Full Text of SB1681 98th General Assembly
SB1681sam003 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Sen. Terry Link Filed: 7/9/2013
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1681
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1681, AS AMENDED, | 3 | | by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | 4 | | following:
| 5 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 6 | | Regional Fire Protection Agency Act. | 7 | | Section 5. Purpose and creation. | 8 | | (a) Purpose. The General Assembly finds the consolidation | 9 | | of fire protection services on a regional basis provided by | 10 | | fire departments throughout the State of Illinois to be an | 11 | | economic benefit. Therefore, this Act establishes procedures | 12 | | for the creation of Regional Fire Protection Agencies that | 13 | | encompass wider service areas by combining existing fire | 14 | | departments and extending service areas of these departments | 15 | | into under-served geographic areas. It is the expressed intent | 16 | | of the General Assembly that Regional Fire Protection Agencies |
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| 1 | | shall achieve a net savings in the cost of providing fire | 2 | | protection services, emergency medical services, and related | 3 | | services in the expanded service area by reducing and | 4 | | eliminating costs including, but not limited to, duplicative or | 5 | | excessive administrative and operational services, equipment, | 6 | | facilities, and capital expenditures, without a reduction in | 7 | | the quality or level of these services. | 8 | | (b) Creation. A Regional Fire Protection Agency may be | 9 | | formed by filing voter-initiated petitions for the purposes of | 10 | | integrating existing service areas of contiguous units of local | 11 | | government providing fire protection services to achieve the | 12 | | purposes of this Act. | 13 | | Section 10. Definitions. The definitions in this Section | 14 | | apply throughout this Act unless the context clearly requires | 15 | | otherwise: | 16 | | "Board" means the governing body of a Regional Fire | 17 | | Protection Agency. | 18 | | "Fire protection jurisdiction" means a fire protection | 19 | | district, municipal fire department, or service organized | 20 | | under Section 5-1056.1 of the Counties Code, Sections 195 and | 21 | | 200 of the Illinois Township Code, Section 10-2.1 of the | 22 | | Illinois Municipal Code, or the Illinois Fire Protection | 23 | | District Act. | 24 | | "Joint Committee" means the group consisting of the parties | 25 | | appointed by the Court in accordance with the procedures of |
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| 1 | | this Act after a petition has been filed to create a Regional | 2 | | Fire Protection Agency. The Joint Committee meets for the | 3 | | limited purpose of negotiating the terms of an | 4 | | intergovernmental agreement to create and implement a Regional | 5 | | Fire Protection Agency. | 6 | | "Property Tax" or "Tax" has the same meaning as the term | 7 | | "Tax", as defined in Section 1-145 of the Property Tax Code. | 8 | | "Regional Fire Protection Agency" or "Agency" means a fire | 9 | | protection organization formed pursuant to this Act that | 10 | | combines 2 or more units of local government with a unified | 11 | | command and operations
that has boundaries that are coextensive | 12 | | with 2
or more adjacent units of local government and has been
| 13 | | created by a referendum under this Act.
| 14 | | "Special Mediator" means an individual who possesses the | 15 | | qualifications specified in this Act and shall facilitate the | 16 | | negotiation of an intergovernmental agreement to create a | 17 | | Regional Fire Protection Agency.
| 18 | | Section 15. Elections and referenda. When a referendum is | 19 | | submitted under this Act for approval or rejection by the | 20 | | electors, the time and manner of conducting a referendum, | 21 | | including petition signature requirements, shall be in | 22 | | accordance with the general election law of the State. The | 23 | | creation of any Regional Fire Protection Agency by referendum | 24 | | shall be secured by an intergovernmental agreement that
| 25 | | includes terms that meet the standards set forth in Section 25
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| 1 | | of this Act.
