23 | | date identified in the Plan. | 24 | | (b) Governing board. The Unified Fire Protection District | 25 | | shall be governed by a Board of 5 trustees. The Board shall |
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| 1 | | elect a Chairperson from among its members, who shall vote only | 2 | | in the case of a tie. | 3 | | If a District is wholly contained within a single county, | 4 | | the trustees for the District shall be appointed by the chief | 5 | | executive officer of the county board with the advice and | 6 | | consent of the county board. If the District lies within more | 7 | | than one county, the number of trustees who are residents of a | 8 | | county shall be in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the | 9 | | number of residents of the District who reside in that county | 10 | | in relation to the total population of the District, unless the | 11 | | District has voted by referendum to elect the trustees. | 12 | | Thereafter, each trustee shall be succeeded by a resident of | 13 | | the same county who shall be appointed by the same appointing | 14 | | authority. The appropriate appointing authorities shall | 15 | | appoint 5 trustees of the District within 60 days after the | 16 | | entry of the order establishing the District. The trustees | 17 | | shall be electors in the District, provided that the Board | 18 | | shall consist of a trustee representing each unit of local | 19 | | government, subject to the intergovernmental agreement, within | 20 | | the Unified Fire Protection District. The trustees shall hold | 21 | | the terms of office and shall have the powers and | 22 | | qualifications that are provided for trustees under Section 4 | 23 | | of the Fire Protection District Act. | 24 | | In the event of a conflict between the terms of the | 25 | | intergovernmental agreement and the powers of the trustees | 26 | | otherwise provided by law, the terms of the intergovernmental |
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| 1 | | agreement shall prevail and supersede. | 2 | | (c) Powers and duties. The District shall have the power, | 3 | | duties, and obligations of a fire protection district as | 4 | | otherwise provided under this Act, except as modified or | 5 | | limited by the provisions of this Section. The District shall | 6 | | develop a budget funded at a level sufficient to ensure that | 7 | | the quality of service provided to the residents of the service | 8 | | area within the boundary of the included units of local | 9 | | government continues at a level equal to or greater than those | 10 | | provided prior to the modification. | 11 | | (d) Local fire departments. The establishment of a District | 12 | | as a separate named unit of local government shall not prevent | 13 | | the units of local government within it from identifying their | 14 | | historical fire departments with the names of their localities. | 15 | | In that event, local fire departments shall be described as | 16 | | [local name] Branch of the [name of the District].
| 17 | | (e) Single chain of command. Upon the formation of a | 18 | | District under either Section 25 or 30 of this Act, the fire | 19 | | departments of the participating units of local government | 20 | | shall be operated under a single chain of command under the | 21 | | leadership of one fire chief appointed by the Board of the | 22 | | District. Chiefs and subordinate chief officers who are | 23 | | redundant under the single chain of command, or consolidated | 24 | | shifts established by the Board, shall be eligible to apply for | 25 | | vacancies in positions that may be established under the terms | 26 | | of the intergovernmental agreement entered into by the parties, |
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| 1 | | provided that the positions shall not be available to any | 2 | | person who is already retired and receiving benefits under | 3 | | Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Code. These positions | 4 | | include, but are not limited to, training officer, EMS | 5 | | coordinator, fire inspector, or company officer. Any proposed | 6 | | reduction to a bargaining unit position resulting from the | 7 | | abolishment of a non-bargaining unit position shall be subject | 8 | | to compliance with the bargaining rights of any affected | 9 | | collective bargaining representative. | 10 | | Upon taking office, the fire chief of the District shall | 11 | | command all shifts covering the unified service area of the | 12 | | units of local government included in the District. The | 13 | | District shall become a body politic and corporate with all the | 14 | | powers, rights, duties, and obligations vested in it under the | 15 | | terms of the intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise | 16 | | provided under the provisions of this Act.
