Meeting Monday night, the Elgin City Council took steps to ensure the safety of volunteer firefighters.
Elgin City Councilman Jim Kittelson, who also serves as fire chief, asked the council to approve sales tax funds, which have been set aside for the fire department, to be spent updating coats and pants for nearly 30 firefighters. He said the Elgin Volunteer Fire Department could pay upwards to $10,000 for the fire gear, but could not afford the estimated total cost of $60,000.
Moments later, the council approved $50,000 in sales tax dollars to purchase the necessary coats and pants.
On another related matter pertaining to fighting fires, the council approved the expenditure of just over $6,400 to fit the old water well so that it could be used as an emergency water source in the case of a major fire.
For the complete story see the print edition of The Elgin Review
