St. Charles considers fire, ambulance stations

Via the Kane County Chronicle. This one's hit me right out-of-left-field although I wondered what was behind the advisory questions on the ballot in the last election. A sign of the fiscal crunch on Government and there's sure to be more of this sort of thing all over Illinois.

The St. Charles Countryside Fire Protection District announced to a standing-room-only crowd Wednesday morning that it plans to decide by February whether it will proceed with opening its own fire and ambulance stations once its contract with the city ends April 30.

Residents said they felt ambushed by the announcement, not only because it happened the morning before Thanksgiving, but also because the advisory referendum results indicated support for a 10-cent tax increase and opposition against a reduction in service.

Many said they view the proposed change as a reduction.