Lake Villa Township Fire Protection District Press Release

The Lake Villa Township Fire Protection District staffs four fire stations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The daily on-duty manpower consists of 13 cross trained Fire and EMS personnel (3 at each station), plus a Shift Commander. In addition, the District employs four full-time administrative positions: Fire Chief, Chief Engineer, Fire Bureau Investigator and Training Officer. To sufficiently staff the daily manpower, the District employs nearly 100 part-time Firefighter/EMT/Paramedics. Even with this staffing level, it is a challenge to cover all the shifts 24/7, 365 days a year. 

The long-term plan of the District Board and Fire Administration is to add a Deputy Chief, three Battalion Chiefs, and twelve Lieutenants. This model staffs each station with a full-time Lieutenant and one shift supervisor (Battalion Chief) at the headquarters station. These full-time positions will enhance the current level of service to the District by providing consistent personnel on each shift for emergency responses. In addition, these supervisors will aid the current full-time staff in mitigating the many administrative issues that arise in an organization of this size. 

The District has been budgeting for full-time positions but has been able to provide services with part-time employees longer than expected. Therefore, the Fire District Board has abated $5,000,000 in taxes this year. This action returns $5,000,000 to the taxpayers by deducting the proportionate amount from each taxpayer’s 2017 tax bill (payable in 2018). 

If you compare your 2018 tax bill to your 2017 tax bill from last year, you will notice that the amount for the Lake Villa Fire Protection District is much less than it was last year. This is due to the tax abatement. Please note that the tax rate will return to the District’s usual funding level next year. Please keep this in mind when budgeting for your 2018 tax bill (payable in 2019).