Crime & Safety
VIDEO: Fire District Gives Back $1.3 Million To Homeowners
Wednesday's early morning meeting was not without its sparks. A local and vocal opponent of the fire district confronted the board.
Orland Fire Protection District officials on Wednesday approved the abatement of $1.3 million, making this the third consecutive year that district officials returned taxpayer money.
The average homeowner living within the fire district can expect about a $100 credit on the second installment of this year’s tax bill, finance director Kerry Sullivan said.
“We asked for dollars, you gave us the dollars,” board secretary said. “We’re giving them back to you…We’re not going to put somebody in the middle to make money off of it.”
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Sullivan said the fire district would have made the decision earlier were it not for the county.
“Property taxes were late this year, so we wanted to make sure we had the funds available…before recommending it to the board,” she said.
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The abatement has two sources: about $950,000 will come from the principal and interest due on a 2007 bond issue and another $350,000 from 2010 taxes for pension fund obligations.
Although Wednesday's meeting was moved from night to morning, the early hour did little to deter the ire of Paul Cervenka. The Orland Park homeowner took the floor during the public comment portion of the meeting to engage the board in debate, tossing his arms wide at times and waving a list of his old tax bills.
Cervenka similarly and has been known to at Orland Park village board meetings. The fire district’s attorney, Dennis Walsh, told Cervenka much the same thing Mayor Dan McLaughlin told him last month.
“Part of this meeting…allows the public to make whatever public comments they want to make,” Walsh said. “What it doesn’t allow for is for you to engage in a conversation with the board of trustees. It’s not the appropriate forum for that…You can say what you’d like to say, but don’t expect answers to questions at this particular time.”
Addressing the issue after the meeting, Cacciato responded, “We keep giving (money) back. To claim that we are overtaxing or over levying is crazy.”
When asked earlier this month whether abatements could be an indication that the district taxes too much, board president Patrick Maher disagreed with his critics and called Orland .
On Wednesday Trustee James Hickey advised the fire district’s critics to take a better look at their tax bills before condemning the district's size, even suggesting that residents like Cervenka are a vocal minority.
“When the public dials 911, they don’t want to hear that you had to lay off firemen,” Hickey said. “They’re not concerned about that. They’re concerned about, ‘How quick are you going to get here to help me?’ It’s the ones having a heart attack: ‘How quick are you going to help me live.’”
On the issue of this year’s tax abatement, Hickey said he was proud.
“It shows that our budgets are in line and that we are putting money aside for a rainy day,” he added. “And whatever is left—in this economy—we definitely want each taxpayer to get whatever money they can to help their families.”
