The Frankfort Fire Protection District ballot proposal is an operating property tax rate proposal on the November 3, 2026, ballot. The proposal would provide additional funding for fire, rescue and emergency medical services.

If approved by voters, it will provide funding to: 

• add firefighter/paramedics so the FFPD can fully staff fire trucks and ambulances

• provide ongoing training and up-to-date life-saving technology

• maintain competitive salaries and benefits to recruit and retain qualified personnel

• invest in equipment and facilities that support emergency response

• address fire station and facility needstion text goes here

This spring, we launched Your Voice Counts When Seconds Matter, a District-wide community engagement program. More than 750 residents participated and shared what they expect from their fire protection district and what they believe should be priorities for the future.

What we heard from residents helped shape the plan to address staffing, strengthen emergency response and better meet the needs of our community.

After considering the District’s needs and the community feedback received through this process, the Board placed the operating tax rate proposal on the November 3 ballot for voters to decide.

The Frankfort Fire Protection District has not asked voters for additional operating revenue since 2000. In the 26 years since, emergency call volume has nearly doubled while firefighter/paramedic staffing has stayed almost the same, and the cost of vehicles, equipment, insurance and personnel has risen sharply.  

Currently, the district operates five stations and four ambulances to serve more than 43,000 residents in the Villages of Frankfort and Mokena, along with Frankfort and Green Garden Townships. The District is facing the following challenges: 

• Call volume has grown significantly, but staffing levels have not kept pace, straining crews and increasing response times.

• The district does not currently have enough first responders on duty to staff fire trucks and ambulances at levels needed to meet emergency service demands.

• Equipment and apparatus are aging, and the district is behind on its replacement schedule; the cost of a new fire engine has risen by 233% and that of a new ambulance by 166% since 2000.

• The district's five fire stations, ranging from 15 to 49 years old, have facility and infrastructure needs, including roofs, HVAC, and aging technology.

Without additional funding, FFPD may need to continue relying on cost-saving measures, such as purchasing used fire engines and delaying equipment and staffing needs, which are not sustainable in the long term. As a result, response times, training, and equipment availability could decline.

The District has taken several measures to control costs. In 2025, it replaced two 16-year-old fire engines with used engines rather than purchasing new ones, and it re-chassises ambulances (reusing the patient compartment on a new truck cab), rather than replacing them outright. The Deputy Chief position has remained unfilled rather than adding administrative staff.

Even with these measures, current staffing does not meet the level needed. Station 73 does not have an ambulance, and Station 74 has an ambulance but not enough crew to operate it and the fire engine at the same time. Districtwide, current staffing is 18 firefighter/paramedics per shift, compared to the 26 needed and the National Fire Protection Association's recommended standard of 32. None of the District's five stations currently meet the District's identified staffing needs.

On top of that, emergency call volume has increased significantly since 2005, while the number of firefighter/paramedics on duty has remained largely unchanged.

Without additional funding, the district will face reductions in service.

As our community grows, emergency calls have nearly doubled, increasing the demand for ambulances, staffing and reliable equipment. The Frankfort Fire Protection District has taken steps to control costs, including purchasing used vehicles, but those measures can no longer keep pace with operational needs. The district is not always able to fully staff emergency responses and must rely on neighboring districts for some medical calls. At the same time, aging fire trucks, ambulances and equipment require increasing maintenance and replacement costs. Without additional funding, these pressures will continue and could result in reductions in service. When residents call 911, they expect help to be there when they need it.  

The ballot proposal includes a 0.325% operating rate increase, which would cost the owner of a home valued at $500,000 around $43 per month. 

Your property tax bill is based on three factors: 

1. your home's assessed value

2. the total taxable value of all property in the district (EAV - Equalized Assessed Valuation)

3. the district's tax rate (the percentage of that value being taxed)

The district applies its tax rate to the total EAV to determine the total dollars it collects. Your individual bill is your share of that total, based on how your home's taxable value compares to everyone else's in the district.

The fire district's allocation is 9.49% of a total Village of Frankfort tax bill.

If you have a question, please ask here. To learn more, email Kinsella@frankfortfire.org 

or call (815) 469-1700.

We serve over 43,000 residents across 41.98 square miles in parts of the Villages of Frankfort and Mokena, along with Frankfort and Green Garden Townships.

This includes 20 multi-family residences, 650 commercial buildings, 18 schools (including preschools), 3 senior citizen housing centers, 4 health care centers, 1 railroad and large industrial properties.

