Barrington to Provide Details on Fire Protection District Split

Rob Nicholas feels Barrington residents aren’t getting enough information about the village of Barrington and the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District’s split. 

“I want to see more information from the village. I don’t know how they are going to afford it,” Nicholas said after speaking at the Barrington Board of Trustees meeting Monday.

Residents should get more answers on July 15 when the village’s consultant is expected to give more details on what Barrington needs to do moving forward, President Karen Darch said. The consultant’s presentation will also touch on what staffing levels will be recommended.

Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District (BCFPD) decided it would not renew a service agreement with the village of Barrington expiring in December. A major reason the district is not renewing the agreement is because district officials want to hire more firefighters, but Barrington officials do not feel additional manpower is warranted and feel the costs of pensions and disability benefits would be high.

Both the district and the village are examining what each must do to become independent fire departments. The district shares in the cost of personnel, including firefighters, with the village. BCFPD is looking at the idea of hiring a firm to contract firefighters on its own

There are a few options on the table. Last week, the district presented the village with a proposal to possibility “lease” 18 of the firefighters who would be laid off after the agreement ends, Darch said.

Those firefighters would remain Barrington employees but would be used to provide service to the district’s area and be based in the Lake Barrington and Barrington Hills fire stations for a two-year period, Darch said. It would give the district time to determine whether it would establish a pension system.

While village officials will meet with the district’s representatives, the proposal is not an option the village is embracing. Darch pointing out that option could saddle Barrington with $160 million in potential pension, healthcare and disability liability. The village would prefer to see the district outright hire the firefighters who would be laid off, she said.
Trustees reassured residents that providing a high standard of public safety is a priority.

“The realignment of both the Barrington Fire Department and the BCFPD will mean a shifting in personnel, but no decline in service to Village residents,” Darch said.

Firefighters and residents packed the village board, speaking in support of mainting the agreement with the district.

Char McLear, a retired assistant fire chief with the village of Barrington, spent 30 years on the job and feels the idea of ending the agreement with the district makes no sense.

“This is a lose-lose proposition,” she said.  “It’s going to be bad if this goes through.”

McLear also questioned what Barrington’s plan is, asking if the village plans to purchase a new fire truck. But her biggest concern is about public safety. And public safety should not be compromised, she said.