By Stephanie Irvine
“It’s been an eventful month,” Fire Chief Steve Malone explained after reporting the district responded to the Tri-Star Cabinets fire and several accidents, with four fatalities in the past month, at the district’s monthly meeting.
Malone noted that Wilmington-Peotone, Tully Road, County Line, and Kennedy Roads have also been hot spots for severe accidents.
At the time of the meeting, the district had 227 calls for the month, which is still on track for the district’s monthly average of about 7.5 calls per day. Deputy Chief Dave Piper expanded on that, reporting accidents account for most of their calls.
“We’re in the process of working with Air Methods, the helicopter organization that runs the emergency helicopters, to streamline that process for all of us,” Piper said. “We seem to be using them quite often. We called them six times and landed them four in the past 60 days,” Piper explained, underscoring the severity and frequency of the accidents that the fire district sees.
Turnout and call response times remain relatively unchanged from last month. Piper reported a 90th percentile call time of 11 minutes and 26 seconds. He explained the primary reason is travel time, noting the district covers 149 square miles.
“In the old days, we used to be all about fire. Well, Dave said it. We’re very much EMS and accident-based,” Battalion Chief Bruce Boyle explained when giving his report.
Year-End Finance Talks
Though it’s a standard annual process, the Manhattan Fire Protection District provided a detailed and thorough overview of the district’s finances from the last month, the tax levy, and its planned budget for the following year.
Fire District Accountant James Howard reviewed the monthly treasurer’s report, and 98 percent of property taxes have been collected, which accounts for the majority of the district’s revenue. Howard noted the Fed cut rates and, as such, lower interest rates are likely ahead.
Additionally, the determination of the tax levy was on the agenda. Howard acknowledged the district has experienced a lot of growth, with the county reporting to the district an equalized assessed value (EAV) at just over $756M and new growth just above $13M.
Howard noted they will be just above the 5 percent that triggers a public hearing and publication as required by the Truth in Taxation laws. The tax levy is the amount of funds the district wants to raise through property taxes; if the annual levy is 5 percent or more than what was brought in through taxes the previous year, the Truth in Taxation law is triggered. The board approved the determined levy as presented, and a public hearing will be held next month.
Following the tax levy discussion, Malone reviewed the budget, noting the final line-item budget was almost ready. He explained where increases are anticipated, such as with some weddings and family members added to insurance plans. He also noted places where costs could be reduced.
“One of the big things we’ve been doing the past month is really looking at doing our due diligence on some of our big line items, such as IT,” Malone said.
Malone explained the district obtained competitive bids to learn if their service cost was where it should be; they received lower offers, but their current company matched the price. The result was $25,000 in savings. Additionally, they cut the cost of their phone bill in half.
Another unlikely source of savings was dispatch costs. The district currently utilizes Laraway Communications Center to receive dispatch calls.
“Although our call volume continuously is going up, dispatch is actually going down because the board of directors at LCC agreed to rebate back a total of $1.2M divided among the agencies. So, that actually brought our cost for the next year down to $80,000, where it would’ve been $90,000,” Malone explained, with Batallion Chief Bruce Boyle confirming the details.
The district also is planning for the future with the hope of fewer capital projects, more efficient use of PPE (using brush gear instead of full structure fire gear for accidents, etc.), and anticipated promotions with the district’s growth.
Trustee Larry Goodwin inquired whether the district still receives impact fees on new construction and, if so, when the district receives them after Malone provided the budget review.
Malone explained that the Village of Manhattan collects the impact fees and sends the district a check quarterly. In Peotone, the developer has to meet with the fire district and provide the check directly.
The Peotone audit from the stub year ending December 2022 was finally completed; Auditor Lauterbach and Amen reviewed and provided an unmodified opinion, which is the highest opinion that can be provided.
New Fire Station Progress
Malone thanked those who attended the Village of Manhattan and MFPD’s groundbreaking ceremony for the water and sewer needed for the new fire station. Malone reported it was a big project that required extensive intergovernmental cooperation with the village, state, and county, especially in receiving the ARPA grant funds. Though it’s not anticipated to be a long project, he thought it was nice everyone could work together to complete it.
That event will not replace the building groundbreaking ceremony; MFPD will have their own ceremony when they break ground on the new station in the spring.
The site and floor plans for the new fire station are complete, and the village has its submittals. Malone passed around a rendering of the new building.
“We decided to go with a ‘flat roof’ over the apparatus bay. I think in the long run it will be better to do that for maintenance purposes,” Malone explained.
Other District News: Solar Requirements
In other news, Piper also reported the firefighters all are working through annual physicals, which is a two-visit process. The first is a blood draw and physical, eye, and hearing tests with the doctor; the second is a stress test.
The district also received a grant from Enbridge for $4,800 for brush and extrication gear. Piper reiterated this gear is far less expensive than structural fire gear, so it will help preserve that gear.
Battalion Chief Bruce Boyle reported he is working on being an advocate for the fire district so when developers come to an area, plans will include their input, which will make the final product safer for everyone.
“In fire prevention world, we continue to lead the area in negotiating with the developers of these solar projects to make sure we can gain access,” Boyle said.
“These are 160-acre solar arrays. We have to be able to get in there. If there’s a worker who gets hurt, or something like that, a maintenance guy who has a cardiac event — we have to be able to drive to a certain point and walk less than a block to get them,” Boyle explained.
Boyle reported he is working with the county, noting that although the county has codes and ordinances, they don’t always know what the fire district needs or the job they have to do.
He said he is working to keep them informed, not only that they need accessibility or have other requirements, but why they are so concerned about having it. The goal is to develop a checklist for County Land Use and engineering.
“We seem to be a focal point in growth for Will County. We have a lot more activities, whether its solar farms, or industry, or residents,” Boyle said.
Boyle explained the goal is to develop something that allows for interaction between the district and the county. To get to that goal, they have begun working with the Will County Fire Investigators group. He reported things have been going well overall, and he is positive about the progress.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.