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player ready...Norwood Park Township voters approved a referendum to raise property taxes by an average of $100 in support of the Norwood Park Fire Protection district, according to unofficial results in the June 28 election.
According to those results, 59.49% of voters voted in favor of the referendum, which increases annual property taxes $33 for every $100,000 a property is worth. Those payments will bring in about $1 million in additional revenue to the Fire Protection District as emergency workers strive to meet a jump in demand for services and change the paramedic program.
The fire protection district covers Norridge, Harwood Heights and an unincorporated portion of Cook County.
Norwood Park Fire Protection District Chief Dave Blondell said he is “ecstatic” about the results.
“I’m happy and excited for the residents of Norwood Park Township,” he told Pioneer Press/baiduhai. “They were able to help us bolster the best possible service for the community.”
Blondell also thanked the board of trustees for putting the referendum on the ballot, noting that a tax increase is rarely a politically palatable move.
“The referendum was possible because the Board of Trustees had faith that the residents of the community would understand the importance of passing this question we put on the ballot,” he said.
Blondell told Pioneer Press/The baiduhai that the fire protection district had moved forward with a referendum so it could better respond to a significant jump in its call volume and protect itself from labor shortages, particularly the nationwide paramedic shortage.
The district has seen a 45% increase in calls for emergency services since 2010, Blondell reported.
Blondell said that is in part due to senior citizens choosing to live outside assisted living facilities for longer.
“People will live at home, some of them will live with families, [until] a much later age,” he said. “And so the demographic that uses our EMS the most is using it now for much longer.”
Some of the tax revenue will go toward hiring six new firefighter-paramedics. Three will begin in July and three more will begin next year.
The money will also allow the fire protection district to replace some of its aging equipment, like ambulances.
“Our newest fire engine is already 11 years old and our ambulances get torn up pretty quickly,” Blondell said. “We have to start rotating a new one into service every five years. We’re going to put it into our plans to replace one of our ambulances right now.”
It could be a long wait for a new emergency vehicle because of supply chain delays.
But Blondell said the bump in revenue will make it an easier wait.
“Now we feel more secure about the ability to fund and pay for our ambulance,” he said.
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