SB3255 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB097 18850 KMW 64088 b

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB3255

Introduced 2/1/2012, by Sen. William R. Haine

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

70 ILCS 705/30 new

Amends the Fire Protection District Act. Provides for the creation of unified fire protection districts by contiguous units of local government (municipalities, counties, fire protection districts, and townships) to reduce the costs of providing fire protection and emergency medical services. Provides that unified fire protection districts may be created by an intergovernmental agreement. Sets forth the requirements for the petition and intergovernmental agreement, including referendum approval of the agreement. Sets forth the process for referendum approval. Contains other provisions. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by adding Section 30 as follows:

(70 ILCS 705/30 new)

Sec. 30. Unified Fire Protection District.

(a) Purpose. A Unified Fire Protection District may be formed by filing a petition for a referendum for the purpose of integrating existing service areas within contiguous units of local government to achieve a net savings in the cost of fire protection and emergency medical services in every included jurisdiction by the reduction or elimination of duplicative administrative costs, equipment, or capital expenditures, to a level that is preferably less, but no greater than, the aggregate costs of the fire departments included in the petition; unless the District can demonstrate any increase in the aggregate costs or an increase in the costs of the fire department of a participating unit of local government would justify an upgrade of the quality of services provided by the District or unit of local government, pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement. For the purpose of this Act, any county, municipality, fire protection district, or township is a unit of local government eligible to petition for unification with another unit of local government. The creation of a Unified Fire Protection District shall be secured by an intergovernmental agreement that includes terms that meet the standards set forth in subsection (e).

(b) Petition. A Unified Fire Protection District may be formed upon petition signed by the lesser of: (i) at least 100 legal voters in each of the units of local government proposed to be unified or (ii) or 10% of the legal voters in each of the units of local government to be included in the Unified Fire Protection District. The petition shall be filed in the circuit court for the county in which the greater part of the land in the proposed Unified Fire Protection District will be situated. The petition shall set forth (i) the names of the units of local government proposed to be included, (ii) the name of the proposed Unified Fire Protection District, (iii) the advantages to be derived from the inclusion of the units of local government in a Unified Fire Protection District, (iv) the number of trustees who shall serve on the board, and (v) whether the trustees shall be elected or appointed. Upon its filing, the petition shall be presented to the court, and the court shall fix the date and hour for a hearing.

(c) Notice of hearing. Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall set a hearing date that is at least 4 weeks but not more than 8 weeks after the date the petition is filed, and the court, or the clerk or sheriff upon order of the court, shall give notice 21 days before the hearing in one or more daily or weekly newspapers of general circulation in each county where a unit of local government included in the petition is organized and by posting at least 10 copies of the notice in conspicuous places in the proposed District. The notice must describe the proposed units of local government to be included and must state that if the conditions required by this Section are met, then the proposition for the creation of the District shall be submitted to the voters of the proposed District by order of the court.

(d) Hearing and referendum. To certify a question for referendum approval, the court must find that: (i) based upon a preponderance of the evidence, the representatives of each of the parties to the proposed District has executed an intergovernmental agreement that includes terms that are in compliance with the standards required for the formation of a District, as set forth in subsection (e); and (ii) the terms of an agreed upon intergovernmental agreement have been approved by the governing bodies of each of the units of local government and any collective bargaining unit involved.

At the hearing, the court shall first determine if the petition is supported by the required number of valid signatures of legal voters within the contiguous units of local government. If the petition is proper, then the court shall remand the matter to a joint committee for the purpose of negotiating the terms of an intergovernmental agreement. The court shall appoint members of the joint committee from the following parties:

(1) At least one representative of each unit of local government included within the proposed service area of the proposed District;

(2) At least one representative of each exclusive bargaining representative that is a party to a collective bargaining unit within a unit of local government included within the proposed District; and

(3) At least one representative of the petitioners from each unit of local government included within the proposed District after an election among the legal voters signatory to the petition from such units of local government.

Committee members shall meet from time to time to negotiate an intergovernmental agreement. Negotiations may continue for a period of 90 days or, if the court determines that additional time will facilitate agreement, longer. If no agreement is reached, the court shall dismiss the petition.

If an agreement is reached, the court shall schedule an evidentiary hearing with notice thereof to determine if the terms of the agreement are in compliance with the requirements of subsection (e).

An agreement shall be executed by the authorized representative of each party appointed to the committee by the court for each unit of local government included in the proposed District. If the agreement is not executed by representatives of all 3 parties of a unit of local government included in the original petition, then the petition may proceed so long as the agreement is executed by all parties representing 2 or more units of local government included in the original petition. The non-consenting units of local government shall be dismissed, and an amended petition on behalf of the consenting units shall be scheduled for an evidentiary hearing.

The following persons or entities, or their duly authorized representatives, shall have standing to present evidence at the hearing: the petitioners, the units of local government that will be included in the proposed District, and representatives of each exclusive bargaining representative that is a party to a collective bargaining unit within a unit of local government included within the proposed District.

