Orland Fire District's budget sparks questions

January 18, 2008
By Isaac Wolf, Staff Writer
The Southtown Star

How much is the Orland Fire Protection District going to spend this year?

If you want to know, don't ask district officials.

They either don't know or won't tell you.

"We cannot accurately predict line item increases due to the nature of emergency services," said district spokesman Bill Figel. "We use a budget as a guideline."

According to budget documents, the district plans to spend $30 million this year. Figel said the district's budget will be "plus or minus" $25,758,756.

After a year marked by scandal and opaque government, Orland Fire's new budget leaves unanswered key questions about how - and how many - taxpayer dollars are being used to fight fires and rescue people.

In a public agency where the president is in business with the head of the local union, the budget does little to dispel questions about an appearance of a conflict of interest.

An analysis of the budget and legal bills, which the SouthtownStar received after filing two Freedom of Information Act letters, reveals several issues.

• Orland plans to spend $12 million more than a similar fire district in Chicago's west suburbs.
• Orland's budget includes $7.5 million of "wiggle room" between what the district expects to spend and what it's appropriating.
• Legal fees in Orland have more than doubled from four years ago, not including the $60,000 spent tracking the arrest, court case and resignation of a disgraced firefighter accused of lying about military service.

"Any way you slice it, the budget is really high," said Dan Sprehe, chief investigator for the Better Government Association, a watchdog group. "Given what I've seen of the OFPD's record, the lack of clarity doesn't come as any surprise."

In all budget categories except one, Orland Fire has built in a 25 percent cushion between what it says it plans to spend and what it's allocating.

The only category without such padding: the audit fund.

The wiggle room amounts to an extra $7.5 million.

Also problematic with Orland Fire is that district officials offer no explanation or supporting materials that could make the budget understandable to a typical Orland taxpayer.

"The budget is deliberately confusing," Sprehe said.

How does Orland Fire compare to other fire districts? Though it's impossible to make a perfect comparison, the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District stands out as particularly similar to the Orland Fire District. Lisle-Woodridge covers two west suburban towns, as well as parts of unincorporated Glen Ellyn and Naperville.

Lisle-Woodridge covers a population of 77,000 within 36 square miles while Orland protects 75,000 people within 33 square miles. Organizationally, the two fire groups are similar: Both are professional "districts" - not extensions of town government - and both employ similar staff levels: Lisle-Woodridge employs 123 full time employees and works out of five firehouses. Orland, by comparison, has 110 firefighters working out of six stations. And like Orland Fire, Lisle-Woodridge also has an EMS and hazardous materials squad.

Lisle-Woodridge's 2008 budget is $17.3 million, a little more than half the amount Orland Fire plans to spend next year. Lisle-Woodridge has a 1 percent "wiggle room" cushion built into its budget.

Figel said Orland Fire doesn't compare itself to other districts.

"It would be comparing apples to oranges," he said.

If Orland plans to spend twice as much as a comparable district, does it provide twice the service?

According to the benchmark industry watchdog group that grades firefighting services, no.

Insurance Service Office, the risk-rating agency whose grades are used to determine property insurance rates, ranks Orland Fire in the "Class 2" category. Lisle-Woodridge holds "Class 1" status.

The ISO rating is based on the quality of a district's engine companies, its alarm system and water supply. Fire districts' ISO scores range from 1 to 10 and roughly follow a so-called "normal curve," - few districts are really good, few are really bad and most are somewhere in the middle - with the national median score a 7, data from the ISO show.

Only 42 fire protection agencies in the United States enjoyed this distinction as of 2000, according to ISO statistics.

Besides Orland Fire, 309 other fire protection agencies share the ISO 2 ranking.

"An ISO 1 rating allows property owners to enjoy the lowest possible fire insurance premiums," Lisle-Woodridge boasts in its 2008 budget.

Even though the fire districts may be similar in some aspects, it's impossible to make a perfect comparison, said Michael Dillon, president of the Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts. He also noted that a fire district's ISO score doesn't cover many activities that firefighters engage in, like emergency medical services and hazardous material operations.

A factor that does figure squarely into a fire district's overall cost are contract negotiations, Dillon said.

"A lot of these things are union negotiated," he said. "It's just like any community."

Last year, Orland Fire board president Patrick Maher purchased two apartment buildings, one in Orland Park and another in Lockport, with local union president Nick Anastos, raising questions about a conflict of interest.

Orland Fire plans to spend $11.2 million on sworn personnel wages. Lisle-Woodridge plans to spend $10.2 million on salaries this year.

One area where the fire district's expenses increase has been for legal services. In 2007, the district's law firm, Klein, Thorpe and Jenkins, earned $250,000 through the first 10 months of the year. That includes at least $64,000 for work on legal issues related to disgraced firefighter Larry Masa. Four years ago, the district's law firm - then Ottosen, Trevarthen, Britz, Kelly and Cooper, LTD earned $100,000.

"The legal fees are directly correlated to the increase in calls and circumstances, including subpoenas and the Lt. Masa incident, causing us to ask more of our legal team," Figel said.

All but one Orland Fire trustees - including board president Pat Maher, Marty McGill, Patricia Corcoran and Salvatore Cacciato - did not return calls to comment. Trustee Glenn Michalek, reached at work the first week in January, said he would be too busy in the foreseeable future to comment on the budget.

Finance director Kerry Sullivan, who earns $87,473, asked for and received detailed written questions from the SouthtownStar, which she forwarded to Figel.

Bryant Krizik, who as fire chief earns $130,000 annually, did not return a call to comment. In an e-mail message, he referred questions to Figel. Figel earns $24,000 annually to communicate on behalf of the district.

Isaac Wolf may be reached at southtownstar.com or (708) 633-5973.