Elena Tittel

Daily Southtown (Tinley Park, Ill.)

(TNS)

Both the Palos Heights Fire Protection District and Hometown Fire Protection District are asking voters to approve rate increases to address outdated infrastructure and equipment.

Palos Heights fire Chief Dave Ritter said the current property tax rate is 9.2%, and with the proposed increase, it would increase to 9.3%.

Homeowners would see an increase of $30.36 a year for every $100,000 of fair market value for their property, according to district estimates.

In Palos Heights, the average home is about a little over $405,000, according to market listings, meaning an increase of about $120.

Ritter said the fire protection district has not asked for a rate increase since November 2018. But officials are struggling to keep up with providing services due to rising labor and apparatus costs, he said.

The district only has six personnel on duty and no deputy chief. Despite having a small staff, the district receives more than seven calls a day and handled 2,774 calls in 2025, according to fire district data.

Ritter said the district has two fire stations and some of the buildings’ infrastructure is more than 20 years old. The district would use the increased revenue to replace old HVAC units in station one, renovate the bathrooms in station one, repair station two’s parking lot, create an apparatus-bay epoxy floor in station one and make repairs to both of the stations’ roofs.

All together, the new renovations will cost about $293,200, according to estimates from the district.

Ritter said the money would also go toward vehicles and equipment planning, such as purchasing two ambulances totaling $680,000 for both. He said they also plan about $900,000 to buy a rescue pumper.

“We do a great job with what we have. We have great morale … but to continue giving the good service that we need to, we need a little bit of help here,” Ritter said.

Hometown

The Hometown Fire Protection District is also considering a rate increase to address outdated infrastructure, replace old apparatuses and address staff wages.

The proposed 0.30% limit rate increase would increase the property tax rate to 1.429%.  For an $100,000 fair market value home, residents would see a tax increase of $90.90, according to the ballot language.

The average home value in Hometown is about $212,459 to $249,000, according to market listings.

Residents would pay about $15 a month or $180 a year depending on taxable equalized assessed value and tax exemptions, according to the district.

“I understand (residents) are cash strapped, and no one wants more increases … but we only have two choices, and that would be to have less people on duty so we can afford to pay,” Hometown fire Chief Daniel Duffy said.

Duffy said the district receives about $785,000 from property taxes. If new rate is approved, the district would receive close to $1 million to help pay staff, make building repairs, replace aging firefighting and emergency medical service equipment, replace self-contained breathing apparatus cylinders that are approaching their 10-year age limit and upkeep maintenance.

“The building was never meant for paid people to live in 24/7,” he said.

Duffy said the district has not asked for a rate increase since 2017.

District officials said they have met most of the goals from the last proposal, including funding for aging facilities, emergency equipment, emergency medical service needs and staffing. But more funding is needed to address ongoing challenges, they said.

Duffy said one challenge is the rising costs of equipment. He said while the district received about $233,000 in grants, it needs more funding to both make updates and pay staff fair wages.

The district has 36 part-time employees. Staff recently received a wage increase from $20 to $22 an hour during the weekdays and $30 an hour on the weekend. Under the proposed tax increase, Duffy said staff wages would hopefully increase to $25 an hour on weekdays and remain $30 an hour on weekends.

District officials said they will continue to look for savings through grants and responsible budgeting regardless of the outcome.

©2026 Daily Southtown (Tinley Park, Ill.). Visit at chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.