Full Text of SB1681 098th General Assembly
SB1681enr 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning local government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Regional Fire Protection Agency Act. | 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 Regional Fire Protection Agencies 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 Regional Fire Protection Agencies | 16 | | shall achieve a net savings in the cost of providing fire | 17 | | protection services, emergency medical services, and related | 18 | | services in the expanded service area by reducing and | 19 | | eliminating costs including, but not limited to, duplicative or | 20 | | excessive administrative and operational services, equipment, | 21 | | facilities, and capital expenditures, without a reduction in | 22 | | the quality or level of these services. | 23 | | (b) Creation. A Regional Fire Protection Agency may be |
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| 1 | | formed by filing voter-initiated petitions for the purposes of | 2 | | integrating existing service areas of contiguous units of local | 3 | | government providing fire protection services to achieve the | 4 | | purposes of this Act. | 5 | | Section 7. Application. | 6 | | This Act does not apply to any unit of local government | 7 | | that has entered into a consolidation agreement with one or | 8 | | more units of local government that includes the consolidation | 9 | | of the delivery of fire protection or emergency medical | 10 | | services under a single chain of command. Additionally, this | 11 | | Act does not apply to any unit of local government that has | 12 | | adopted a resolution declaring the intent to consolidate the | 13 | | delivery of fire protection or emergency medical services under | 14 | | a single chain of command with one or more units of local | 15 | | government. The resolution shall exempt the local government | 16 | | from the provisions of this Act for one year following its | 17 | | passage. The existence of an automatic aid agreement or mutual | 18 | | aid agreements does not constitute a consolidation for the | 19 | | purposes of this Section. | 20 | | Section 10. Definitions. The definitions in this Section | 21 | | apply throughout this Act unless the context clearly requires | 22 | | otherwise: | 23 | | "Board" means the governing body of a Regional Fire | 24 | | Protection Agency. |
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| 1 | | "Fire protection jurisdiction" means a fire protection | 2 | | district, municipal fire department, or service organized | 3 | | under Section 5-1056.1 of the Counties Code, Sections 195 and | 4 | | 200 of the Illinois Township Code, Section 10-2.1 of the | 5 | | Illinois Municipal Code, or the Illinois Fire Protection | 6 | | District Act. | 7 | | "Joint Committee" means the group consisting of the parties | 8 | | appointed by the court in accordance with the procedures of | 9 | | this Act after a petition has been filed to create a Regional | 10 | | Fire Protection Agency. The Joint Committee meets for the | 11 | | limited purpose of negotiating the terms of an | 12 | | intergovernmental agreement to create and implement a Regional | 13 | | Fire Protection Agency. | 14 | | "Property Tax" or "Tax" has the same meaning as the term | 15 | | "Tax", as defined in Section 1-145 of the Property Tax Code. | 16 | | "Regional Fire Protection Agency" or "Agency" means a fire | 17 | | protection organization formed pursuant to this Act that | 18 | | combines 2 or more units of local government with a unified | 19 | | command and operations
that has boundaries that are coextensive | 20 | | with 2
or more adjacent units of local government and has been
| 21 | | created by a referendum under this Act.
| 22 | | "Special Mediator" means an individual who possesses the | 23 | | qualifications specified in this Act and shall facilitate the | 24 | | negotiation of an intergovernmental agreement to create a | 25 | | Regional Fire Protection Agency.
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| 1 | | Section 15. Elections and referenda. When a referendum is | 2 | | submitted under this Act for approval or rejection by the | 3 | | electors, the time and manner of conducting a referendum, | 4 | | including petition signature requirements, shall be in | 5 | | accordance with the general election law of the State. The | 6 | | creation of any Regional Fire Protection Agency by referendum | 7 | | shall be secured by an intergovernmental agreement that
| 8 | | includes terms that meet the standards set forth in Section 25
| 9 | | of this Act.