| 2 | | Section 20. Notice to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. | 3 | | The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall be served notice | 4 | | as to any plans of 2 or more units of local government to | 5 | | combine fire protection or emergency medical services, or both, | 6 | | as follows: | 7 | | (1) Whenever a county clerk or other election authority | 8 | | places upon a ballot the question of creating or altering | 9 | | an Agency or fire protection jurisdiction, the clerk or | 10 | | other election authority shall notify the Office of the | 11 | | State Fire Marshal that the proposition is to be put before | 12 | | the electorate. The notice shall be sent to the Office of | 13 | | the State Fire Marshal within 10 business days after the | 14 | | question is certified to the clerk or other election | 15 | | authority. | 16 | | (2) Whenever the governing bodies of 2 or more adjacent | 17 | | fire protection jurisdictions conduct a public hearing to | 18 | | consider a plan to combine 2 or more fire protection | 19 | | jurisdiction service areas by intergovernmental agreement, | 20 | | the clerk of each unit of local government to be party to | 21 | | such an intergovernmental agreement shall notify the | 22 | | Office of the State Fire Marshal that the units of local | 23 | | government are considering such a plan. The notice shall be | 24 | | sent to the Office of the State Fire Marshal within 10 | 25 | | business days after notice of the meeting is published. |
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| 1 | | (3) Whenever the governing bodies of 2 or more adjacent | 2 | | fire protection jurisdictions enter into an agreement to | 3 | | combine 2 or more fire protection jurisdiction service | 4 | | areas by intergovernmental agreement, the clerk of each | 5 | | unit of local government to be party to such an | 6 | | intergovernmental agreement shall notify the Office of the | 7 | | State Fire Marshal that the units of local government have | 8 | | entered into the intergovernmental agreement. The notice | 9 | | shall be sent to the Office of the State Fire Marshal | 10 | | within 10 business days after notice of the meeting is | 11 | | published. | 12 | | Section 25. Creation of an Agency by petition and | 13 | | referendum.
| 14 | | (a) Petition. A Regional Fire Protection Agency may | 15 | | exclusively be formed upon petition signed by the lesser of: | 16 | | (i) at least 100 legal voters in each of the units of local | 17 | | government proposed to be combined; or (ii) 10% of the legal | 18 | | voters in each of the units of local government to be included | 19 | | in the Regional Fire Protection Agency. The petition shall be | 20 | | filed in the circuit court of the county in which the greater | 21 | | part of the land of the proposed Regional Fire Protection | 22 | | Agency shall be situated. The petition shall set forth the | 23 | | names of the units of local government proposed to be included, | 24 | | the name of the proposed Regional Fire Protection Agency, the | 25 | | benefits of consolidating the units of local government within |
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| 1 | | a Regional Fire Protection Agency, the names of the | 2 | | representatives of the petitioners from each unit of local | 3 | | government who shall be authorized to serve on the Joint | 4 | | Committee, and up to 3 alternate representatives from each unit | 5 | | of local government in the event a designated representative | 6 | | ceases to be an elector of their jurisdiction or resigns from | 7 | | the Joint Committee. Upon its filing, the petition shall be | 8 | | presented to the court, and the court shall fix the date and | 9 | | hour for a hearing.
| 10 | | (b) Notice of Hearing. Upon the filing of the petition, the | 11 | | court shall set a hearing date that is at least 4 weeks, but | 12 | | not more than 8 weeks, after the date the petition is filed. | 13 | | The court, clerk, petitioner's counsel, or sheriff shall, upon | 14 | | order of the court, give notice 21 days before the hearing in | 15 | | one or more daily or weekly newspapers of general circulation | 16 | | in each county where an affected unit of local government is | 17 | | organized. The notice must describe the units of local | 18 | | government to be included and shall state that if the | 19 | | conditions required by this Section are met, then the | 20 | | proposition for the creation of the Agency shall be submitted | 21 | | to the voters of the units of local government in the proposed | 22 | | Agency by order of the court. | 23 | | (c) Hearing and referendum. At the hearing, the court shall | 24 | | first determine whether the petition is supported by the | 25 | | required number of valid signatures of legal voters within the | 26 | | contiguous units of local government. If the petition is |