| 17 | | (f) Upon the organization of the District, the duties of | 18 | | each included unit of local government relating to the | 19 | | operation of a fire department and emergency medical services | 20 | | within the boundaries of the District shall be transferred to | 21 | | the Board of the District to be exercised according to the | 22 | | terms of the intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise | 23 | | provided under the provisions of this Act. | 24 | | (g) Unless otherwise agreed upon, all firefighters and EMS | 25 | | personnel lawfully in the employment of any unit of local | 26 | | government included in the District shall maintain identity |
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| 1 | | with the fire departments that they were serving on prior to | 2 | | the intergovernmental agreement creating the Unified Fire | 3 | | Protection District, but shall be subject to the unified chain | 4 | | of command established under the Board. | 5 | | A District consisting of any fire department that employs | 6 | | full-time officers or members shall be subject to Sections | 7 | | 16.01 through 16.18 of the Fire Protection District Act unless | 8 | | the terms of the intergovernmental agreement agreed to by the | 9 | | units of local government and the exclusive bargaining agents | 10 | | representing employees engaged in providing fire protection or | 11 | | emergency medical services within the service area of the | 12 | | District provides otherwise.
| 13 | | (h) Contracts in effect between an exclusive bargaining | 14 | | agent and a unit of local government shall continue according | 15 | | to their terms. Successor contracts shall be negotiated in | 16 | | accordance with the provisions of the Illinois Public Labor | 17 | | Relations Act. Upon agreement of any 2 or more units of local | 18 | | government and corresponding exclusive bargaining | 19 | | representatives, and approval of that agreement by a majority | 20 | | of the members of each respective bargaining unit, any 2 or | 21 | | more bargaining units may be consolidated into a single | 22 | | bargaining unit.
| 23 | | (i) Any unit of local government that is included in a | 24 | | District shall be exempt from any reduction in the formula for | 25 | | distribution
of income tax revenues under Section 901 of the | 26 | | Illinois Income Tax Act and personal property replacement tax |
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| 1 | | revenues under subsection (c) of Section 201 of the Illinois | 2 | | Income Tax Act collected from local taxpayers by State agencies | 3 | | and redistributed to the units of local government based on the | 4 | | formula and laws in effect as of the effective date of this | 5 | | amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly. | 6 | | A District shall be eligible to receive the distribution of | 7 | | income tax revenues collected from local taxpayers according to | 8 | | the same formula applicable to municipalities. | 9 | | Section 65. Levy of taxes; limitations; indebtedness.
| 10 | | (a) To carry out the purposes for which a District is | 11 | | created, a District Board is empowered to take all actions | 12 | | authorized by law and authorized under this Act for the purpose | 13 | | of enforcing payment of any and all contributions and payments | 14 | | required under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement | 15 | | executed under the provisions of this Act. | 16 | | (b) The inclusion of any unit of local government into a | 17 | | District shall not affect the obligation of any contract | 18 | | entered into by the unit of local government unless otherwise | 19 | | agreed upon in the intergovernmental agreement. Such contracts | 20 | | shall remain the obligation of the unit of local government | 21 | | that incurred the obligation.
| 22 | | The inclusion of units of local government shall not | 23 | | adversely affect proceedings for the collection or enforcement | 24 | | of any tax. The proceedings shall continue to finality as if no | 25 | | inclusion had taken place. The proceeds thereof shall be paid |
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| 1 | | to the treasurer of the unit of local government, subject to | 2 | | the terms of the intergovernmental agreement, to be used for | 3 | | the purpose for which the tax was levied or assessed.
| 4 | | All suits pending in any court on behalf of or against any | 5 | | unit of local government relating to the provision of fire or | 6 | | emergency medical services on the date that the unit of local | 7 | | government is joined into a District under this Act may be | 8 | | prosecuted or defended in the name of the unit of local | 9 | | government unless otherwise provided in the intergovernmental | 10 | | agreement. All judgments obtained for
any unit of local | 11 | | government joined into a District shall be collected and | 12 | | enforced by the District for its benefit unless otherwise | 13 | | provided in the intergovernmental agreement.
| 14 | | The title to all property of a unit of local government | 15 | | related to providing fire or emergency medical services in the | 16 | | District that is transferred to the District under the terms of | 17 | | the intergovernmental agreement shall remain vested in the unit | 18 | | of local government to be held for the same purposes and uses, | 19 | | and subject to the same conditions as before inclusion.