| 10 | | Section 20. Notice to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. | 11 | | The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall be served notice | 12 | | as to any plans of 2 or more units of local government to | 13 | | combine fire protection or emergency medical services, or both, | 14 | | as follows: | 15 | | (1) Whenever a county clerk or other election authority | 16 | | places upon a ballot the question of creating or altering | 17 | | an Agency or fire protection jurisdiction, the clerk or | 18 | | other election authority shall notify the Office of the | 19 | | State Fire Marshal that the proposition is to be put before | 20 | | the electorate. The notice shall be sent to the Office of | 21 | | the State Fire Marshal within 10 business days after the | 22 | | question is certified to the clerk or other election | 23 | | authority. | 24 | | (2) Whenever the governing bodies of 2 or more adjacent | 25 | | fire protection jurisdictions conduct a public hearing to |
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| 1 | | consider a plan to combine 2 or more fire protection | 2 | | jurisdiction service areas by intergovernmental agreement, | 3 | | the clerk of each unit of local government to be party to | 4 | | such an intergovernmental agreement shall notify the | 5 | | Office of the State Fire Marshal that the units of local | 6 | | government are considering such a plan. The notice shall be | 7 | | sent to the Office of the State Fire Marshal within 10 | 8 | | business days after notice of the meeting is published. | 9 | | (3) Whenever the governing bodies of 2 or more adjacent | 10 | | fire protection jurisdictions enter into an agreement to | 11 | | combine 2 or more fire protection jurisdiction service | 12 | | areas by intergovernmental agreement, the clerk of each | 13 | | unit of local government to be party to such an | 14 | | intergovernmental agreement shall notify the Office of the | 15 | | State Fire Marshal that the units of local government have | 16 | | entered into the intergovernmental agreement. The notice | 17 | | shall be sent to the Office of the State Fire Marshal | 18 | | within 10 business days after notice of the meeting is | 19 | | published. | 20 | | Section 25. Creation of an Agency by petition and | 21 | | referendum.
| 22 | | (a) Petition. A Regional Fire Protection Agency may | 23 | | exclusively be formed upon petition signed by the lesser of: | 24 | | (i) at least 8% of the total votes cast for candidates for | 25 | | Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election in each of the |
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| 1 | | units of local governments included in the Regional Fire | 2 | | Protection Agency; or (ii) at least 500 legal voters in each of | 3 | | the units of local government to be included in the Regional | 4 | | Fire Protection Agency. The petition shall be filed in the | 5 | | circuit court of the county in which the greater part of the | 6 | | land of the proposed Regional Fire Protection Agency shall be | 7 | | situated. The petition shall set forth the names of the units | 8 | | of local government proposed to be included, the name of the | 9 | | proposed Regional Fire Protection Agency, the benefits of | 10 | | consolidating the units of local government within a Regional | 11 | | Fire Protection Agency, the names of the representatives of the | 12 | | petitioners from each unit of local government who shall be | 13 | | authorized to serve on the Joint Committee, and up to 3 | 14 | | alternate representatives from each unit of local government in | 15 | | the event a designated representative ceases to be an elector | 16 | | of their jurisdiction or resigns from the Joint Committee. Upon | 17 | | its filing, the petition shall be presented to the court, and | 18 | | the court shall fix the date and hour for a hearing.