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| 1 | | proper, then the court shall remand the matter to a Special | 2 | | Mediator who shall mediate the negotiations regarding the terms | 3 | | of an intergovernmental agreement by the members of the Joint | 4 | | Committee as provided in subsection (d) of this Section. The | 5 | | Special Mediator shall be a member of the bar of the State of | 6 | | Illinois or a member of the faculty of an accredited law | 7 | | school. The Special Mediator shall have practiced law for at | 8 | | least 7 years and be knowledgeable about municipal, labor, | 9 | | employment, and election law. The Special Mediator shall be | 10 | | free of any conflicts of interest. The Special Mediator shall | 11 | | have strong mediation skills and the temperament and training | 12 | | to listen well, facilitate communication, and assist with | 13 | | negotiations. Special Mediators shall have sufficient | 14 | | experience and familiarity with municipal, labor, employment, | 15 | | and election law to provide a credible evaluation and | 16 | | assessment of relative positions. The Special Mediator | 17 | | assigned to mediate the Joint Committee's negotiations shall be | 18 | | selected by the members of the Joint Committee from a panel of | 19 | | 7 individuals provided by the Joint Labor Management Committee, | 20 | | as it is defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department Promotion | 21 | | Act. The panel shall be randomly selected by the Joint Labor | 22 | | Management Committee from a master list maintained by the Joint | 23 | | Labor Management Committee consisting of at least 14 qualified | 24 | | Special Mediators. If the members fail to agree, the court | 25 | | shall appoint the Special Mediator. The Joint Committee may | 26 | | elect to conduct negotiations without the assistance of the |
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| 1 | | Special Mediator upon a majority vote of the Joint Committee. | 2 | | To certify a question for referendum, the court must find that: | 3 | | (i) based upon a preponderance of the evidence, at least 2 of | 4 | | the 3 Joint Committee representatives appointed by the court | 5 | | for each unit of local government included in the proposed | 6 | | Agency have executed an intergovernmental agreement that | 7 | | includes terms that are in compliance with the requirements | 8 | | under subsection (d) of this Section; (ii) the terms of an | 9 | | agreed-upon intergovernmental agreement have been approved by | 10 | | the requisite governing bodies of each of the units of local | 11 | | government; and (iii) should the terms of an agreed-upon | 12 | | intergovernmental agreement change the terms of the collective | 13 | | bargaining agreement for a bargaining unit of employees of any | 14 | | local unit of government of the proposed Regional Fire | 15 | | Protection Agency, any affected collective bargaining units | 16 | | must also approve all such changes in the terms of the | 17 | | collective bargaining agreement. | 18 | | (d) Joint Committee. The court shall allow appointments to | 19 | | the Joint Committee as follows:
| 20 | | (1) A representative of each unit of local government | 21 | | included within the proposed service area of the proposed | 22 | | Agency.
| 23 | | (2) A representative of each collective bargaining | 24 | | unit that is a party to a collective bargaining agreement | 25 | | with a unit of local government to provide fire suppression | 26 | | or emergency medical services, or both, included within the |
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| 1 | | proposed Agency. | 2 | | (3) A representative for the petitioners from each unit | 3 | | of local government included within the proposed Agency, as | 4 | | designated by the petition, or, if none are designated or | 5 | | willing to serve, then chosen by the court from among the | 6 | | legal voters that signed the petition. | 7 | | (e) Joint Committee Negotiations. After remand, the | 8 | | Special Mediator shall schedule a meeting of the Joint | 9 | | Committee and facilitate the members in negotiating the terms | 10 | | of an intergovernmental agreement. The first order of business | 11 | | shall be to establish a financial baseline for the current | 12 | | costs of fire and emergency medical services provided by the | 13 | | units of local government party to the Joint Committee. To this | 14 | | end, each unit of local government party to the Joint Committee | 15 | | shall disclose to the Joint Committee the total aggregate | 16 | | expenditures it allocates for providing all fire, rescue, and | 17 | | emergency medical services. These expenditures shall include, | 18 | | but are not be limited to, the following cost factors: (i) all | 19 | | expenses from the corporate fund and other operational funds | 20 | | related to fire protection services, whether direct or | 21 | | indirect, for the current fiscal year; and (ii) all costs, | 22 | | whether direct or indirect, paid from other funds, including, | 23 | | but not limited to, capital or building funds, pension funds, | 24 | | workers' compensation funds, health insurance funds, | 25 | | enterprise funds, administrative funds, and all other funds | 26 | | from which money is, or may be, paid or transferred to pay for |
