The Orland Fire Protection District board has appointed a five-person task force to examine the books of the Palos Fire Protection District.

 The OFPD board has expressed interest in consolidating with the financially-strapped PFPD.  After the Orland district board’s Jan. 24 meeting, OFPD President James Hickey told reporters he anticipates PFPD officials will cooperate, but said his group could obtain the spending, budgeting, staffing and equipment-purchase information via Freedom of Information Act requests if necessary.

Hickey said the OFPD board would use information obtained by the task force – which has no deadline – only if PFPD officials agree a consolidation would be in the best interest of Palos Township residents.

“A lot is going to be determined with their (PFPD residents’) vote on the referendum,” which would increase property taxes by $82.50 – or $1.64 a week – for every $100,000 of assessed value.

“We’re just looking to see if we can help out a neighbor,” Hickey said, noting the cash-strapped Palos district has laid off several first responders.

Ironically, past help from the Orland district, in the form of mutual-aid responses, may have contributed to the narrow defeat of the Palos district’s April 2011 referendum.

Raymond Kay, acting OFPD fire chief and task force member, said his firefighters and emergency medical staff responded to 431 mutual-aid calls in Palos Hills, Palos Heights and Oak Forest in 2011. During that same 12-month period, his emergency responders received mutual-aid support only 26 times.

“I don’t think it (mutual aid) was ever meant to be carrying the load for everybody,” Kay said.

Hickey said the OFPD board would conduct a public hearing to hear and address residents’ views and concerns long before taking any formal action on consolidation.

Consolidation would directly impact each group’s current management, staffing and approach to providing firefighting and emergency medical assistance to residents in their respective areas of coverage. OFPD covers most of incorporated and unincorporated Orland Township. PFPD covers Palos Park and parts of unincorporated Palos Township, Palos Heights and Orland Park.

Hickey said he became concerned about the Palos district’s ability to respond to emergencies at Sandburg High School, located at 13300 S. LaGrange Road, after realizing it had shuttered its station closest to the school, which serves hundreds of Orland Park teens.

Hickey said he also believes consolidation would translate to tax savings for residents by way of operational and staffing efficiencies and the elimination of some redundancies.

But Hickey said he also understands that “Orland Park residents don’t want to take on another burden.”

Ultimately, Hickey said, information obtained by the task force would help OFPD elected officials “make sure it’s (consolidation) something good for Orland Park.”

The lone dissent came from Orland Fire Protection District Trustee Blair Rhode, who didn’t comment during the meeting, but later pointed to the difference between outgoing and incoming mutual-aid in opposing any consolidation.

“As a businessman, I don’t see any good coming out of that,” Rhode said.

But Hickey contends doing nothing would only continue the current mutual-aid imbalance. “We’re going to see more and more of these types of situations going forward,” he said.

In addition to Kay, the task force consists of Orland Firefighters Union Local 2743 President Walter Rafacz, Orland Fire Lt. Jim Hynes, Orland Fire Finance Director Kerry Sullivan and OFPD spokeswoman Rosemaria Genova.