| 19 | | (b) Notice of Hearing. Upon the filing of the petition, the | 20 | | court shall set a hearing date that is at least 4 weeks, but | 21 | | not more than 8 weeks, after the date the petition is filed. | 22 | | The court, clerk, petitioner's counsel, or sheriff shall, upon | 23 | | order of the court, give notice 21 days before the hearing in | 24 | | one or more daily or weekly newspapers of general circulation | 25 | | in each county where an affected unit of local government is | 26 | | organized. The notice must describe the units of local |
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| 1 | | government to be included and shall state that if the | 2 | | conditions required by this Section are met, then the | 3 | | proposition for the creation of the Agency shall be submitted | 4 | | to the voters of the units of local government in the proposed | 5 | | Agency by order of the court. | 6 | | (c) Hearing and referendum. At the hearing, the court shall | 7 | | first determine whether the petition is supported by the | 8 | | required number of valid signatures of legal voters within the | 9 | | contiguous units of local government. If the petition is | 10 | | proper, then the court shall remand the matter to a Special | 11 | | Mediator who shall mediate the negotiations regarding the terms | 12 | | of an intergovernmental agreement by the members of the Joint | 13 | | Committee as provided in subsection (d) of this Section. The | 14 | | Special Mediator shall be a member of the bar of the State of | 15 | | Illinois or a member of the faculty of an accredited law | 16 | | school. The Special Mediator shall have practiced law for at | 17 | | least 7 years and be knowledgeable about municipal, labor, | 18 | | employment, and election law. The Special Mediator shall be | 19 | | free of any conflicts of interest. The Special Mediator shall | 20 | | have strong mediation skills and the temperament and training | 21 | | to listen well, facilitate communication, and assist with | 22 | | negotiations. Special Mediators shall have sufficient | 23 | | experience and familiarity with municipal, labor, employment, | 24 | | and election law to provide a credible evaluation and | 25 | | assessment of relative positions. The Special Mediator | 26 | | assigned to mediate the Joint Committee's negotiations shall be |
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| 1 | | selected by the members of the Joint Committee from a panel of | 2 | | 7 individuals provided by the Joint Labor Management Committee, | 3 | | as it is defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department Promotion | 4 | | Act. The panel shall be randomly selected by the Joint Labor | 5 | | Management Committee from a master list maintained by the Joint | 6 | | Labor Management Committee consisting of at least 14 qualified | 7 | | Special Mediators. If the members fail to agree, the court | 8 | | shall appoint the Special Mediator. The Joint Committee may | 9 | | elect to conduct negotiations without the assistance of the | 10 | | Special Mediator upon a majority vote of the Joint Committee. | 11 | | To certify a question for referendum, the court must find that: | 12 | | (i) based upon a preponderance of the evidence, at least 2 of | 13 | | the 3 Joint Committee representatives appointed by the court | 14 | | for each unit of local government included in the proposed | 15 | | Agency have executed an intergovernmental agreement that | 16 | | includes terms that are in compliance with the requirements | 17 | | under subsection (d) of this Section; (ii) the terms of an | 18 | | agreed-upon intergovernmental agreement have been approved by | 19 | | the requisite governing bodies of each of the units of local | 20 | | government; and (iii) should the terms of an agreed-upon | 21 | | intergovernmental agreement change the terms of the collective | 22 | | bargaining agreement for a bargaining unit of employees of any | 23 | | local unit of government of the proposed Regional Fire | 24 | | Protection Agency, any affected collective bargaining units | 25 | | must also approve all such changes in the terms of the | 26 | | collective bargaining agreement. |
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| 1 | | (d) Joint Committee. The court shall allow appointments to | 2 | | the Joint Committee as follows:
| 3 | | (1) A representative of each unit of local government | 4 | | included within the proposed service area of the proposed | 5 | | Agency.