If the court finds that all of the requirements of subsection (e) are not met, it may remand the matter for further negotiations between the parties and consider an amended intergovernmental agreement in the same manner as provided in this Section for an initial intergovernmental agreement.

If the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the petition is supported by a proper intergovernmental agreement, the court shall enter an order certifying the proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit to the legal voters of each included unit of local government at an election thereafter the question of whether the creation of the proposed District shall be approved. Notice of the election shall be given and the election conducted in the manner provided by the general election law. The notice shall state the boundaries of the District. The election authority must submit the proposition in substantially the following form:

Shall the (names of existing departments be combined) and (name of the Unified Fire Protection District) be created with an aggregate tax extension of (insert amount of tax-capped entity) with the authority to levy property taxes for the following purposes: (insert purposes)?

The court shall cause a written statement of the results of the election to be filed in the court. If, in each unit of local government included within the boundaries of the District, a majority of the voters voting on the question shall favor the proposition, then the court shall issue an order stating that the District has been approved.

(e) Minimum standards of service. The terms of the intergovernmental agreement shall guarantee that all of the following standards of service are met:

(1) The formation of the District will result in no net increase in the cost of fire protection services and emergency medical services for every included unit of local government based on the reduction or elimination of duplicative administrative staff, operational costs, services, equipment, or capital expenditures, unless the District can demonstrate that an increase in the aggregate cost of the fire departments of the participating units of local government costs justify an upgrade in the quality of services provided to the District as a whole or a participating unit of local government, as provided in the terms of the intergovernmental agreement.

(2) The formation of the District will not increase average response times in any included unit of local government.

(3) The taxing authority of a District shall be limited to ensure that the transition from providing fire protection by means of separate units of local government to extended service areas by means of the District results in no net increase in property taxes levied upon taxpayers residing in an affected jurisdiction as follows:

(i) Any property tax levied by the District on a resident taxpayer shall be offset by an abatement of taxes in the affected jurisdiction in an amount equal to the amount of the District's levy; and

(ii) Municipalities that fund fire department operations in whole or part from revenues collected from sources other than property taxes shall continue to contribute those revenues to the District to fund operations and shall not substitute property taxes for such revenues, unless otherwise agreed to by all parties to the intergovernmental agreement.

(4) The District shall apply savings in operating costs as follows:

(i) 50% shall be applied to reduce, pro rata, the property tax levy for fire or emergency medical services applied to property owners residing in the units of local government included in the District; and

(ii) 50% shall be contributed, pro rata, as applicable, to each included unit of local government's Firemen's Pension Fund, and those contributions shall be applied as a credit to reduce the unfunded accrued liability of the Fund, if one exists. If no unfunded accrued liabilities exist, such savings in operating costs shall be applied to reduce, pro rata, the property tax levy for fire or emergency medical services applied to property owners residing in the units of local government included in the District that are parties to the intergovernmental agreement.

(f) Governing Board. The District shall be governed by a Board of 5 or 7 trustees established as provided in subsection (j). The Board shall elect a chairperson from among its members, who shall vote only in the case of a tie. The vote of each trustee shall be proportional to the population of the unit of local government represented. The population for the allocation of votes under this subsection shall be based upon the most recent federal decennial census results. The trustees shall be elected or appointed in the same manner and shall meet the same eligibility requirements of other elected or appointed fire protection district trustees.

(g) Powers and duties. The District shall have the power, duties, and obligations of a Fire Protection District as otherwise provided under this Act, except as modified or limited by the provisions of this Section. The District shall develop a budget funded at a level sufficient to ensure the quality of service provided to the residents of the service area within the boundary of the included units of local government continues at a level equal to or greater than those provided prior to the modification.

(h) Local fire departments. The establishment of a District as a separate named unit of local government shall not prevent its constituent units of local government from continuing to identify their historical fire departments with the names of their localities. In that event, local fire departments shall be described as [local name] Branch of the [named District].

(i) Single chain of command. Upon the entry of an order establishing a District, the fire departments of the constituent units of local government shall lose their separate existence under separate chains of command and shall be operated under a single chain of command under the leadership of one fire chief who shall be appointed by the Board of the District. Chiefs and subordinate chief officers who are redundant under the single chain of command or consolidated shifts established under the Board shall be eligible to apply for vacancies in positions, including but not limited to training officer, EMS coordinator, fire inspector, or company officer, that may be established under the terms of the intergovernmental agreement entered into by the parties, provided that the positions shall not be available to any person who is already retired and receiving benefits under Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Code. Any reduction to a bargaining unit position resulting from the abolishment of a non-bargaining unit position shall be subject to compliance with the bargaining rights of any affected collective bargaining representative. Upon taking office, the fire chief of the District shall command all shifts covering the unified service area of the units of local government included in the District. The District shall thereupon become a body politic and corporate with all the powers, rights, duties, and obligations vested in it under the terms of the intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise provided under the provisions of this Act.