Our services include, fire suppression, emergency medical services (EMS), car seat inspections, rescue, including high angle, confined space, swift water, boat, structural collapse, and auto extrication, hazardous materials incidents and a tactical response team. We also offer public emergency training like CPR classes as well as fire extinguisher training and fire escape training. From a fire prevention perspective, we do building code inspections, plan reviews, evacuation drills and inspection services to help prevent fires and assure fire and life safety for people who live, work, and travel through the District.

The Frankfort Fire Protection District has four ambulances. They are located at:

• Fire Station #71 at 333 W. Nebraska St., Frankfort

• Fire Station #72 at 20260 Graceland Lane, Frankfort

• Fire Station #74 at 7990 W. Steger Rd., Frankfort (can only run if the fire truck is not being used)

• Fire Station #75 at 21901 S. Wolf Rd., Frankfort

• Fire Station #73 at 24420 S. La Grange Rd., Frankfort does not operate an ambulance and only has 2 members on a fire engine.

Description text goes hereWhen an Frankfort Fire Protection District crew is dispatched to a call, emergency coverage for their designated area is transferred to the crew from the next nearest fire station. When you call 911, a station that is fully staffed with first responders should be ready to respond. Right now, we cannot always provide that level of staffing. Emergency calls in our community have nearly doubled, and the Frankfort Fire Protection District is not staffed to meet the growing need. Additionally, understaffing can delay rescue and firefighting efforts when firefighters arrive without a fully staffed truck. 

Yes, Frankfort Fire Protection District charges up to the amount allowed by private medical insurance and medicare. However, the cost of the ambulance transport far exceeds the amount of money we are reimbursed by the insurance company or medicare. As a district resident, you will not receive a bill at this point. We will only bill your insurance. For non-residents, we will bill them directly if their insurance does not cover our cost.

In emergency services, mutual aid is an agreement among emergency responders to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries. Mutual aid is in response to when staffing and available ambulances are not sufficient to handle simultaneous calls within the district without needing additional mutual-aid resources. This occurs due to an emergency response that exceeds local resources. Mutual aid is a normal part of regional fire/EMS operations, and Frankfort both gives and receives mutual aid.

In 2025, over 52 calls had to be turned over to mutual aid. This means paramedics from communities such as New Lenox, Mokena, Manhattan, Monee needed to travel into Frankfort to provide aid because a Frankfort ambulance was not available. In addition to longer response times this also means FFPD does not receive revenue for those calls.

Like many things, the cost of fire, emergency medical and rescue supplies and equipment continues to rise. Additional revenue is needed to cover the costs of things like:

• Ambulance equipment improvements for items such as: monitors, CPAP/BiPap ventilators, autopulse, powerloaders, stretchers and stair chairs.

• Ambulance repair and maintenance

• Supplies like medications, IV kits, fluids, bandages and oxygen supplies.

• Up-to-date life-saving technology

The Frankfort Fire Protection District is a special taxing district funded primarily by property taxes from properties within the District. It receives no funding from the Villages of Frankfort or Mokena and does not receive sales tax revenue. 

Additional funds are collected for services provided.  These include EMS service, grants, false alarm fines, cost recovery responding to non-residents, and fees for fire prevention inspections.

We haven’t had an operating tax-increase in 26 years. Since then, emergency call volume has nearly doubled while firefighter/paramedic staffing has remained almost the same. At the same time, costs for personnel, vehicles, equipment, insurance and facilities have increased. Today, Frankfort Fire Protection District does not have enough firefighter/paramedics on duty to fully staff both an ambulance and a fire truck at every station at the same time. Additionally, understaffing can delay rescue and firefighting efforts when firefighters arrive without a fully staffed truck. 

The District has used cost-saving measures, including purchasing used fire engines and repairing vehicles rather than replacing them. However, these efforts have reached their limit and can no longer sustain operations. Without additional funding, the district will face reductions in service.

The district’s current property tax rate is $0.7519 (or $0.7338) , making it the second-lowest of the seven area fire districts, ahead of  New Lenox.  in the area. We have worked tirelessly to be good stewards of our resident’s tax dollars and have made them stretch as far as we can, based on future projections.

The Frankfort Fire Protection District is asking voters to approve a change to the property tax rate used to fund fire protection and ambulance services. The proposal will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot as follows. The format and language of the proposal are written as required by election law.  

Shall the limiting rate under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law for the Frankfort Fire Protection District, Will and Cook Counties, Illinois, be increased by an additional amount equal to 0.325% above the limiting rate for fire protection and ambulance purposes for levy year 2025 and be equal to 1.0481% of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property therein for levy year 2026?

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Voting information, including registration and election details, is available through the Will County Clerk's Office.