November 3 Referendum

On November 3, 2026, voters in the Braidwood Fire Protection District will consider a referendum to increase the District’s operating tax rate by 32 cents for fire protection and ambulance services. BFPD has not received a voter-approved operating tax increase since 1972.

The referendum follows Planning for a Safer Future, a community engagement process that brought residents, community members and District leaders together to study BFPD’s emergency call volume, staffing, firefighter recruitment and retention, training, equipment, facilities and long-term finances. After four community workshops, participants developed recommendations for the District’s long-term future, including asking voters to consider a 32-cent operating tax rate increase. The Board of Trustees subsequently voted to place the referendum on the November ballot.

If approved, the additional revenue would be used to address needs identified through the community planning process, including hiring and retaining qualified firefighter/paramedics, supporting training, replacing aging fire trucks, ambulances and equipment, addressing operational needs and improving the District’s long-term financial stability.

The plan is being considered as BFPD responds to increasing emergency calls, competes with neighboring districts for qualified personnel, plans for aging apparatus and faces increasing costs for equipment, insurance, staffing and operations. Emergency calls have doubled since 2010, and BFPD responded to 2,239 calls for service in 2025.

How will the referendum appear on the ballot?
The referendum will appear on the November 3 ballot as follows:

Shall the limiting rate under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law for the Braidwood Fire Protection District, Will and Grundy Counties, Illinois, be increased by an additional amount equal to .32% above the limiting rate for fire protection and ambulance purposes for levy year 2025 and be equal to 0.6893% of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property therein for levy year 2026?

When is the election?
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 at willcountyclerk.gov.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Braidwood Fire Protection District referendum?

The Braidwood Fire Protection District referendum is an operating property tax rate increase on the November 3, 2026, ballot. The plan would allow BFPD to hire firefighter/paramedics, replace aging fire trucks and ambulances and improve the district’s financial stability — so the same quality of emergency care residents count on today continues tomorrow.

If approved by voters, it will provide funding to:

- - Add firefighter/paramedics to fully staff fire trucks and ambulances
  - Maintain competitive salaries and benefits to recruit, retain and train first responders
  - Replace aging fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency equipment
  - Improve long-term financial stability for the fire district.

How did residents help shape the plan?

Starting in February and continuing through May, hundreds of residents came together for the Planning for a Safer Future community engagement process to learn, ask questions and help shape recommendations for the long-term future of emergency services in our community. What we heard from residents helped shape the plan to address:

- - Growing Emergency Service Needs
  - Staffing and Retention
  - Aging Equipment and Apparatus
  - Financial Sustainability

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

Why is the referendum being considered now?

Several challenges facing BFPD have developed at the same time:

- - Emergency calls have doubled since 2010, reaching 2,239 calls in 2025. BFPD currently staffs six firefighters/EMTs or firefighter/paramedics per shift between its two stations. A single serious emergency can require several of those personnel, and simultaneous calls can quickly commit the available on-duty staff.
  - The District is also competing with neighboring departments to recruit and retain qualified firefighter/paramedics.
  - Several pieces of fire apparatus are beyond recommended frontline service benchmarks, while the cost to purchase, maintain and replace emergency vehicles has doubled in the last 10 years. The estimated cost of a fire engine increased from $650,000 in 2018 to approximately $1.1 million in 2025, while an ambulance increased from approximately $245,000 to $450,000 during the same period.
  - At the same time, state law limits growth in the District’s property-tax revenue from existing property. On top of that, approximately 64 percent of BFPD’s property-tax revenue currently comes from the Braidwood nuclear plant, making long-term financial stability another consideration in the District’s planning.

These issues were studied through Planning for a Safer Future, and the community recommendations developed through that process included asking voters to consider the 32-cent operating tax rate increase.

How does BFPD staffing compare to national benchmarks?

BFPD currently staffs six firefighter/EMTs or firefighter/paramedics per shift across its two stations. Station 1 is staffed with four personnel, while Station 2 is staffed with two.