| 6 | | (2) A representative of each collective bargaining | 7 | | unit that is a party to a collective bargaining agreement | 8 | | with a unit of local government to provide fire suppression | 9 | | or emergency medical services, or both, included within the | 10 | | proposed Agency. | 11 | | (3) A representative for the petitioners from each unit | 12 | | of local government included within the proposed Agency, as | 13 | | designated by the petition, or, if none are designated or | 14 | | willing to serve, then chosen by the court from among the | 15 | | legal voters that signed the petition. | 16 | | (e) Joint Committee Negotiations. After remand, the | 17 | | Special Mediator shall schedule a meeting of the Joint | 18 | | Committee and facilitate the members in negotiating the terms | 19 | | of an intergovernmental agreement. The first order of business | 20 | | shall be to establish a financial baseline for the current | 21 | | costs of fire and emergency medical services provided by the | 22 | | units of local government party to the Joint Committee. To this | 23 | | end, each unit of local government party to the Joint Committee | 24 | | shall disclose to the Joint Committee the total aggregate | 25 | | expenditures it allocates for providing all fire, rescue, and | 26 | | emergency medical services. These expenditures shall include, |
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| 1 | | but are not limited to, the following cost factors: (i) all | 2 | | expenses from the corporate fund and other operational funds | 3 | | related to fire protection services, whether direct or | 4 | | indirect, for the current fiscal year; and (ii) all costs, | 5 | | whether direct or indirect, paid from other funds, including, | 6 | | but not limited to, capital or building funds, pension funds, | 7 | | workers' compensation funds, health insurance funds, | 8 | | enterprise funds, administrative funds, and all other funds | 9 | | from which money is, or may be, paid or transferred to pay for | 10 | | the administration and compensation or benefits for employees | 11 | | or persons assigned to provide fire or emergency medical | 12 | | services or related services, equipment, and buildings and | 13 | | their maintenance or operation and debt service for any | 14 | | expenditures related to these or related cost factors. | 15 | | The Special Mediator or the court, or both if necessary, | 16 | | shall facilitate the computation and production of this | 17 | | financial baseline unless the Joint Committee elects to conduct | 18 | | negotiations without the assistance of the Special Mediator. | 19 | | The financial baseline shall serve as the predicate to: (i) the | 20 | | annual contributions to be made by each unit of local | 21 | | government to the costs of providing fire and emergency medical | 22 | | services to the service area established for the proposed | 23 | | Regional Fire Protection Agency; and (ii) for the court's | 24 | | findings pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section. | 25 | | The Joint Committee may take note or give due consideration | 26 | | to available resources, studies, and plans that may facilitate |
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| 1 | | the resolution of issues relating to the terms of an agreement. | 2 | | Negotiations may continue for a period of 90 days or, if the | 3 | | court determines that additional time will facilitate | 4 | | agreement, longer. | 5 | | If no agreement is reached, the court shall dismiss the | 6 | | petition. If an agreement is reached, the court shall schedule | 7 | | an evidentiary hearing with notice to determine if the terms of | 8 | | the agreement are in compliance with the requirements of | 9 | | subsection (f) of this Section. The expenses of the Special | 10 | | Mediator shall be apportioned equally among the included units | 11 | | of local government unless the parties agree otherwise in the | 12 | | intergovernmental agreement. | 13 | | If the intergovernmental agreement has been approved by the | 14 | | governing bodies of at least 2 units of local government | 15 | | included in the original petition, then the petition may | 16 | | proceed, provided that the agreement is also executed by at | 17 | | least 2 of 3 Joint Committee representatives from each affected | 18 | | unit of local government included in the original petition. The | 19 | | units of local government that did not consent to inclusion | 20 | | shall be dismissed, and an amended petition on behalf of the | 21 | | consenting units of local government shall be scheduled for an | 22 | | evidentiary hearing. | 23 | | The persons or entities, or their duly authorized | 24 | | representatives, that shall have standing to present evidence | 25 | | at the hearing are the petitioners, the units of local | 26 | | government that sought to be included in the proposed Agency, |
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| 1 | | and the representatives of each collective bargaining unit that | 2 | | is a party to a collective bargaining agreement with a fire | 3 | | protection jurisdiction within a unit of local government | 4 | | included within the proposed Agency. | 5 | | If the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, | 6 | | that the petition is supported by a proper intergovernmental | 7 | | agreement, the court shall enter an order certifying the | 8 | | proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit | 9 | | the question of the creation of the proposed Agency to the | 10 | | legal voters of each included unit of local government at the | 11 | | next election. Notice of the election shall be given and the | 12 | | election conducted in the manner provided by the general | 13 | | election law. The notice shall state the boundaries of the | 14 | | proposed Agency. | 15 | | The question shall be submitted in substantially the | 16 | | following form: | 17 | | Shall the service areas of (names of existing units of | 18 | | local government to be combined) be combined to create the | 19 | | (name of the Regional Fire Protection Agency)? | 20 | | Responses shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". | 21 | | A written statement of the election results shall be filed | 22 | | with the court. If, in each unit of local government included | 23 | | within the boundaries of the Regional Fire Protection Agency, a | 24 | | majority of the voters voting on the question favor the | 25 | | proposition, then the court shall issue an order stating that | 26 | | the Agency has been approved. |
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| 1 | | (f) Intergovernmental agreement; minimum standards of | 2 | | service. The terms of the intergovernmental agreement shall | 3 | | ensure that all of the following standards of service are met: | 4 | | (1) The formation of the Agency shall result in no net | 5 | | increase in the cost of fire protection services and | 6 | | emergency medical services to the units of local government | 7 | | in the proposed Agency due to the reduction or elimination | 8 | | of
duplicative administrative costs, operational costs, | 9 | | equipment costs, or capital expenditures unless members of | 10 | | the Joint Committee can demonstrate that an increase in the | 11 | | cost to a participating unit of local government is | 12 | | justified by a corresponding increase in the level of | 13 | | services provided under the terms of the intergovernmental | 14 | | agreement. | 15 | | (2) The formation of the Agency shall not increase the | 16 | | average response times in any included unit of local | 17 | | government.
