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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: David McCabe, Fire Chief
DATE: March 10, 2023
SUBJECT:
This resolution affirms the City of Aurora supports the Aurora Fire Department's participation in the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS),
PURPOSE:
The MABAS master agreement hadn't been updated in more than two decades. The revised agreement better spells out the ability if departments to recuperate costs, especially over state lines.
BACKGROUND:
MABAS is a system that provides predetermined mutual aid responses for incidents a local department cannot handle on their own due to size or scope. While MABAS started in the Chicago suburbs, it now covers parts or all of Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, and Michigan. The new MABAS master agreement covers the logistics of those situations, including incidents involving agencies responding over state lines.
DISCUSSION:
We are already covered by the current MABAS master agreement. This agreement would supersede the current agreement we are under. There is no a cost for this agreement, other than the current MABAS dues we already pay.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
The agreement will help ensure that the AFD can count on mutual aid and MABAS assets for incidents beyond what we are able to mitigate on our own, or when multiple incidents tax our resources.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
cc: Public Health, Safety, and Transportation Committee
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
ORDINANCE NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
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An Ordinance authorizing an intergovernmental agreement for participation in the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System.
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WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was organized beginning in 1968 in the northwest and western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois to coordinate and automate fire department mutual aid, based roughly on the Chicago Fire Department's box alarm system of predetermined resources assigned to respond to a specific incident or area. Since 1968, MABAS has grown into a multi-state organization to coordinate responses to fires, emergency medical calls, hazardous material, technical rescue and other emergencies and disasters through prearranged mutual aid and dispatch agreements. The system is designed to facilitate all levels of mutual aid from day-to-day automatic aid responses to major incidents and disasters requiring significant deployment of resources. MABAS member Units include the gambit from all-volunteer fire departments to major cities like Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Louis; and
WHEREAS, since the last revision of the master MABAS intergovernmental agreement in about 1988, MABAS has grown exponentially to its current composition of almost 1200 Illinois Units and 2200 total Units in Illinois and several adjoining States; and
WHEREAS, it is the express intent of member Units that the MABAS Agreement be in a form which can be adopted by Units in different States where Units may lawfully enter into agreements providing for their mutual aid and protection. Thus, even if the MABAS Agreement does not specifically cite the applicable current legal authority for a particular State and its member Units, the lack of such citation shall not be construed in any manner as an impediment to or prohibition of Units from other States from joining MABAS. It is also the express intent of the member Units that all Units adopt this same Intergovernmental Agreement without modification; and
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the State of Illinois, 1970, Article VII, Section 10, authorizes units of local government to contract or otherwise associate among themselves, with the State, with other States and their units of local government, and with the United States to obtain and share services and to exercise, combine, or transfer any power or function in any manner not prohibited by law or ordinance; and to further contract or otherwise associate with individuals, associations, and corporations in any manner not prohibited by law or ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the "Intergovernmental Cooperation Act", 5 ILCS 220/1 et seq., provides that any power or powers, privileges or authority exercised or which may be exercised by a unit of local government may be exercised and enjoyed jointly with any other unit of local government including units of local government from another state; and
WHEREAS, Section 5 of the "Intergovernmental Cooperation Act", 5 ILCS 220/5, provides that any one or more public agencies may contract with any one or more public agencies to perform any governmental service, activity or undertaking which any of the public agencies entering into the contract is authorized by law to perform, provided that such contract shall be authorized by the governing body of each party to the contract; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of Aurora have determined that it is in the best interests of this unit of local government and its residents to enter into a Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Agreement to secure to each the benefits of mutual aid in fire protection, firefighting, rescue, emergency medical services and other activities for the protection of life and property from an emergency or disaster and to provide for communications procedures, training and other necessary functions to further the provision of said protection of life and property from an emergency or disaster.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: that the City of Aurora Council agree to the terms of the MABAS master agreement to help ensure adequate assistance when the Aurora Fire Department needs assistance from outside agencies.