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| 1 | | the administration and compensation or benefits for employees | 2 | | or persons assigned to provide fire or emergency medical | 3 | | services or related services, equipment, and buildings and | 4 | | their maintenance or operation and debt service for any | 5 | | expenditures related to these or related cost factors. | 6 | | The Special Mediator or the court, or both if necessary, | 7 | | shall facilitate the computation and production of this | 8 | | financial baseline unless the Joint Committee elects to conduct | 9 | | negotiations without the assistance of the Special Mediator. | 10 | | The financial baseline shall serve as the predicate to: (i) the | 11 | | annual contributions to be made by each unit of local | 12 | | government to the costs of providing fire and emergency medical | 13 | | services to the service area established for the proposed | 14 | | Regional Fire Protection Agency; and (ii) for the court's | 15 | | findings pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section. | 16 | | The Joint Committee may take note or give due consideration | 17 | | to available resources, studies, and plans that may facilitate | 18 | | the resolution of issues relating to the terms of an agreement. | 19 | | Negotiations may continue for a period of 90 days or, if the | 20 | | court determines that additional time will facilitate | 21 | | agreement, longer. | 22 | | If no agreement is reached, the court shall dismiss the | 23 | | petition. If an agreement is reached, the court shall schedule | 24 | | an evidentiary hearing with notice to determine if the terms of | 25 | | the agreement are in compliance with the requirements of | 26 | | subsection (f) of this Section. The expenses of the Special |
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| 1 | | Mediator shall be apportioned equally among the included units | 2 | | of local government unless the parties agree otherwise in the | 3 | | intergovernmental agreement. | 4 | | If the intergovernmental agreement has been approved by the | 5 | | governing bodies of at least 2 units of local government | 6 | | included in the original petition, then the petition may | 7 | | proceed, provided that the agreement is also executed by at | 8 | | least 2 of 3 Joint Committee representatives from each affected | 9 | | unit of local government included in the original petition. The | 10 | | units of local government that did not consent to inclusion | 11 | | shall be dismissed, and an amended petition on behalf of the | 12 | | consenting units of local government shall be scheduled for an | 13 | | evidentiary hearing. | 14 | | The persons or entities, or their duly authorized | 15 | | representatives, that shall have standing to present evidence | 16 | | at the hearing are the petitioners, the units of local | 17 | | government that sought to be included in the proposed Agency, | 18 | | and the representatives of each collective bargaining unit that | 19 | | is a party to a collective bargaining agreement with a fire | 20 | | protection jurisdiction within a unit of local government | 21 | | included within the proposed Agency. | 22 | | If the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, | 23 | | that the petition is supported by a proper intergovernmental | 24 | | agreement, the court shall enter an order certifying the | 25 | | proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit | 26 | | the question of the creation of the proposed Agency to the |
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| 1 | | legal voters of each included unit of local government at the | 2 | | next election. Notice of the election shall be given and the | 3 | | election conducted in the manner provided by the general | 4 | | election law. The notice shall state the boundaries of the | 5 | | proposed Agency. | 6 | | The question shall be submitted in substantially the | 7 | | following form: | 8 | | Shall the service areas of (names of existing units of | 9 | | local government to be combined) be combined to create the | 10 | | (name of the Regional Fire Protection Agency)? | 11 | | Responses shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". | 12 | | A written statement of the election results shall be filed | 13 | | with the court. If, in each unit of local government included | 14 | | within the boundaries of the Regional Fire Protection Agency, a | 15 | | majority of the voters voting on the question favor the | 16 | | proposition, then the court shall issue an order stating that | 17 | | the Agency has been approved. | 18 | | (f) Intergovernmental agreement; minimum standards of | 19 | | service. The terms of the intergovernmental agreement shall | 20 | | ensure that all of the following standards of service are met: | 21 | | (1) The formation of the Agency shall result in no net | 22 | | increase in the cost of fire protection services and | 23 | | emergency medical services to the units of local government | 24 | | in the proposed Agency due to the reduction or elimination | 25 | | of
duplicative administrative costs, operational costs, | 26 | | equipment costs, or capital expenditures unless members of |
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| 1 | | the Joint Committee can demonstrate that an increase in the | 2 | | cost to a participating unit of local government is | 3 | | justified by a corresponding increase in the level of | 4 | | services provided under the terms of the intergovernmental | 5 | | agreement. | 6 | | (2) The formation of the Agency shall not increase the | 7 | | average response times in any included unit of local | 8 | | government.