| 18 | | (3) Agencies shall have no independent ability to levy | 19 | | taxes and shall rely on the fiscal support and | 20 | | contributions from component fire protection | 21 | | jurisdictions, as required under the terms of the | 22 | | intergovernmental agreement.
| 23 | | Section 30. Judicial notice. All courts in this State shall | 24 | | take judicial notice of the existence of any Agency organized | 25 | | under this Act, and every such Agency shall constitute a body |
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| 1 | | corporate that may sue or be sued in all courts. | 2 | | Section 35. Support. Notwithstanding any provision of this | 3 | | Act, a Regional Fire Protection Agency may receive | 4 | | supplementary funding, fiscal support, or other revenue or | 5 | | property consideration from the State, including the Office of | 6 | | the State Fire Marshal, a county, or any other unit of local | 7 | | government, to defray the expenses of organizing a new Agency | 8 | | or as may be deemed necessary or appropriate, and may be | 9 | | appropriated by that entity to the Agency.
| 10 | | Section 40. Enforcement of an intergovernmental agreement. | 11 | | In the event of a default of payment, the Agency shall be | 12 | | authorized to secure collection of promised contributions from | 13 | | the defaulting unit of local government by court order | 14 | | authorizing the interception of or turning over of: (1) monies | 15 | | deposited or to be deposited into any fund of the defaulting | 16 | | unit of local government; or (2) grants or other revenues or | 17 | | taxes expected to be received by the unit of local government | 18 | | from the State, county, or federal government, including taxes | 19 | | imposed by the governmental unit pursuant to a grant of | 20 | | authority by the State, such as property, sales or use taxes or | 21 | | utility taxes. | 22 | | Any interception authorized under this Section by the | 23 | | Agency shall be valid and binding from the time the | 24 | | interception order is made until the defaulting unit of local |
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| 1 | | government has paid in full its past due obligations to the | 2 | | Agency and has been current in its obligations to the Agency | 3 | | for a minimum of 12 months. The revenues, monies, and other | 4 | | funds intercepted and to be intercepted by the Agency shall | 5 | | immediately be subject to the Agency's lien. The lien shall be | 6 | | valid and binding against all parties having claims of any kind | 7 | | in tort, contract, or otherwise against the defaulting unit of | 8 | | local government, irrespective of whether such parties have | 9 | | notice. Under any such interception, a defaulting unit of local | 10 | | government may bind itself to impose rates, charges, or taxes | 11 | | to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Any | 12 | | ordinance, resolution, trust agreement, or other instrument by | 13 | | which a lien is created shall be filed in the records of the | 14 | | Agency. | 15 | | The State Treasurer, the State Comptroller, the Department | 16 | | of Revenue, the Department of Transportation, and any county | 17 | | official charged with collecting and disbursing property taxes | 18 | | shall deposit or cause to be deposited any amount of grants or | 19 | | other revenues or taxes expected to be received by the | 20 | | defaulting unit of local government from that official or | 21 | | entity that has been pledged to the defaulting unit of local | 22 | | government, directly into a designated escrow account | 23 | | established by the Agency at a trust company or bank having | 24 | | trust powers, unless otherwise prohibited by law. The court | 25 | | order authorizing that disposition shall, within 10 days after | 26 | | issuance, be filed with the official or entity with custody of |
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| 1 | | the garnished grants or other revenues or taxes.
