ABOUT THE BOND REFERENDUM

The Lemont Fire Protection District Bond Referendum is a proposal on the Nov. 5, 2024 ballot to provide funding to:

  • Relocate fire stations #1 & #3 to improve response times.
  • Ensure all four fire stations provide:
    • Separate gear storage space to lower our first responders’ exposure to carcinogens.
    • Space for up-to-date emergency vehicles and emergency medical, fire, and rescue equipment.
    • Ability to house the nationally recommended number of firefighter/paramedics.



Through the Minutes Matter community engagement program, residents of the district came together to learn more about the plan to provide better response times and provide feedback on four options for the future of the fire protection district. The community recommended the Board of Trustees move forward with providing the community the opportunity to vote on whether or not they would like to implement the plan. 

The fire district is planning for the future. Fire station locations were selected decades ago, and emergency response times continue to increase as the community grows. It often takes eight minutes or more for the district to arrive at an emergency scene. 

Since 1990, Lemont’s population has grown by more than 200%. This population increase has greatly increased the demand for emergency services throughout the district, particularly in the southwestern area of town. As the community continues to grow, the fire district must keep pace, working to respond to emergency calls within six minutes or less.

With advances in mapping and data technology the district can now make more informed decisions about fire station placement and improving response times. 

Our area continues to grow and our call volumes continue to rise. If the stations remain in their current locations, response times will continue to increase. 

 

In addition, our existing stations cannot accommodate additional firefighter/paramedics, meaning the district cannot increase staffing levels to meet the growing demand. Furthermore, construction costs are steadily increasing, averaging at least 6% per year. Delaying necessary station updates will only result in higher expenses in the future.

Station 2 updates include:

  • Address current infrastructure and maintenance needs
  • Provide space for the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) recommended 5 firefighter/paramedics
  • Accommodation for male and female firefighter/paramedics
  • Improve layout to decrease response times and increase firefighter/paramedic safety
  • Provide equipment storage to enable the purchase of state-of-the-art emergency medical,  firefighting and rescue equipment
  • Update fitness areas for firefighter/paramedic health and safety
  • Addition of separate gear storage space to lower exposure to carcinogens

Station 4 updates include:

  • Address current infrastructure and maintenance needs
  • Accommodation for male and female firefighter/paramedics
  • Improve layout to decrease response times and increase firefighter/paramedic safety
  • Update fitness areas for firefighter/paramedic health and safety
  • Addition of separate gear storage space to lower exposure to carcinogens

Approximately 700 homes are planned for construction in the district in the next three years. When these properties are purchased, the fire district must provide emergency services immediately, but the district doesn’t receive additional revenue until the following year. Additionally, the district does not currently receive any impact fees and the increase in tax revenue will not be enough to fund a large capital project. 

Based on our current station size, there is not enough room to add more firefighters/paramedics as the need increases and funding becomes available.

If you have a question please ask here.

To learn more, email info@lemontfire.com or call (630) 257-5461 Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m..

ABOUT THE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

We serve over 25,000 residents across 26 square miles in Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties. This includes the villages of Lemont, Darien, Woodridge, Palos Park, and Lemont Township, covering 9,500 single-family homes, 661 commercial buildings, a tollway, rail lines, a shipping canal corridor and more. 

Our services include firefighting, emergency medical services (EMS), rescue operations (like water, trench, and confined space rescues), severe weather response, public emergency training, fire prevention, and public education.

Over the past two decades, Lemont’s population has grown by more than 200% and shifted to the southwest, increasing demand for emergency services throughout the community and in newly developed areas of the District. Due to the current locations of our fire stations, it can take eight minutes or more for emergency responders to arrive, which is slower than national standards and other area fire protection districts.

FUNDING & FINANCE

The fire district is primarily funded through local property taxes and supplemented by ambulance fees.

The district is working with FGM, an architectural firm that is a national leader in designing fire stations. They have worked with many other area fire districts and departments to update and build new fire stations. 

 

The team at FGM worked with District leadership to develop a space needs study to determine LFPD’s square footage requirements for all of its facilities. This included an analysis of:

  • Living quarters for personnel
  • Apparatus bays for vehicles
  • Maintenance space
  • Training space
  • Administrative space

 

FGM then used the information from the space needs study and national best practices to develop cost estimates based on current and projected construction costs and square footage. Because construction would not start for at least a year and a half to two years, estimates also include approximate inflation increases.

If approved by voters, the $46 million bond proposal will result in an additional investment of approximately $185 per year or $15.41 a month for the owner of a $400,000 home in Cook County and approximately $209 a year or $17.41 per month in DuPage and Will County.



We recognize that many of our residents’ property values and assessments have recently changed. In addition to homeowners, these changes directly impact local public services like fire and school districts because they are primarily funded by local property taxes. 

