Glen Ellyn May Raise Fees For Fire Service

On Monday night, Glen Ellyn Trustees expressed support for a fee increase on village water bills to provide more funds to the volunteer fire company, according to the Daily Herald.

In the proposal outlined in village documents, the household monthly fire service fee would double from $7.50 to $15 per month. Apartments would pay $6, rather than the current $3 fee, and fees for business would also double.

The village currently collects about $800,000 annually with the fire service fee. The fire company of 60 volunteers, who are paid $1 per year, costs about $700,000 to run, leaving little for improvements and building upgrades.

"There may come a time here in the near future that we need to go from two to three ambulances to appropriately service the needs for the community," Village President Alex Demos said according to the Herald. "We're ill-prepared from a capital standpoint to even house that ambulance."

The funding could also be used to upgrade or replace two fire stations, which are both over 40 years old.

The village board could vote on the fee increase as soon as March 20, and the new fees would appear on June water bills.

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