| 2 | | Section 45. Initial startup.
| 3 | | (a) An Agency shall commence operations no later than 90 | 4 | | days after the date of the election unless an alternative date | 5 | | is agreed to by the terms of the intergovernmental agreement | 6 | | and shall operate for the purposes set forth in the | 7 | | intergovernmental agreement.
An Agency's governing body shall | 8 | | consist of representatives designated by the governing bodies | 9 | | of the participating units of local government as set forth in | 10 | | this Act, and shall be considered to be formed upon approval of | 11 | | the governing body of each member unit of local government | 12 | | unless otherwise agreed to by the terms of the | 13 | | intergovernmental agreement. | 14 | | (b) The Regional Fire Protection Agency shall be governed | 15 | | by a 5-member Board of Trustees. Each trustee shall be a | 16 | | resident of a unit of local government within the Agency. The | 17 | | Board shall elect a Chairperson from among its members. | 18 | | The number of trustees from each unit of local government | 19 | | shall be in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the number | 20 | | of residents of the Agency who reside in that unit of local | 21 | | government in relation to the total population of the Agency. | 22 | | Thereafter, each trustee shall be succeeded by a resident of | 23 | | the same unit of local government and shall be appointed by the | 24 | | same appointing authority. The appropriate appointing | 25 | | authorities shall appoint 5 trustees of the Agency within 60 |
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| 1 | | days after the entry of the order establishing the Agency. The | 2 | | trustees shall be electors in one of the units of local | 3 | | government of the Agency, provided that the Board shall consist | 4 | | of at least one trustee from each unit of local government, | 5 | | subject to the intergovernmental agreement, within the | 6 | | Regional Fire Protection Agency. The trustees shall hold the | 7 | | terms of office and shall have the powers and qualifications | 8 | | that are provided for trustees under Section 4 of the Fire | 9 | | Protection District Act. | 10 | | In the event of a conflict between the terms of the | 11 | | intergovernmental agreement and the powers of the trustees | 12 | | otherwise provided by law, the terms of the intergovernmental | 13 | | agreement shall prevail and supersede. | 14 | | (c) The Agency shall have the power, duties, and | 15 | | obligations of a fire protection district as otherwise provided | 16 | | by the Fire Protection District Act, except as modified or | 17 | | limited by the provisions of this Act or terms of the | 18 | | intergovernmental agreement. The Agency shall develop a budget | 19 | | funded at a level sufficient to ensure that the quality of | 20 | | services provided to the residents of the service area within | 21 | | the boundary of the included units of local government | 22 | | continues at a level equal to or greater than those provided | 23 | | prior to the modification. | 24 | | (d) The establishment of an Agency as a separately named | 25 | | unit of local government shall not prevent the units of local | 26 | | government within it from identifying their historical fire |
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| 1 | | departments with the names of their localities. In that event, | 2 | | local fire departments shall be described as [local name] | 3 | | Branch of the [name of the Agency].
| 4 | | (e) Upon the formation of an Agency under this Act, the | 5 | | fire departments of the participating units of local government | 6 | | shall be operated under a single chain of command under the | 7 | | leadership of one fire chief appointed by the Board of the | 8 | | Agency. The manner in which chiefs and subordinate chief | 9 | | officers who are redundant under the single chain of command | 10 | | and who are eliminated or integrated into the new unified chain | 11 | | of command shall be defined within the terms of the | 12 | | intergovernmental agreement entered into by the parties. The | 13 | | chiefs and other chief officers shall retain any rights they | 14 | | may have as established by other applicable law, provided that | 15 | | positions shall not be available to any person who is already | 16 | | retired and receiving benefits under Article 4 of the Illinois | 17 | | Pension Code. Any proposed reduction to a bargaining unit | 18 | | position resulting from the abolishment of a non-bargaining | 19 | | unit position shall be subject to compliance with the | 20 | | bargaining rights of any affected collective bargaining | 21 | | representative. | 22 | | Upon taking office, the fire chief of the Agency shall | 23 | | command all operations of the unified service area of the | 24 | | Agency. The District shall become a body politic and corporate | 25 | | with all the powers, rights, duties, and obligations vested in | 26 | | it under the terms of the intergovernmental agreement and as |
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| 1 | | otherwise provided under the provisions of this Act.
