DuPage lawmaker: Consolidate fire districts

Grant Eckhoff believes he can save taxpayers millions of dollars by consolidating DuPage County's fire districts and departments.

[Jeff]

No, the county should slash it's own budget. They should also pass a county law against driving by illegals with no license, with a hefty fine going to the county. This would improve safety of the roads and county taxes could be cut by the huge amount they would collect in fines. Leave the fire departments alone.

[Jake in West Chicago]

Slash departments across the board. They've been living fat on all of the over inflated real estate taxes so long they forgot to save any for the time when the money is tight.
Cut pensions, pay, workdays, libraries, forest preserves, etc. Extras such as new buildings, expansion of Forest preserve areas, new work to solve problems which have been there all along (like culvert work, bringing water into areas where wells exist aka Carol Stream).
Why should only the residents feel the pain of being out of work and yet still having to pay the high cost of services that aren't being affected.
Next to California, Illinois is now the second worst in having a budget shortfall. When will the spending end?

[Taxpayer]

This Guy Grant Eckhoff must have fallen out of a banana tree. This is stupid

[DuPage Taxpayer]

We support Grant's efforts to cut the budget. Over the next five years, they should go to a smaller core of full timers, backed up by vol. paid on call. They should also phase out the pension for new employees, go to 401k match like everyone else. They should also go to standard 8 hour days. If they don't like it they should remember there are many returning vets who would be happy to take those jobs under the new terms.

[Smedskjaer]

How about cutting the Commerce boards?
Given the economic crisis, the county commerce is no longer large enough to justify the boards.
Cuts can also be made to the boards of education in the different school districts.
Loosen the rules on commerce in the county and communities. Make it easier to zone a property for small business. More income revenue from commercial activities.

[Sam]

He could start by cutting back the pay of the board members and EVERY DuPage employee 10 percent. If that does not balance the budget then cut 10 percent of the jobs, trim some of the fat.

[DuPage Taxpayer]

The firemen sit around over 95 percent of the time. Most of the other 5 percent are false alarms or something like popcorn accidently left in a microwave. They certanly don't need to duplicate this every couple of miles. Many firemen have contracting businesses they work on their days off. Grant is right!

[Taxpayer]

As I said before: This Guy Grant Eckhoff must have fallen out of a banana tree. This is stupid

[Jake in West Chicago]

Worry about Mosquito Abatement?!?! What the heck is Zay thinking is important? I can't imagine the costs of these two groups, fire departments in the county and Mosquito Abatement, but my logic thinks that the Fire Departments are a substantial cost to the county.
Also, Mr "Taxpayer" your banana tree comment adds nothing to the discussion and you obviously have no valid opinion to the problem we residents and taxpayers face. I don't condone the belief we should spend $300k on consultants, but I doubt it would take that much to make some decision in consolidating the departments over time. 35 fire chiefs may or may not be a good number, the proximity of stations also might not be best since they could be too close or could perform double duty to a call that is just over the border.
Everyone thinks that "oh boy, I can get a fireman to my house faster if it's on fire if we have more stations." That's fine, who doesn't want that when they need it, but at what point do you say, I can't afford to have a station within every neighborhood? How much in taxes must be acquired to pay for a building, labor, equipment and the loss of taxes on the property the fire station stands on?
We would all be better off, much better if they would give us a refund/incentive to install water sprinklers in our homes. It's a pay once, the expense is done. Firestations expenses will only increase.

[Smedskjaer]

Oh, I think putting fires out might be an important service, so lets cut the budgeted pay to, perhaps, community rec programs? Close down the youth sports programs. The pottery for beginners. Spanish as a second language. See how much we can save there.

[Tom]

With newer improved smoke, CO, GFI, and AFI circuit breakers, the need for fire coverege is drasticly reduced. The main thing is to give residents of a building to early warning to get out. If it takes a minute longer a little bit more damage, but that can be fixed. Is it worth an extra ten million to save 100000 of property, spend another dollar to save each penny? We can't afford that. We pay fire insurance to rebuild fire damage. Slash the fire departments AND the lazy, incompetent DuPage County workers.

[Smedskjaer]

Except those firemen are also paramedics. Is that 10,000,000 worth life saving treatment starting a few minutes sooner?

[Taxpayer]

Smedskjaer wrote:

Except those firemen are also paramedics. Is that 10,000,000 worth life saving treatment starting a few minutes sooner?

They are just the ones that would seream if it took two minutes longer to assist a loved one of theirs.

[Jake in West Chicago]

@Smedkjaer
Although I tend to agree with cut backs in those areas as well, just across the board. They added these services and can't afford them, they must remove them. Unfortunately those things you mentioned are more visible to the community and don't cost near as much as even paying for firemen to be on staff.
Another sad fact is that Spanish is not much of a second language around here, especially in WC and in many cities as it's becoming a more prevalent language. You need to learn that in school not on the tax payers dollar.
That $10mil could be the difference between the city/county having a balanced budget or just a bunch of bumbling spenders not taking care of this as a job. I'm all for spending the money on good qualified staff, management and labor like firemen and policemen, but their spending is so out of control they have to monitor Rt 64 for speeders and whatever they can along with Red Light Cameras just to help bail out their red light budgets.

[Smedskjaer]

But we should first make as many small cuts as we can and see afterwards, what can be afforded, what must be cut back, instead of just saying 10 mil off the top.

[Jake in West Chicago]

Oh I agree. Whether is is 10mil or one mil our budget needs to get under control. Because next year it's gonna be even worse. Real Estate taxes are assessed on a 3 year delay, and as the prices of home sales gets finally put into the picture, there will be less money for everything. And I'd say the year after, 2011 will be a bad budget year too.

[Ray]

These fire departments can be reduced and consolidated with no reduction in safety. End the featherbedding. Trim the pay and benefits. Cut the pensions. Outlaw unions for public safety police, fire, paramedics. If they strike, FIRE them.

[Taxpayer]

Ray wrote:

These fire departments can be reduced and consolidated with no reduction in safety. End the featherbedding. Trim the pay and benefits. Cut the pensions. Outlaw unions for public safety police, fire, paramedics. If they strike, FIRE them.

So you are saying let BIG BROTHER run over them?

[Taxpayer]

Check this out and let me know if you still favor this consolidation BS http://www.facebook.com/n/...

[Taxpayer]

Sorry, try this one instead http://www.topix.com/city/wheaton-il/2010/01/...