In order to better align with National Fire Protection Association benchmarks and be able to respond to multiple emergencies at one time, the Planning for a Safer Future process identified the need for three additional on-duty firefighters—two at Station 2 and one at Station 1—to move its station staffing closer to the benchmarks discussed during the process.

Why is it important to recruit and retain qualified firefighter/paramedics?

BFPD depends on trained firefighter/paramedics to respond to medical emergencies, fires, vehicle crashes, rescues and other incidents throughout the District. As emergency calls increase and incidents become more complex, having enough qualified personnel available is essential to maintaining reliable emergency response.

Recruitment and retention are also closely connected. BFPD competes with neighboring fire districts for qualified firefighter/paramedics, and compensation, benefits, training opportunities and long-term career support all affect whether experienced personnel stay with the District. During Planning for a Safer Future, participants learned that BFPD has lost trained responders to nearby departments offering higher pay and benefits.

Retaining experienced personnel helps preserve the training, knowledge and familiarity with the community that firefighters and paramedics build over time. For that reason, recruiting, retaining and training highly qualified emergency responders was identified as one of the community’s long-term priorities for BFPD.

Why is training so important for Braidwood firefighters?

BFPD firefighters and paramedics prepare for much more than structure fires. The District responds to medical emergencies, vehicle crashes, water rescues, technical rescues, highway incidents and other emergencies across a service area that includes residential neighborhoods, industrial properties, Interstate 55, freight rail lines, the Kankakee River and Braidwood Lake.

Because those calls can be very different from one another, firefighters and paramedics need ongoing training to maintain their skills, learn new techniques and equipment, and prepare for emergencies they may not encounter every day. National fire-service standards also establish training and professional-qualification benchmarks for firefighters and emergency-scene operations.

How are rising equipment and supply costs impacting the district?

Fire trucks, ambulances, protective equipment and other emergency equipment have limited service lives, and the cost to maintain and replace them has increased.

A fire engine that cost $650,000 in 2018 was approximately $1.1 million in 2025. An ambulance increased from approximately $245,000 to $450,000 over that same period. Apparatus maintenance costs increased from approximately $62,000 in 2020 to $126,000 in 2024. Several BFPD vehicles are also beyond the recommended frontline service benchmarks. The District’s pumper/tender was 23 years old, its squad and brush truck were each 28 years old, and its ladder truck was 21 years old.

The District’s five-year planning estimate identified approximately $3.7 million in equipment replacement needs, including ambulances, a brush truck and a ladder truck. Rising costs make long-term replacement planning increasingly important because delaying a purchase does not necessarily mean the future replacement will cost less.

Why can’t existing property-tax revenue keep up with expenses?

BFPD’s operating costs can increase from year to year, but the District’s property-tax revenue does not automatically increase at the same rate.

Because BFPD is subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), growth in property-tax revenue from existing property is generally limited to the lesser of 5% or the rate of inflation, subject to the law’s formula and other adjustments. That means costs for staffing, insurance, equipment, fuel, maintenance and other operations can rise faster than the revenue available to pay for them.

The District also faces limits on how quickly new development contributes additional revenue. Much of the area available for development is located within tax increment financing, or TIF, districts, where increases in property-tax revenue from new development or higher property values may be directed back to the developer rather than immediately increasing BFPD’s tax base.

What happens when multiple calls occur at the same time?

BFPD currently staffs six firefighter/EMTs or firefighter/paramedics per shift across its two stations. Depending on the type and severity of an emergency, several of those responders may be committed to a single call.

For example, an ambulance requires two personnel, while a serious vehicle crash, structure fire or other complex emergency can require additional firefighters, paramedics and equipment. When another emergency occurs at the same time, the District responds with the personnel and equipment that remain available. If BFPD does not have enough resources available to handle an incident, assistance can be requested from neighboring fire departments through the mutual-aid system, but that means longer response times.

As emergency calls have increased, simultaneous calls place additional demands on the District’s available on-duty personnel. Staffing was one of the primary needs studied during the Planning for a Safer Future process.

Who does the Braidwood Fire Protection District serve?

