Kate Perkins For Trustee

I have been President of the Board of Trustees since 2017.  In that time, the Board has accomplished a lot!  We passed a balanced budget every year and  improved service to our residents by increasing firefighter/paramedic staff and purchasing a modern ambulance and fire engine.  The District improved its Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating to  2, a rating shared by less than 5% of fire departments nationwide.  The District eliminated 2 part time administrative positions and assigned those duties to other staff. We improved the station building and maintained a financially sound pension fund.

My family and I have lived in Warrenville for 35 years.  In addition to being WFPD Board President, I volunteered for several years with the City of Warrenville’s Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission and with the City’s Emergency Management Agency. I was Secretary of the Warrenville Fire Protection District’s Board of Trustees in 2013 & 2014, and led the successful referendum effort, Elect Your Fire Trustees, which changed the WFPD’s Board to an elected board from an appointed board.

When you run for office, people ask you why you want to serve, why it’s important to you. These are my thoughts about that.

We have a great fire department. In the last several years, I’ve talked to many people who met our firefighters & paramedics under some of the worst circumstances of their lives, and they all said the same thing, that the men and women of the Warrenville Fire Department gave them great service, capable and compassionate service, that helped them through their emergency. I am proud of that and grateful that our community has such good people serving us. I am honored to be not only a trustee for this District, but President of the Board of Trustees.

However, all units of government face budget challenges, and the Fire District is no exception. These are tough times for government. Our fire department needs resources, training and equipment, to be able to provide the services we rely on. It’s the job of the Trustees to work with a limited budget and make sure the department has those resources. The rest of the Board and I have done that.  In the last 4 years, despite budget challenges, the District has passed balanced budgets every year, improved service by increasing firefighter/paramedic staff, purchased an up to date ambulance and a new fire engine, achieved an ISO 2 rating, and maintained our pension fund. I’ve attended every regular Board of Trustees meeting since May, 2015, even before I was elected, and I understand the challenges that the District faces.  My goals, if I’m elected, are to keep providing great service and keep the budget balanced so that our firefighters and paramedics continue to have what they need to protect us and keep us safe.

The Warrenville Fire Protection District (WFPD) Board of Trustees writes the yearly tax levy & manages a $4.8 million budget.  The Board plans and approves purchases, including major purchases, such as new vehicles and equipment; appoints the fire chief and firefighters; determines compensation for district employees; and writes and passes ordinances.

I have served as both President and Secretary of the WFPD Board and understand this job well.  Before I retired, I was an engineer for Alcatel-Lucent, and math really was my favorite subject in school. Numbers matter!  I will continue work to make sure that the taxpayers’ money is well spent and that our firefighters have the equipment and training they need to keep us safe.