Assessments affect how taxes are divided among property owners, but they don’t automatically increase the total amount of taxes received by the taxing districts. In Illinois, your property’s assessed value determines your share of the total amount of the tax levy that needs to be collected to fund local services. These funds are then distributed across various taxing entities such as fire districts, schools, parks, and libraries. The Lemont Fire Protection District is only a portion of that overall tax levy. 

This year, a larger burden of the 2024 taxes (levied in 2023) in Cook County shifted from businesses to residents, which means many homeowners are now covering a bigger share of the pie.

If your property’s assessment increases, it means you may pay a larger share of the levy, but the total amount the fire district collects remains the same unless voters approve additional funding, such as the bond referendum. This referendum is focused on addressing critical needs like faster response times and improved emergency services. It does not impact the process by which your total taxes are determined, only the portion allocated to the fire district.

So while your assessment might have risen, it’s important to note that that doesn’t mean the fire district received more revenue.

The increase in EAV (Equalized Assessed Valuation) actually lowered the estimated amount each homeowner will pay if the referendum is successful.

For example, if you own a $400,000 home in Cook County, we initially estimated a tax increase of about $248 per year to pay for the proposed updates. With the new assessments, that number has now decreased to around $185 per year, or $15.41 a month.

Similarly, in DuPage and Will Counties, the initial estimate for a $400,000 home was a $291 yearly increase. This has now dropped to $209 per year, or about $17.41 a month.

Even if your home’s value increased by 25%, the annual increase will still be lower than what we initially projected.

So, while property values and EAV have increased, the additional tax dollars homeowners will contribute to support the proposed bond referendum is lower than we initially anticipated.

Sometimes, a district’s ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating can impact home insurance rates. The ISO rating is a score provided to fire districts and insurance companies by the Insurance Services Office through its Public Protection Classification program.

The ISO evaluates fire districts and then provides rating information to insurance companies to ensure fair insurance premiums for residential and commercial properties. A higher rating can result in lower insurance rates for residents and businesses. In 2022, the Lemont Fire Protection District earned a Class 2 rating from the Insurance Services Office (ISO) — the second highest possible rating for fire protection services. The rating reflects how well a fire district is prepared to respond to and suppress fires.

In 2020, the district issued a $3.5 million bond to update equipment and station communication systems. The district is paying approximately $300,000 per year from its operating funds to pay off the bond. 

FIRE STATIONS & LOCATIONS

The current station locations were chosen many years ago based on land availability and population distribution. Since then, our population has grown and shifted. With today’s technology and data, we see opportunities to relocate stations for improved response times and service efficiency.

For the proposed plan to be effective, both stations must be relocated. If only one is moved, there will be a response coverage gap, which means increased response times for many residents. Currently, we can reach around 50% of historical calls in the district in 6 minutes. If we move the two stations, this will increase to 71%.

When an LFPD crew is dispatched to a call, emergency coverage for their designated area is transferred to the crew from the next nearest fire station – this happens to approximately 36% of our calls. This ensures there is always a team ready to respond, but it may result in longer response times because the station is farther away.

In developing plans for the future, the district recognized the shift in population and increasing response times. Property in our area sells quickly, and land value continues to rise.

When it became apparent that the district would explore the possibility of moving stations, leadership began exploring property options as they became available in the area. The two locations selected were ideal for addressing the population shift and in the necessary locations to reduce response times.

In addition, the proposed new fire station #3 location has a building that can be renovated rather than building new, which means saving about 50% of the cost that equates to millions of dollars.

If the district had waited for the community to approve the proposal, finding ideal station locations could have taken years. If the community determines this is not the best path forward, the district can decide whether to sell the land at a profit or keep it for future use.

The district looked at other properties, but many property owners were not willing to sell, others were too expensive, and others would have resulted in less-than-ideal response times.

The building used to be an educational site. It will require a gut rehab and the addition of engine bays, but it can be repurposed, saving the district approximately $10 million from building new.

The district owns the property where the current fire station #1 (15900 New Avenue Lemont, IL 60439) is located, and it would be sold to reduce the cost of the new facilities. 

The land where the current fire station #3 is located (10801 S. Marmon Drive, Woodridge, IL 60517) is in an industrial area and was donated to the fire district in 1994. At the time, the location was chosen to fill a coverage gap on the district’s north side. Since then, Bolingbrook and Romeoville have annexed the north area of the district up to Route 53 and I-55, meaning it is no longer served by the Lemont Fire Protection District. Because of this, the location is very close to the district’s boundary lines.  

When the land was donated, the deed included a clause that the property may only be used as a public fire station or for other public safety purposes. The district is exploring options for selling the property under the deed’s provisions. If a sale is not possible, it will be used as a training center.

The center of the fire district is approximately 15 minutes from one of the three primary hospitals. 

Moving the fire stations will allow us to arrive on the scene of many emergencies faster, which will, in turn, make it quicker to get to the hospital. However, the location of fire stations doesn’t really affect how quickly we can get someone to the hospital because we go straight from where the emergency happened to the hospital, not from the station to the hospital.