| 20 | | (c) Exclusivity. Any intergovernmental contracts otherwise | 21 | | authorized by law that relate to the combination of contracts | 22 | | or the integration of service areas where fire protection or | 23 | | emergency medical services are performed shall be entered into | 24 | | pursuant to Section 25 or Section 30 of this Act. | 25 | | Section 70. Petition to dissolve a District; referendum. |
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| 1 | | The Board of a District may certify and submit the question of | 2 | | dissolution of the District to the electors of the District. | 3 | | The Board may draft a ballot title, give notice as required by | 4 | | the general election law, and perform other duties as required | 5 | | to put the question before the voters of the District for their | 6 | | approval or rejection as a single ballot measure. The | 7 | | electorate consists of the voters voting within the boundaries | 8 | | of the existing District. A simple majority of the registered | 9 | | voters voting on the single ballot measure is required to | 10 | | approve dissolution of the petitioned District. The District | 11 | | shall act in accordance with general election law. The District | 12 | | seeking dissolution is liable for its proportionate share of | 13 | | the costs of the election.
| 14 | | The question shall be in substantially the following form:
- | 15 | | --------------------------- | 16 | | For dissolution of the | 17 | | .........Unified Fire | 18 | | Protection District. - | 19 | | --------------------------- | 20 | | Against dissolution of the | 21 | | .........Unified Fire | 22 | | Protection District. - | 23 | | --------------------------- | 24 | | Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". If a majority of | 25 | | the votes cast are in favor of the dissolution, the assets, | 26 | | liabilities, obligations, and personnel assigned or belonging |
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| 1 | | to the District shall revert to the component fire protection | 2 | | jurisdictions comprising or contributing to the District, | 3 | | proportional to each fire protection jurisdiction's | 4 | | contribution. All such transfers and reassignments shall be | 5 | | made in an expeditious and timely manner, and no longer than | 6 | | 120 days after the date upon which the District dissolution | 7 | | vote was certified by local election authorities.
| 8 | | Section 75. Intergovernmental Authority and District; | 9 | | dissolution.
| 10 | | A District created by an intergovernmental agreement under | 11 | | Section 30 may be dissolved upon consent of the component fire | 12 | | protection jurisdictions comprising or contributing to the | 13 | | District.
| 14 | | The board of the District seeking dissolution shall publish | 15 | | a written notice of and hold a public hearing on its intention | 16 | | to dissolve the District.
If the District is located entirely | 17 | | in one county, the notice shall be published in an English | 18 | | language newspaper of general circulation published in the | 19 | | District, or, if there is no such newspaper, in an English | 20 | | language newspaper of general circulation published in the | 21 | | county and having circulation in the District. If the District | 22 | | is located primarily in one county but extends into smaller | 23 | | portions of adjoining counties, the notice shall be published | 24 | | in a newspaper of general circulation published in the | 25 | | District, or, if there is no such newspaper, in a newspaper of |
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| 1 | | general circulation published in each county in which any part | 2 | | of the District is located. If the District includes all or a | 3 | | large portion of two or more counties, the notice shall be | 4 | | published in a newspaper of general circulation published in | 5 | | each county in which any part of the District is located. The | 6 | | notice shall appear not more than 30 and no less than 10 days | 7 | | prior to the date of the public hearing. | 8 | | All hearings shall be open to the public. The Board shall | 9 | | explain the reasons for the proposed dissolution of the | 10 | | District and shall permit persons an opportunity to present | 11 | | testimony within reasonable time limits as the Board | 12 | | determines.
| 13 | | A simple majority of votes the District is required for | 14 | | dissolution of the District.
| 15 | | Upon approval of dissolution of a District, the assets, | 16 | | liabilities, obligations, and personnel assigned or belonging | 17 | | to the District shall revert to the component fire protection | 18 | | jurisdictions comprising or contributing to the District, in | 19 | | proportion to each fire protection jurisdiction's | 20 | | contribution. All such transfers and reassignments shall be | 21 | | made in an expeditious and timely manner, but no longer than | 22 | | 120 days after the date upon which the District dissolution | 23 | | vote was affirmed by the District Board.
| 24 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 25 | | becoming law.".
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