Election Results 2016: Homer Township Residents Favor Electing Fire Trustees

HOMER TOWNSHIP, IL — Residents in the Homer Township Fire Protection District voted in favor of electing trustees to the district's board, with the passing of a referendum item on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

With 12 of 12 precincts reporting, 4,465 voted in favor of changing the process; 661 voted against it.

The current three-person board is appointed by the Homer Township Board of Trustees for three-year terms. The three fire board members will now instead be elected in the spring 2017 election, initially with staggered terms of two, four and six years.

The current board has been referred to as a "a good ol' boys club," dictating the need for public input in the process, Homer Township Professional Firefighters Local 4223 President David Curtis said before the election.

Township Supervisor Pam Myers said the town board gets the authority to appoint the fire board from state statute. She called the process currently in place "really good," noting that "these are not political appointment," as reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Applicants are required to live in the district, be a registered voter and be interviewed and evaluated by the town board. Representation must be spread throughout the township, and no trustee of the fire district shall be directly or indirectly involved in doing business with the fire district.

Curtis pointed to past experiences as driving force behind pursuing the referendum, noting a lack of communication between the board and residents.

"It's been a long time coming," Curtis said. "It's not a knee-jerk reaction. This is something we carefully considered for years."