| 9 | | (3) Agencies shall have no independent ability to levy | 10 | | taxes and shall rely on the fiscal support and | 11 | | contributions from component fire protection | 12 | | jurisdictions, as required under the terms of the | 13 | | intergovernmental agreement. | 14 | | (4) The Agency shall apply savings in costs as follows: | 15 | | A minimum of 50% of cost savings shall be contributed, pro | 16 | | rata, to the Firemen's Pension Fund of each included unit | 17 | | of local government as applicable. Those contributions | 18 | | shall be applied as a credit to reduce the unfunded accrued | 19 | | liability of the Fund, if one exists. If no unfunded | 20 | | accrued liabilities exist, a minimum of 50% of the savings | 21 | | in costs shall be divided pro rata and applied to reduce | 22 | | the Firemen's Pension Fund contributions otherwise | 23 | | required of the unit of local government under the Pension | 24 | | Code, unless otherwise agreed to in the terms of the | 25 | | intergovernmental agreement.
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| 1 | | Section 30. Judicial notice. All courts in this State shall | 2 | | take judicial notice of the existence of any Agency organized | 3 | | under this Act, and every such Agency shall constitute a body | 4 | | corporate that may sue or be sued in all courts. | 5 | | Section 35. Support. Notwithstanding any provision of this | 6 | | Act, a Regional Fire Protection Agency may receive | 7 | | supplementary funding, fiscal support, or other revenue or | 8 | | property consideration from the State, including the Office of | 9 | | the State Fire Marshal, a county, or any other unit of local | 10 | | government, to defray the expenses of organizing a new Agency | 11 | | or as may be deemed necessary or appropriate, and may be | 12 | | appropriated by that entity to the Agency.
| 13 | | Section 40. Enforcement of an intergovernmental agreement. | 14 | | In the event of a default of payment, the Agency shall be | 15 | | authorized to secure collection of promised contributions from | 16 | | the defaulting unit of local government by court order | 17 | | authorizing the interception of or turning over of: (1) monies | 18 | | deposited or to be deposited into any fund of the defaulting | 19 | | unit of local government; or (2) grants or other revenues or | 20 | | taxes expected to be received by the unit of local government | 21 | | from the State, county, or federal government, including taxes | 22 | | imposed by the governmental unit pursuant to a grant of | 23 | | authority by the State, such as property, sales or use taxes or | 24 | | utility taxes. |
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| 1 | | Any interception authorized under this Section by the | 2 | | Agency shall be valid and binding from the time the | 3 | | interception order is made until the defaulting unit of local | 4 | | government has paid in full its past due obligations to the | 5 | | Agency and has been current in its obligations to the Agency | 6 | | for a minimum of 12 months. The revenues, monies, and other | 7 | | funds intercepted and to be intercepted by the Agency shall | 8 | | immediately be subject to the Agency's lien. The lien shall be | 9 | | valid and binding against all parties having claims of any kind | 10 | | in tort, contract, or otherwise against the defaulting unit of | 11 | | local government, irrespective of whether such parties have | 12 | | notice. Under any such interception, a defaulting unit of local | 13 | | government may bind itself to impose rates, charges, or taxes | 14 | | to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Any | 15 | | ordinance, resolution, trust agreement, or other instrument by | 16 | | which a lien is created shall be filed in the records of the | 17 | | Agency. | 18 | | The State Treasurer, the State Comptroller, the Department | 19 | | of Revenue, the Department of Transportation, and any county | 20 | | official charged with collecting and disbursing property taxes | 21 | | shall deposit or cause to be deposited any amount of grants or | 22 | | other revenues or taxes expected to be received by the | 23 | | defaulting unit of local government from that official or | 24 | | entity that has been pledged to the defaulting unit of local | 25 | | government, directly into a designated escrow account | 26 | | established by the Agency at a trust company or bank having |
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| 1 | | trust powers, unless otherwise prohibited by law. The court | 2 | | order authorizing that disposition shall, within 10 days after | 3 | | issuance, be filed with the official or entity with custody of | 4 | | the garnished grants or other revenues or taxes.