| 2 | | (f) Upon the organization of the Agency, the duties of each | 3 | | included unit of local government relating to the operation of | 4 | | a fire department and emergency medical services within the | 5 | | boundaries of the Agency shall be transferred to the Board of | 6 | | the Agency to be exercised according to the terms of the | 7 | | intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise provided under | 8 | | the provisions of this Act. | 9 | | (g) Unless otherwise agreed upon, all firefighters, | 10 | | emergency medical services personnel, and other personnel | 11 | | lawfully in the employment of any unit of local government | 12 | | included in the Agency shall maintain identity with the fire | 13 | | departments that they were serving on prior to the creation of | 14 | | the Regional Fire Protection Agency, but shall be subject to | 15 | | the unified chain of command established by the Board. | 16 | | An Agency consisting of any fire department that employs | 17 | | full-time officers or members shall be subject to Sections | 18 | | 16.01 through 16.18 of the Fire Protection District Act unless | 19 | | the terms of the intergovernmental agreement agreed to by the | 20 | | included units of local government and included collective | 21 | | bargaining unit agents representing employees engaged in | 22 | | providing fire protection or emergency medical services, or | 23 | | both, within the Agency's service area provide otherwise.
| 24 | | (h) Contracts in effect between an exclusive bargaining | 25 | | agent representing employees engaged in providing fire | 26 | | protection or emergency medical services, or both, within the |
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| 1 | | Agency's service area and a participating unit of local | 2 | | government shall continue according to their terms. Successor | 3 | | contracts shall be negotiated in accordance with the provisions | 4 | | of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. Upon agreement of | 5 | | any 2 or more units of local government and corresponding | 6 | | exclusive bargaining representatives, and approval of that | 7 | | agreement by a majority of the members of each respective | 8 | | bargaining unit who vote on the issue, any 2 or more bargaining | 9 | | units may be consolidated into a single bargaining unit.
| 10 | | (i) Any unit of local government that is included in an | 11 | | Agency shall be exempt from any reduction in the formula for | 12 | | distribution
of income tax revenues under Section 901 of the | 13 | | Illinois Income Tax Act and personal property replacement tax | 14 | | revenues under subsection (c) of Section 201 of the Illinois | 15 | | Income Tax Act collected from local taxpayers by State agencies | 16 | | and redistributed to the units of local government based on the | 17 | | formula and laws in effect as of the effective date of this | 18 | | amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly. | 19 | | Section 50. Levy of taxes; limitations; indebtedness.
| 20 | | (a) To carry out the purposes for which an Agency is | 21 | | created, the Agency Board is empowered to take all actions | 22 | | authorized by law and authorized under this Act for the purpose | 23 | | of enforcing payment of any and all contributions and payments | 24 | | required under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement | 25 | | executed under the provisions of this Act. |
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| 1 | | (b) The inclusion of any unit of local government into an | 2 | | Agency shall not affect the obligation of any contract entered | 3 | | into by the unit of local government unless otherwise agreed | 4 | | upon in the intergovernmental agreement. Such contracts shall | 5 | | remain the obligation of the unit of local government that | 6 | | incurred the obligation.
| 7 | | The inclusion of a unit of local government in an Agency | 8 | | shall not adversely affect proceedings for the collection or | 9 | | enforcement of any tax debt, or other obligation owed to the | 10 | | unit of local government. The proceedings shall continue to | 11 | | finality as if no inclusion had taken place. The proceeds | 12 | | thereof shall be paid to the treasurer of the unit of local | 13 | | government, subject to the terms of the intergovernmental | 14 | | agreement.
