Three ballot questions in the Mount Hope-Funks Grove Fire Protection District southwest of Bloomington-Normal are intended to help the district better respond to emergencies.
The questions on the ballot for district voters are to add a separate tax levy with a rate limit of .10% to support rescue service operations and equipment acquisition, to increase the rate limit on the district’s general tax levy from .30% to .40%, and to increase the rate limit on the district’s ambulance tax levy from .30% to .40%. Each need a simple majority to pass.
If all three ballot questions are approved, it would add a total of $150 in annual property taxes paid for the owner of a $150,000 home.
There are many added expenses on the horizon for the district, according to fire chief Eric Fulk. Employee wages will increase to Illinois’ new minimum $15 hourly rate that takes effect on Jan. 1, 2025. An extra full-time and multiple part-time EMT positions need to be filled. A fire engine, model year 2001, needs to be replaced, at a cost of $1.2 million.
“That engine is loaded to the max, and we're looking for some more room, and have a lot of maintenance issues with that truck,” Fulk said. "It's just hard to purchase. So getting a little bit more revenue to try to help with that is what we're looking for.”
There also is a 2022 model truck that the department is still making payments on.
Should the votes fail, Fulk said potential actions include consolidating with another fire protection district, leading to longer response times, ending in-district ambulance coverage or abandoning one of its two working fire engines.
“A lot of the things that we need will get put on the back burner to focus more on the salary part of things, and not so much the equipment,” said Fulk.
Fulk added the ambulance service has not yet struggled to respond to any emergencies within the district, but he hopes adding new EMT positions would take some workload off current EMT workers.
“Nobody wants their taxes raised, especially at this time,” said Fulk. “But you know, it's something that we pride ourselves on, on the service that we provide, the equipment that we have for the people.”
The election is Nov. 5. Early voting is underway.