| 5 | | Section 45. Initial startup.
| 6 | | (a) An Agency shall commence operations no later than 90 | 7 | | days after the date of the election unless an alternative date | 8 | | is agreed to by the terms of the intergovernmental agreement | 9 | | and shall operate for the purposes set forth in the | 10 | | intergovernmental agreement.
An Agency's governing body shall | 11 | | consist of representatives designated by the governing bodies | 12 | | of the participating units of local government as set forth in | 13 | | this Act, and shall be considered to be formed upon approval of | 14 | | the governing body of each member unit of local government | 15 | | unless otherwise agreed to by the terms of the | 16 | | intergovernmental agreement | 17 | | (b) The Regional Fire Protection Agency shall be governed | 18 | | by a 5-member Board of Trustees. Each trustee shall be a | 19 | | resident of a unit of local government within the Agency. The | 20 | | Board shall elect a Chairperson from among its members. | 21 | | The number of trustees from each unit of local government | 22 | | shall be in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the number | 23 | | of residents of the Agency who reside in that unit of local | 24 | | government in relation to the total population of the Agency. | 25 | | Thereafter, each trustee shall be succeeded by a resident of |
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| 1 | | the same unit of local government and shall be appointed by the | 2 | | same appointing authority. The appropriate appointing | 3 | | authorities shall appoint 5 trustees of the Agency within 60 | 4 | | days after the entry of the order establishing the Agency. The | 5 | | trustees shall be electors in one of the units of local | 6 | | government of the Agency, provided that the Board shall consist | 7 | | of at least one trustee from each unit of local government, | 8 | | subject to the intergovernmental agreement, within the | 9 | | Regional Fire Protection Agency. The trustees shall hold the | 10 | | terms of office and shall have the powers and qualifications | 11 | | that are provided for trustees under Section 4 of the Fire | 12 | | Protection District Act. | 13 | | In the event of a conflict between the terms of the | 14 | | intergovernmental agreement and the powers of the trustees | 15 | | otherwise provided by law, the terms of the intergovernmental | 16 | | agreement shall prevail and supersede. | 17 | | (c) The Agency shall have the power, duties, and | 18 | | obligations of a fire protection district as otherwise provided | 19 | | by the Fire Protection District Act, except as modified or | 20 | | limited by the provisions of this Act or terms of the | 21 | | intergovernmental agreement. The Agency shall develop a budget | 22 | | funded at a level sufficient to ensure that the quality of | 23 | | services provided to the residents of the service area within | 24 | | the boundary of the included units of local government | 25 | | continues at a level equal to or greater than those provided | 26 | | prior to the modification. |
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| 1 | | (d) The establishment of an Agency as a separately-named | 2 | | unit of local government shall not prevent the units of local | 3 | | government within it from identifying their historical fire | 4 | | departments with the names of their localities. In that event, | 5 | | local fire departments shall be described as [local name] | 6 | | Branch of the [name of the Agency].
| 7 | | (e) Upon the formation of an Agency under this Act, the | 8 | | fire departments of the participating units of local government | 9 | | shall be operated under a single chain of command under the | 10 | | leadership of one fire chief appointed by the Board of the | 11 | | Agency. The manner in which chiefs and subordinate chief | 12 | | officers who are redundant under the single chain of command | 13 | | and who are eliminated or integrated into the new unified chain | 14 | | of command shall be defined within the terms of the | 15 | | intergovernmental agreement entered into by the parties. The | 16 | | chiefs and other chief officers shall retain any rights they | 17 | | may have as established by other applicable law, provided that | 18 | | positions shall not be available to any person who is already | 19 | | retired and receiving benefits under Article 4 of the Illinois | 20 | | Pension Code. Any proposed reduction to a bargaining unit | 21 | | position resulting from the abolishment of a non-bargaining | 22 | | unit position shall be subject to compliance with the | 23 | | bargaining rights of any affected collective bargaining | 24 | | representative. | 25 | | Upon taking office, the fire chief of the Agency shall | 26 | | command all operations of the unified service area of the |
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| 1 | | Agency. The District shall become a body politic and corporate | 2 | | with all the powers, rights, duties, and obligations vested in | 3 | | it under the terms of the intergovernmental agreement and as | 4 | | otherwise provided under the provisions of this Act.
