IFPIF

IAFPD needs your help. Vote by December 1st!

IAFPD respectfully urges your Fire Protection District Board President to cast their ballot for the only 2 fire protection district candidates, John Perry and Dave Geary.

Get to know John Perry (Lisle-Woodridge FPD) and Dave Geary (Wauconda FPD), the candidates running for seats on the Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund (FPIF) Board and both being supported by the Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts (IAFPD) and the Northern Illinois Alliance of Fire Protection Districts (NIAFPD).

Election ballots for Executive Trustee positions are being mailed now and will be arriving to Fire District Presidents during the week of October 26th at the address on file for each Fire District.
Executive Trustees will hold 3 of the 9 positions available on the Board and these positions are required to represent Fire Districts and Municipalities. John Perry is running to gain one of two seats designated as a 4-year Trustee term, and Dave Geary is running to gain a seat for the one 2-year Trustee term.

Voting for the IFPIF election will begin late October and conclude on December 1, 2020. Be on the watch for the ballot to arrive at the District’s mailing address.

The IFPIF was created by Public Act 101-610, which took effect on January 1, 2020. The enacting legislation, Senate Bill 1300, provided for a permanent board of trustees made up of four representatives of active firefighters, one representative of retired firefighters, and four representatives of employers. SB 1300 provided designated seats on the board for the Illinois Municipal League and the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois, but did not provide a seat for fire protection districts.

When SB 1300 was negotiated in 2019, IAFPD lobbied strongly for a designated seat for fire protection districts like those created for IML and the AFFI. While IAFPD will continue to push for a dedicated position on the Board of Trustees, we need to ensure positions on the board now with your votes for Dave and John.

Dave Geary
Currently the Fire Chief in Wauconda, Dave was a Fire District business manager and also has extensive experience as a Village Administrator. He serves as President of the Wauconda Parks Foundation, is a Lions Club member and holds membership in the Sons of the American Legion. He has served the Wauconda community for over 40 years, and is well versed in financial matters and pension challenges.

John Perry
John is currently the Trustee / Treasurer of Lisle-Woodridge FPD and was a Village Administrator for over 35 years. He managed a fire department for over 17 years as Village Manager. Johns experience includes, founding member of the Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency (IRMA) which he chaired, President of the Illinois City/County Management Association, Charter member of the Illinois Public Employer Labor Relations Association (IPELRA), DuPage County ETSB and chair of its Interoperability Task Force, chair of IML Mangers Committee and founder of the Suburban Housing Coalition. He is a long time Rotarian serving 3 terms as chapter President.

Reasons to vote for Fire District representatives:

Candidates are highly qualified with broad experience in managing Fire Districts and local government.
Both have extensive experience with Fire and Police Pension Funds
Fire Districts have unique considerations (particularly tax limitations and property tax reliance). This perspective needs to be represented on the Board to build a management plan that is effective.
This diversity of experience and viewpoint needs to be blended with the needs of organizations represented by other Board members to assure effective collaboration.
These candidates will work to reduce unnecessary administrative costs and maximize investment earnings to preserve funds for paying pensions.
Local boards must be supported to reduce costs for fiduciary insurance, actuarial analyses, audit and accounting, and legal.
Local boards need to be regularly informed of the requirements and effectiveness of the FPIF.

For more information on the process and the board please visit www.ifpif.org. The funds hold more than $6 Billion dollars in pension assets for suburban and downstate fire fighter pension funds. Funds will transition before June 30, 2022.

Election Ballots must be received at the return address by 4:30 pm on December 1st. Election materials will include candidate biographies, voting instructions, the appropriate mail ballots, and a return envelope. It is important that you complete your ballot and return it by U.S. Mail before the December 1, 2020 deadline.

As a fire protection district with an Article 4 pension fund, the president of the board of trustees of your district has a vote in this election. Please use that vote to give fire protection districts a voice in the governance of the new consolidated firefighters’ pension fund. Please complete your ballot and vote for Dave Geary and John Perry to represent our interests on the Illinois Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund.

IL Firefighter pension investment fund