(j) Trustees. Upon the organization of the District, the duties of each included unit of local government relating to operating a fire department and emergency medical services within the boundaries of the District shall be transferred to the Board of the District to be exercised according to the terms of the intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise provided under the provisions of this Act. If a District is wholly contained within a single county, the trustees for the District shall be appointed by the chief executive officer of the county board with the advice and consent of the county board. If the District lies within more than one county, the number of trustees who are residents of a county shall be in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the number of residents of the District who reside in that county in relation to the total population of the District, unless the District has voted by referendum to elect the trustees.

Thereafter, each trustee shall be succeeded by a resident of the same county who shall be appointed by the same appointing authority. The appropriate appointing authorities shall appoint at least 5 trustees of the District within 60 days after the entry of the order establishing the District. The trustees shall be electors in the District, provided that the Board shall consist of a trustee representing each unit of local government included in the District. The trustees shall hold such terms of offices and shall have the powers and qualifications that are provided for trustees under Section 4. In the event of a conflict between the terms of the intergovernmental contract and the powers of the trustees otherwise provided by law, the terms of the intergovernmental contract shall prevail and supersede.

(k) Firefighters and EMS personnel employed by a unit of local government included in the District. All firefighters and EMS personnel lawfully in the employment of any unit of local government included in the District shall remain members of the fire departments that they are serving on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, but shall be subject to the unified chain of command established under the Board.

A District consisting of any fire department that employs full-time officers or members shall be subject to Sections 16.01 through 16.18 of this Act unless agreed otherwise by terms of the intergovernmental agreement agreed to by the units of local government and the exclusive bargaining agents representing employees engaged in providing fire protection or emergency medical services within the service area of the District.

(l) Contracts between an exclusive bargaining agent and a unit of local government. Contracts in effect between an exclusive bargaining agent and a unit of local government shall continue according to their terms. Successor contracts shall be negotiated in accordance with the provisions of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. Upon agreement of any 2 or more units of local government and corresponding exclusive bargaining representatives, and approval of that agreement by a majority of the members of each respective bargaining unit, any 2 or more bargaining units may be consolidated within a single bargaining unit.

(m) Distribution of specified taxes. Any unit of local government that is included in a District shall be exempt from any reduction in the formula for distribution of income tax revenues, pursuant to Section 901 of the Illinois Income Tax Act, and personal property replacement tax revenues, pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act, collected from local taxpayers by State agencies and heretofore redistributed to the units of local government based on the formula and laws in effect as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

A District shall be eligible to receive the distribution of income tax revenues collected from local taxpayers according to the same formula applicable to municipalities.

(n) Outstanding bonds and notes. In the case of any unit of local government included in a District that has bonds or notes outstanding that fund the operation of its fire department that are a lien on funds on hand in the treasury at the time of inclusion, the lien shall be unimpaired by the inclusion and the lien shall continue in favor of the bond or note holders. The funds on hand subject to the lien shall be set apart and held for the purpose of retiring such secured debt, and no such funds shall be transferred into the general funds of the District until all indebtedness of the unit of local government entering into the District has been discharged.

In the case of any unit of local government joined into a District that has unsecured debts outstanding at the time of inclusion, any funds in the treasury of the unit of local government otherwise available and not committed shall, to the extent necessary, be applied to the payment of those debts.

All property in the District, without discrimination between the territory in the several units of local government, shall be subject to taxation to pay the debts, bonds, and obligations created after the establishment of the District.

(o) Effects of inclusion. The inclusion of any unit of local government into a District shall not, unless agreed upon in an intergovernmental agreement, affect the obligation of any contract entered into by the unit of local government. Such contracts shall remain the obligation of the unit of local government that incurred the obligation.

The inclusion of units of local government shall not adversely affect proceedings for the collection or enforcement of any tax. The proceedings shall proceed to a finality as though no inclusion had taken place. The proceeds thereof shall be paid over to the treasurer of the unit of local government subject to the terms of the intergovernmental agreement to be used, however, for the purpose for which the tax was levied or assessed.

All suits pending in any court on behalf of or against any unit of local government relating to the provision of fire or emergency medical services when the unit of local government is joined into a District may be prosecuted or defended in the name of the unit of local government unless otherwise provided in the intergovernmental agreement. All judgments obtained for any unit of local government joined into a District shall be collected and enforced by the District for its benefit unless otherwise provided in the intergovernmental agreement.

The title to all property of a unit of local government related to providing fire or emergency medical services in the District that is transferred to the District under the terms of the intergovernmental agreement shall remain vested in the unit of local government, to be held for the same purposes and uses, and subject to the same conditions as before inclusion.

(p) Exclusivity. Any intergovernmental contracts otherwise authorized by law that relate to the combining of contracts or the integration of service areas where fire protection or emergency medical services are performed shall be done exclusively by referendum in accordance with this Section.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.