Clarendon Hills Debate: Safety Vs. Finances?

CLARENDON HILLS, IL — Clarendon Hills officials debated again recently whether to buy the fire department a new ladder truck, the cost of which has soared over the last year.

The alternative is to enter an agreement with Hinsdale or Westmont for the use of a ladder truck.

The village had budgeted $1 million for the truck, but the cost has increased to $1.4 million, likely because of supply chain issues. The current truck is nearing the end of its useful life and was out of service for months last year.

"I think the residents of Clarendon Hills deserve better service than deciding this on a financial standpoint. We need to decide this on a safety standpoint," Fire Chief Brian Leahy told the Village Board's Public Safety Committee earlier this month.

Village Manager Kevin Barr said the chief's statement seemed to suggest cost doesn't matter when an issue involves public safety.

"Everything is partly about finances, including public safety," Barr said. "The people of Clarendon Hills do care about finances. They do care about taxes, regardless of what it's going for. And I know people care about public safety."

Leahy agreed.

"I said all we're talking about is finances. We're not thinking about safety," he said.

Committee members generally agreed that the village should open a discussion with Hinsdale about the possibility of sharing that village's ladder truck. Last fall, Hinsdale Village President Tom Cauley waded into the ladder truck debate. He said the mutual aid agreement between the towns already meant Hinsdale would send its ladder truck to a fire in Clarendon Hills.

At the committee's meeting, Barr asked Leahy whether any fires required a ladder truck while the village's ladder truck was out of commission last year. Leahy said he did not believe there were any.

Barr acknowledged his question was "somewhat loaded."

"A huge part of fire department operations is being prepared for the bad-case scenario," Barr said.

At the same time, he said, the question was relevant because residents speaking at meetings in favor of a new ladder truck leave the impression that "we're always plucking people out of the tops of buildings."

Committee members said they have heard concerns from firefighters and residents that the village may end the fire department's longtime arrangement, in which employees but the fire chief are considered paid on call.

Barr said he had no desire to see the paid-on-call model go away. But he said the fire department was not immune from discussions about the best ways to deliver services. Such conversations apply to all parts of village government, he said.

Because of the ladder truck issue, tensions have surfaced between Village Hall and the fire department. Leahy said he works hard on the relationship between the department and village officials.

"We appreciate the support of the Village Board, the village manager's office and everyone else," he told the committee.

Barr said the committee's discussion about the ladder truck was "the best conversation we've had" on the topic.