| 15 | | All suits pending in any court on behalf of or against any | 16 | | participating unit of local government relating to the | 17 | | provision of fire or emergency medical services on the date | 18 | | that the unit of local government is joined into an Agency | 19 | | under this Act may be prosecuted or defended in the name of the | 20 | | unit of local government unless otherwise provided in the | 21 | | intergovernmental agreement. All judgments obtained for
any | 22 | | unit of local government joined into an Agency shall be | 23 | | collected and enforced by the Agency for its benefit unless | 24 | | otherwise provided in the intergovernmental agreement.
| 25 | | The intergovernmental agreement shall define ownership | 26 | | interests and rights of each unit of local government's fire |
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| 1 | | department related assets and liabilities. | 2 | | Section 55. Petition to dissolve a District; referendum. | 3 | | The Board of an Agency established by referendum may certify | 4 | | and submit the question of dissolution of the Agency to the | 5 | | electors of the Agency. The Board may draft a ballot title, | 6 | | give notice as required by the general election law, and | 7 | | perform other duties as required to put the question before the | 8 | | voters of the Agency for their approval or rejection as a | 9 | | single ballot measure. The electorate consists of the voters | 10 | | voting within the boundaries of the existing Agency. A simple | 11 | | majority of the registered voters voting on the single ballot | 12 | | measure is required to approve dissolution of the Agency. The | 13 | | Agency seeking dissolution is liable for its proportionate | 14 | | share of the costs of the election.
| 15 | | The question shall be in substantially the following form:
| 16 | | Shall the [name of Regional Fire Protection Agency] be | 17 | | dissolved? | 18 | | Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". | 19 | | If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the | 20 | | dissolution, the assets, liabilities, obligations, and | 21 | | personnel assigned or belonging to the Agency shall revert to | 22 | | the component units of local government comprising or | 23 | | contributing to the Agency, proportional to each unit of local | 24 | | government's contribution. All such transfers and | 25 | | reassignments shall be made in an expeditious and timely |
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| 1 | | manner, and no longer than 120 days after the date upon which | 2 | | the Agency's dissolution vote was certified by local election | 3 | | authorities.
| 4 | | Section 60. Powers; exclusive. The powers provided by this | 5 | | Act for the creation of Regional Fire Protection Agencies do | 6 | | not prohibit a unit of local government from entering into an | 7 | | intergovernmental agreement to merge, consolidate, or | 8 | | otherwise cooperate with other units of local government to | 9 | | provide fire, rescue, or emergency medical services as | 10 | | otherwise provided by Section 10 of Article VII of the Illinois | 11 | | Constitution and the Illinois Intergovernmental Cooperation | 12 | | Act. However, the powers and benefits provided by this Act for | 13 | | the combination of fire protection or emergency medical | 14 | | services, or both, of 2 or more units of local government shall | 15 | | be limited to Regional Fire Protection Agencies operated | 16 | | according to the terms of an intergovernmental agreement that | 17 | | has been approved by referendum in accordance with this Act. | 18 | | The terms of any intergovernmental agreement of an Agency | 19 | | created by referendum shall supersede and control over any and | 20 | | all other intergovernmental agreements that may exist that | 21 | | relate to the provision of fire protection or emergency medical | 22 | | services, or both, in geographic areas incorporated within the | 23 | | service areas combined under the terms of a referendum-approved | 24 | | intergovernmental agreement. |
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| 1 | | Section 65. Home rule. A home rule municipality may not | 2 | | administer fire protection services or emergency medical | 3 | | services, or both, in geographic areas incorporated within the | 4 | | service area of an Agency in a manner that is inconsistent with | 5 | | the terms of an intergovernmental agreement approved in | 6 | | accordance with this Act. This Section is a limitation under | 7 | | subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois | 8 | | Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of | 9 | | powers and functions exercised by the State.
| 10 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 11 | | becoming law.
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