VILLA PARK : Bitterness Over Fire Dispute Felt in City Council Election

Lingering bitterness about a fire authority dispute surfaced during the recent City Council election.

The three incumbents, all of whom survived the election, noted that the battle over the fire authority actually was settled a week before the election. At a special meeting Oct. 31, the council voted to join a new, countywide fire-protection board called the Joint Powers Authority (JPA).

The City Council majority initially opposed joining the new authority. Some members of the council, including Mayor Barry L. Denes and Councilman Joseph S. Barsa, proposed at one point that Villa Park look into contracting for fire service with the city of Orange.

The Orange proposal drew a hail of public criticism, including from a delegation of former mayors and council members. Ultimately, the City Council dropped the idea, and after negotiating a tax cap to protect Villa Park, voted to join the new countywide Joint Powers Authority.

The lone challenger in the race, Steve Loritz, blasted the council majority’s handling of the JPA and said it was a major issue in the election. Though Loritz had a very low-profile campaign, he finished with almost 20% of the vote, closely behind Denes, who finished third.

Barsa finished second in the voting, and the top vote-getter was incumbent Councilman Bob Bell. Bell had always taken a pro-JPA stance and had vehemently opposed a possible fire contract with Orange.

Bell said he believed the JPA was on the voters’ minds.

“I knew the JPA was the only way for Villa Park to stay with the other 17 cities (now served by the county Fire Department),” he said. “The idea to go to a fire department in another city was not a good idea.”