| 5 | | (f) Upon the organization of the Agency, the duties of each | 6 | | included unit of local government relating to the operation of | 7 | | a fire department and emergency medical services within the | 8 | | boundaries of the Agency shall be transferred to the Board of | 9 | | the Agency to be exercised according to the terms of the | 10 | | intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise provided under | 11 | | the provisions of this Act. | 12 | | (g) Unless otherwise agreed upon, all firefighters, | 13 | | emergency medical services personnel, and other personnel | 14 | | lawfully in the employment of any unit of local government | 15 | | included in the Agency shall maintain identity with the fire | 16 | | departments that they were serving on prior to the creation of | 17 | | the Regional Fire Protection Agency, but shall be subject to | 18 | | the unified chain of command established by the Board. | 19 | | An Agency consisting of any fire department that employs | 20 | | full-time officers or members shall be subject to Sections | 21 | | 16.01 through 16.18 of the Fire Protection District Act unless | 22 | | the terms of the intergovernmental agreement agreed to by the | 23 | | included units of local government and included collective | 24 | | bargaining unit agents representing employees engaged in | 25 | | providing fire protection or emergency medical services, or | 26 | | both, within the Agency's service area provide otherwise.
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| 1 | | (h) Contracts in effect between an exclusive bargaining | 2 | | agent representing employees engaged in providing fire | 3 | | protection or emergency medical services, or both, within the | 4 | | Agency's service area and a participating unit of local | 5 | | government shall continue according to their terms. Successor | 6 | | contracts shall be negotiated in accordance with the provisions | 7 | | of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. Upon agreement of | 8 | | any 2 or more units of local government and corresponding | 9 | | exclusive bargaining representatives, and approval of that | 10 | | agreement by a majority of the members of each respective | 11 | | bargaining unit who vote on the issue, any 2 or more bargaining | 12 | | units may be consolidated into a single bargaining unit.
| 13 | | (i) Any unit of local government that is included in an | 14 | | Agency shall be exempt from any reduction in the formula for | 15 | | distribution
of income tax revenues under Section 901 of the | 16 | | Illinois Income Tax Act and personal property replacement tax | 17 | | revenues under subsection (c) of Section 201 of the Illinois | 18 | | Income Tax Act collected from local taxpayers by State agencies | 19 | | and redistributed to the units of local government based on the | 20 | | formula and laws in effect as of the effective date of this | 21 | | amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly. | 22 | | An Agency shall be eligible to receive the distribution of | 23 | | income tax revenues collected from local taxpayers according to | 24 | | the same formula applicable to municipalities. | 25 | | Section 50. Levy of taxes; limitations; indebtedness.
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| 1 | | (a) To carry out the purposes for which an Agency is | 2 | | created, the Agency Board is empowered to take all actions | 3 | | authorized by law and authorized under this Act for the purpose | 4 | | of enforcing payment of any and all contributions and payments | 5 | | required under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement | 6 | | executed under the provisions of this Act. | 7 | | (b) The inclusion of any unit of local government into an | 8 | | Agency shall not affect the obligation of any contract entered | 9 | | into by the unit of local government unless otherwise agreed | 10 | | upon in the intergovernmental agreement. Such contracts shall | 11 | | remain the obligation of the unit of local government that | 12 | | incurred the obligation.
