Welcome to our EIGHTH #Friday5!!

As previously explained, #Friday5 is where we answer questions from people in the district to give everyone the best information possible about the upcoming referendum. No question is off limits, and the answers can be fact-checked by anyone looking for the truth.

The Bourbonnais Fire Protection District board remains wholly committed to getting the truth out and being honest about rumors that may manifest regarding this tax rate proposal. Therefore, if you ask a question or make a statement on social media, email, or board meetings, we will answer the questions IN WRITING so you can freely hold us to our word.

Remember, these are YOUR questions, statements, and other communication regarding the Nov. 5 referendum that we have collected via email, read on social media, or found on websites. We will pull these questions and statements directly from wherever we find them and write answers for everyone to read.

Last week, we had a rerun because we didn’t receive any questions. Not this week!! This one is brand new so, let’s get to it!!

Q: On top of that, Bourbonnais Fire District which includes Bourbonnais and the St. George area, is putting a several million-dollar property tax increase on the November ballot for the sixth time. They have seen their property tax Levey/bill to the community go up big time over the last 10 years but they say it is still not enough. They already collect more than many other departments in the area. This must be voted down for the sixth time.

A: This was part of a long statement on Nextdoor.com that included statements regarding multiple taxing districts. But, instead of putting the whole statement involving those other districts here, we will focus only on what was said about the BFPD.
Statements like “big time” in this question are generally used to make a point when facts are unavailable. However, finding the facts to see the truth behind the issue is pretty easy.

The certified tax rate in the BFPD DECLINED from .4407 in 2014 to .4288 today (– .0119). Simultaneously, the equalized assessed valuation of the land inside the BFPD increased by nearly $200 million, from $416 million in 2014 to $612 million in 2024. Because the township EAV increased despite the BFPD tax rate dropping, the district still increased its funding from $1.8 million in 2014 to $2.6 million today (+800,000).

While that may seem like a lot, factor that inflation jumped 8.3 percent and salaries jumped 33 percent over the last decade. This means we only realized an $800,000 increase in funding over a decade, rather small for a fire district where home values have grown in value by $200 million.

Q: If you want an increase in Tax Referendum why can’t you do like the Village of Bradley did and offer a rebate?

A: This is another one of those tax confusion questions that we get from time to time.

According to media stories, the village of Bradley offers homeowners tax rebates based on sales tax collected. The reason the BFPD is unable to do the same thing is because the BFPD does not collect or receive sales tax. The only tax revenue the BFPD receives is from property taxes.

Q: I literally grabbed my taxes from last year and this year – 2023: $3,345 and 2024: $3,415.

A: There’s no arguing that understanding your specific tax bill can be complex. However, without knowing your specific address, we can’t definitively explain why your tax bill increased by $70 last year. But, we can take an educated guess:

Small increases in your specific tax bill are generally explained as an increase in the equalized assessed valuation of your property, meaning your property is worth more today than it was in previous years. Or, generally speaking, there may have been a minor increase in the tax rate levy in one of the taxing districts in your specific area to account for inflation. But, we can’t know for sure without checking your address. But, if you’d like to get to the bottom of it, we urge you to contact your township assessor who can review your property taxes and provide you with specific answers.

Q: First you have to be registered at the address you are living at now. Second to vote on the two huge property tax increase referendums on the November ballot, you have to be living within the BBCHS school district, which is the Bradley, Bourbonnais and St. George area. For the Bourbonnais Fire District referendum, you have to be living in the area of Bourbonnais or the St. George area. On your voter’s card is the address where you are to vote on election day or can do early voting at the Kankakee County Clerk’s office at 189 E. Court St., Kankakee. Call them for the dates and times (815) 937-2990. Not registered to vote where you live at now? You can register at the Kankakee County Clerk’s office.

A: Of the 128 words in this statement, we only have an “issue” with one of the words. Otherwise, we couldn’t have said this better ourselves. People can vote early at the county or vote on election day at their polling place. Also, people need to be registered to vote through the Kankakee County Clerk’s Office, so GET OUT AND VOTE!!

As for the word “huge,” we’d argue that’s open to interpretation. A yes vote on the Nov. 5 ballot for the BFPD question means the homeowner authorizes the BFPD to increase their tax rate by .21 cents per $100,000 EAV to hire and retain highly qualified district employees, like paramedics and firefighters who are specifically trained to keep residents alive. If the referendum is approved, the owner of a $200,000 home will see their tax bill increase by about $127 annually starting in 2025. We don’t think that’s “huge,” considering these district employees were dispatched to 4,433 incidents in 2023 and 4,449 incidents in 2022, an increase of 19 percent over figures in 2020.

Q: Very hard to read. It won’t let you zoom.

A: Facebook is an imperfect app and doing the simplest of things can sometimes be a pain. The best way to zoom in on #Friday5 is to click on the photo you want to see, and, if you’re reading it from your phone, pinch or spread out it to zoom. If you are reading this from a desktop computer, there should be a plus or minus sign at the top of the photo that you can use to zoom in and out.

See you all next week!!