Incumbent Huntley fire trustees say pay scale is fair
By AMBER KROSEL - akrosel@nwherald.com
HUNTLEY – Two incumbent trustees for the Huntley Fire Protection District denounced a challenger’s recent opinion that their pay should be reduced.
John Davis and Milford Brown both are seeking another term on the board. Sean Smith, the only challenger facing them for two six-year seats, said this week that he believed that the board’s trustees were making too much at $3,000 a year – or $250 a month.
“It’s a minuscule amount of money for the amount of work you have to do,” said Brown, who serves as the board’s president and is running for his third term. “We put a lot of time in.”
Davis, who seeks a second term, agreed. He cited multiple meetings that the trustees can attend each month, including the regular board meeting, others on labor management or pension
issues, and land site visits.
“We’re constantly responding to pending legislation that affects the fire district’s operations or the taxpayers,” Davis said. “So it’s not just a once-a-month meeting that the trustees are getting $250 for.”
Brown began working for the fire district in 1969 as a volunteer firefighter. In the past 40 years, he said, he’s experienced several improvements to the district.
“We’ve come from not having equipment, not being properly trained, not having enough money, to what you see today,” Brown said. “We are probably one of the best trained fire districts in the state. We constantly are training and constantly are looking for ways to be better.”
The Huntley Fire Protection District emerged from an all-volunteer department to three current stations, with ongoing discussion of adding two more. Brown said the district also was one of the first in the county to install computers in its rigs, and new global positioning software could be operational by October.
During recent years, the district has maintained good financial standing and lowered its ISO insurance ratings, Brown added. Since 2004, its employee base has increased from 36 to 48 firefighter-paramedics because of a 50 percent increase in calls, Davis said.
Like Brown, Davis also has 40 years of experience in public safety. He served as fire chief in three communities, retiring from Oak Park’s top position and later becoming fire commissioner for the Huntley district before his first trustee term.
Since then, Davis said, the district has received at least $400,000 in federal and state grants, which helped acquire a new radio tower and private radio frequency. Through developer fees, a regional training center where firefighters can experience live fires was constructed.
A newly implemented customer survey also goes out to every fourth call, Davis added.
“Currently we are receiving a 99.8 percent approval rating from residents we’ve assisted,” Davis said. “The last six years have been very busy for us, and we’ve accomplished a great deal, and there’s still a lot to be accomplished.”