| 13 | | The inclusion of a unit of local government in an Agency | 14 | | shall not adversely affect proceedings for the collection or | 15 | | enforcement of any tax debt, or other obligation owed to the | 16 | | unit of local government. The proceedings shall continue to | 17 | | finality as if no inclusion had taken place. The proceeds | 18 | | thereof shall be paid to the treasurer of the unit of local | 19 | | government, subject to the terms of the intergovernmental | 20 | | agreement.
| 21 | | All suits pending in any court on behalf of or against any | 22 | | participating unit of local government relating to the | 23 | | provision of fire or emergency medical services on the date | 24 | | that the unit of local government is joined into an Agency | 25 | | under this Act may be prosecuted or defended in the name of the | 26 | | unit of local government unless otherwise provided in the |
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| 1 | | intergovernmental agreement. All judgments obtained for
any | 2 | | unit of local government joined into an Agency shall be | 3 | | collected and enforced by the Agency for its benefit unless | 4 | | otherwise provided in the intergovernmental agreement.
| 5 | | The intergovernmental agreement shall define ownership | 6 | | interests and rights of each unit of local government's fire | 7 | | department related assets and liabilities. | 8 | | Section 55. Petition to dissolve a District; referendum. | 9 | | The Board of an Agency established by referendum may certify | 10 | | and submit the question of dissolution of the Agency to the | 11 | | electors of the Agency. The Board may draft a ballot title, | 12 | | give notice as required by the general election law, and | 13 | | perform other duties as required to put the question before the | 14 | | voters of the Agency for their approval or rejection as a | 15 | | single ballot measure. The electorate consists of the voters | 16 | | voting within the boundaries of the existing Agency. A simple | 17 | | majority of the registered voters voting on the single ballot | 18 | | measure is required to approve dissolution of the Agency. The | 19 | | Agency seeking dissolution is liable for its proportionate | 20 | | share of the costs of the election.
| 21 | | The question shall be in substantially the following form:
| 22 | | Shall the [name of Regional Fire Protection Agency] be | 23 | | dissolved? | 24 | | Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". | 25 | | If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the |
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| 1 | | dissolution, the assets, liabilities, obligations, and | 2 | | personnel assigned or belonging to the Agency shall revert to | 3 | | the component units of local government comprising or | 4 | | contributing to the Agency, proportional to each unit of local | 5 | | government's contribution. All such transfers and | 6 | | reassignments shall be made in an expeditious and timely | 7 | | manner, and no longer than 120 days after the date upon which | 8 | | the Agency's dissolution vote was certified by local election | 9 | | authorities.
| 10 | | Section 60. Powers; exclusive. The powers provided by this | 11 | | Act for the creation of Regional Fire Protection Agencies do | 12 | | not prohibit a unit of local government from entering into an | 13 | | intergovernmental agreement to merge, consolidate, or | 14 | | otherwise cooperate with other units of local government to | 15 | | provide fire, rescue, or emergency medical services as | 16 | | otherwise provided by Section 10 of Article VII of the Illinois | 17 | | Constitution and the Illinois Intergovernmental Cooperation | 18 | | Act. However, the powers and benefits provided by this Act for | 19 | | the combination of fire protection or emergency medical | 20 | | services, or both, of 2 or more units of local government shall | 21 | | be limited to Regional Fire Protection Agencies operated | 22 | | according to the terms of an intergovernmental agreement that | 23 | | has been approved by referendum in accordance with this Act. | 24 | | The terms of any intergovernmental agreement of an Agency | 25 | | created by referendum shall supersede and control over any and |
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| 1 | | all other intergovernmental agreements that may exist that | 2 | | relate to the provision of fire protection or emergency medical | 3 | | services, or both, in geographic areas incorporated within the | 4 | | service areas combined under the terms of a referendum approved | 5 | | intergovernmental agreement. | 6 | | Section 65. Home rule. A home rule municipality may not | 7 | | administer fire protection services or emergency medical | 8 | | services, or both, in geographic areas incorporated within the | 9 | | service area of an Agency in a manner that is inconsistent with | 10 | | the terms of an intergovernmental agreement approved in | 11 | | accordance with this Act. This Section is a limitation under | 12 | | subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois | 13 | | Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of | 14 | | powers and functions exercised by the State.
| 15 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 16 | | becoming law.".
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