Renderings and floor plans for the two new stations and updates to the two existing stations are estimated to cost more than $40,000. If the district does not move forward with this plan, the expense of these renderings and plans would be a waste of tax dollars. 

Current and projected emergency call volumes do not show a need for a fifth fire station at this time. Before building a new station, we would need to be able to fully staff the existing stations. Once that has been accomplished and if call volume and response times warranted it, we could explore adding a fifth station.

Not counting the land, station and equipment maintenance, if we were to do this today, additional costs would include:

  • Approximately $1,620,000 per year in staffing (3 firefighters per shift; 3 shifts = 9 total personnel)
  • Approximately $1,000,000 for a new fire rescue truck
  • Approximately $370,000 for a new ambulance

New fire stations are expected to take seven to 14 months to construct. Only one station would undergo construction at a time to ensure quality emergency responses during construction. A sample timeline could look like this:

  • Year one: Voters approve plan, bidding process and planning
  • Year two: Construction begins on station 3
  • Year three: Construction starts on station 1
  • Year four: Remodeling begins on station 2
  • Year five: Remodeling begins on station 4

EQUIPMENT & MAINTENANCE

Many of our stations were built in a different era. Currently, our emergency response vehicles barely fit in the fire station bays. Responses are delayed in some situations because vehicles have to be moved to allow other vehicles to exit the station, and in some cases, trailers have to be connected.

The district has support vehicles such as a brush truck, fire investigation vehicle, dive van and a boat. These are currently housed at stations where they fit best, not necessarily where they are needed.

New vehicles continue to get larger and simply will not fit in our stations.

The district’s trucks, equipment, and vehicles are maintained on-site at Fire Station #1 by a certified emergency vehicle technician who is a full-time district employee.

This in-house maintenance allows the district to extend the life of its equipment and helps meet current National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. For example, many of our fire trucks stay in service for 16 years or more; the average lifespan of a fire truck in a district our size is 10-15 years.

The current space was built in the 1970s when equipment, trucks and even the fire district were much smaller. Now, it is difficult, if not impossible, to repair fire trucks and other equipment inside because of a lack of space.

It is safer and more efficient to have maintenance located at the same location as headquarters. From a safety perspective, it is important for our mechanic not to work alone in a building in case something happens while repairing a vehicle or other piece of equipment. In addition, it is helpful to have other people available to assist as needed and to have immediate access to District leadership to discuss maintenance costs, orders and other information and decision-making.

The current fire station, #3, is too narrow to maintain many of our vehicles. In addition, a mezzanine toward the back of the engine bay takes away usable maintenance space. There are also safety concerns about the mechanic working alone in the station if the crew is off-site.

The district has a capital plan that outlines an equipment replacement cycle. This is a planned process for updating and replacing fire district equipment over time, ensuring all gear, from fire trucks to personal protective equipment, remains up-to-date, effective and safe for use. 

 

This proactive approach helps budgeting for replacements and avoids downtime due to equipment failure, ensuring that the fire district is always ready to respond with reliable equipment.

The Lemont Fire Protection District has:

  • Four fire engines that also carry advanced life support emergency medical equipment
  • One ladder truck that also carries advanced life support emergency medical equipment
  • One tender truck (transports large quantities of water to fires with no hydrants)
  • Five ambulances
  • One mobile air compressor unit to fill firefighter air tanks (SCBAs)
  • Seven support vehicles
    • Hazardous materials unit
    • Dive van with boat
    • Fire investigations unit
    • Polaris brush fire utility task/terrain vehicle (UTV)
    • Three station utility vehicles (used to send members to training, physicals, etc.)
  • Eleven staff vehicles
    • Five command vehicles 
    • Buildings and grounds van
    • Two fire prevention SUVs
    • Emergency Medical Director’s vehicle
    • Vehicle technician truck
    • Pick up truck for plowing, utility needs and pulls brush UTV

VOTING

Shall the Lemont Fire Protection District, Cook, DuPage and Will Counties, Illinois, build, improve and equip fire stations and facilities, including relocating two existing fire stations, and issue its bonds to the amount of $46,195,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?

Election Day is Tuesday, November 5. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Find Cook County election information at the Cook County Clerk’s Office website, Election page at: https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/elections.

 

Find DuPage County Election information at the Dupage County Election Division website at: https://www.dupagecounty.gov/elected_officials/election_and_voter_information/.


Find Will County Election information at the Will County Clerk’s Office Website at: https://www.willcountyclerk.gov/.

All registered voters in the Lemont Fire Protection District are eligible to vote in this election. A person may register to vote in any election who:

  • You must be a United States Citizen.
  • You must 18 years old by the General Election.
  • You must be a resident of your precinct at least 30 days prior to Election Day.
  • You must display two pieces of identification. Neither needs to be a photo ID, but one must include your current address.