BFPD protects a service area of approximately 38 square miles with a mix of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational properties. The District serves Braidwood and portions of Diamond, Godley and Custer Park. Its response area also includes the Braidwood nuclear plant and cooling lake, part of the Kankakee River, recreational camping areas, the Shadow Lakes community, portions of Interstate 55 and commercial freight rail lines.

That means BFPD responds to emergencies involving not only residents and businesses, but also workers, motorists and visitors traveling through or recreating within the District.

What services does BFPD provide?

Modern fire protection involves much more than fighting fires. BFPD provides fire suppression, Advanced Life Support emergency medical and ambulance service, response to vehicle crashes, water rescue, technical and specialized rescue, fire prevention, life-safety inspections, public education and emergency management services.

The variety of the District’s service area also requires personnel to prepare for emergencies on highways, waterways, rail lines, industrial properties and areas where fire hydrants are not available. BFPD personnel participate in regional water rescue and technical rescue.

How would the referendum impact our taxes?

If approved, the referendum would increase BFPD’s operating tax rate by 32 cents for every $100 of equalized assessed value. The increase would cost approximately $6 per week for a home with a $300,000 market value.

The actual impact on an individual property will depend on its equalized assessed value and any exemptions for which the property qualifies. The referendum affects only the Braidwood Fire Protection District portion of a property-tax bill. Other taxing districts set their own levies and rates.

How is my property tax calculated?

In Illinois, most residential property outside Cook County is generally assessed at 33 1/3 percent of its fair market value. An equalization factor may then be applied, and qualifying exemptions can reduce the taxable value. The result is the property’s taxable equalized assessed value, or EAV.

Your property tax bill is calculated by applying the combined tax rates of the local taxing districts that serve your property to that taxable EAV. Those taxing districts may include schools, counties, municipalities, townships, libraries and the fire protection district.

The November referendum would affect only the Braidwood Fire Protection District portion of the property-tax bill.

When was the last time residents voted to change the district’s property tax rate?

The last voter-approved tax increase for the District was in 1972, more than 50 years ago, and was used to purchase an ambulance.

That does not mean individual property-tax bills have remained unchanged since 1972. Property values, equalized assessed values, levies and other factors can change over time. It means BFPD has not received a voter-approved increase to its operating tax rate since that time.

How is the fire district funded?

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

What has the district done to control costs?

BFPD has used grants, long-term capital planning, shared resources and other approaches to help manage staffing and equipment costs. In 2024, BFPD secured a $1.08 million federal SAFER grant to fully fund the salaries and benefits of three additional full-time firefighter/paramedics for three years. When that grant period ends, BFPD will be responsible for sustaining those positions.

BFPD performs some apparatus maintenance in-house while also using certified outside mechanics. The District has used ambulance remounts (replacing the chassis but keeping the “box”) when appropriate rather than purchasing an entirely new ambulance and participates in shared-resource and intergovernmental arrangements. The District has also taken advantage of cooperative purchasing opportunities.

What happens if we don’t do anything?

During Planning for a Safer Future, residents reviewed a “status quo” option in addition to possible tax-rate increases.

Under the status quo scenario, there would be no voter-approved increase in BFPD’s operating tax rate. The District’s projections showed reserves remaining around the six-month level, and equipment already on order—including an ambulance and pumper—would still move forward. However, the status quo option did not address the District’s remaining challenges: staffing needs, future equipment replacement needs or longer-term financial stability.

If the November referendum is not approved, BFPD would continue operating under its existing tax-rate structure and the revenue limitations that currently apply. Future decisions about staffing, equipment replacement, facilities and other expenses would continue to be made by the Board of Trustees through the District’s normal budgeting and planning process.

Questions about the referendum?

Residents with questions can contact Chief Chris Jude at the Braidwood Fire Protection District at 815-458-2000.

These materials were paid for by the Braidwood Fire Protection District. These materials are intended solely to disseminate and provide factual information about a question that will be before voters. These materials are not intended to advocate for, oppose or defeat the measure. Each voter should vote for or against the question based on their own judgment.