Bolingbrook adopts fees for Fire Department "lift assists," with residents given six free calls

The Village of Bolingbrook on Jan. 20 adopted an ordinance adding fees for Fire Department "lift assists," the non-transport responses when personnel help someone who has fallen or needs physical assistance.

The ordinance, approved by the Mayor and Board of Trustees, amends Chapter 22 "Fire Protection" and the village fee schedule. Residents will not be charged for the first six lift assists in a calendar year; thereafter fees escalate by incident from $100 to $300 depending on the number of lift assists. Facilities will be charged $350 per incident, the ordinance states. The measure had been reviewed by the Public Safety Committee.

The change follows a recent state law that, according to Village Attorney Burt Odelson, permits municipalities to charge facilities and residents for lift assists. Odelson said staff and department chiefs immediately began preparing to implement the fee structure "as soon as the new law was passed" and that the board would receive a FOIA-law update memo.

The ordinance passed on a roll call vote of five yeas, zero nays, with one member absent (Trustee Michael J. Carpanzano). The board did not record individual dissenting comments during the vote.

Implementation details in the ordinance include the fee scale for residents after the initial six free assists; the text does not specify billing mechanics, appeals procedures, or collection timelines. The transcript indicates the ordinance amends the fee schedule to reflect the described amounts, but it does not specify whether or how insurance or third-party payers would be billed.

Next steps: the ordinance takes effect per the village code timetable for local ordinances; staff will carry out administrative steps to post the revised fee schedule and update internal procedures.