Joliet Committee to Review $1.07 Million 9-1-1 Grant and Fire-Department Spending
Joliet’s Public Safety Committee is scheduled to review three public-safety funding and contracting items Tuesday, led by a proposed $1,066,280 Will County 9-1-1 surcharge grant agreement for the city’s dispatch center and public-safety functions.
The committee meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at City Hall in the Council Chambers. The agenda also includes a proposed $26,000 budget amendment for firefighter turnout gear and a recommendation to award Rock Valley Health a two-year contract for firefighter medical and fitness evaluations.
The items are scheduled for committee consideration. The city’s legislative records list the grant agreement and budget amendment as agenda-ready proposals and the medical-evaluation item as an agenda-ready consent-agenda contract recommendation. Final City Council action had not been recorded on those legislation pages as of August 2.
9-1-1 grant would provide $1.066 million
The largest item is a proposed intergovernmental agreement with the Will County 9-1-1 Emergency Telephone System Board. The agreement would allow Joliet to accept $1,066,280 through the county’s 9-1-1 Surcharge Grant Program.
According to the city memo, the Will County board receives funding under the Illinois Emergency Telephone System Act through a surcharge on telephone service. The board shares that funding with the three dispatch centers in Will County, including Joliet’s.
The proposed agreement identifies the money for Joliet’s dispatch center and public-safety functions. The grant funds must be used during a defined period, from December 1, 2025, through October 31, 2026.
The item therefore represents restricted grant funding tied to the agreement and eligible uses, not new unrestricted city revenue. The agenda record does not show the agreement as finally approved or executed before the committee meeting.
Fire gear amendment tied to state reimbursement
The committee also is scheduled to review an ordinance amending Joliet’s 2026 annual budget by $26,000 for the purchase of firefighter turnout gear.
The Fire Department memo says Joliet received an Office of the State Fire Marshal Small Equipment Grant from the State of Illinois for the 2026 fiscal year. The grant is structured as a reimbursement grant, and the funding became available in June 2026.
If approved, the budget ordinance would increase both revenue and expenditures to allow the city to use the reimbursement grant for fire gear. The ordinance remained an agenda-ready proposal ahead of the August 4 meeting.
Rock Valley Health contract remains pending
A third item recommends awarding Rock Valley Health a proposed two-year contract totaling $290,376 for the Joliet Fire Department’s 2026-2027 medical and fitness evaluations.
The city memo says four bids were received on July 2, 2026. The listed bids were $261,880 from MH Occupational Health, $234,372.40 from Professional Health Services, $290,376 from Rock Valley Health and $294,500 from Worksite Wellness Occupational Health Services.
The Fire Department said Rock Valley Health handled its most recent physical and evaluation contract and that the company’s performance met expectations. The proposed agreement would cover mandatory physical and fitness evaluations for firefighters in accordance with National Fire Protection Association Standard 1500.
The proposal includes options for up to four one-year extensions. Each extension would require mutual agreement and continued satisfaction with the contract’s terms and performance.
Despite the agenda title describing an award of contract, the city’s record states that contracts requiring bidding are awarded after final action by the Mayor and City Council. The proposal should not be described as executed or as proof that a new evaluation program has begun.
Committee review comes before final council action
The Public Safety Committee is the next scheduled review point for the three measures. It may discuss the proposals and make recommendations, but the committee meeting itself is not final approval by the Mayor and City Council.
Residents tracking the funding should look for the committee’s action and any subsequent City Council vote. The timing is particularly relevant for the 9-1-1 grant because its stated use period ends October 31, 2026.
Joliet’s separate Public Service Committee is scheduled to meet Monday, August 3, at 4:30 p.m. Its agenda includes a proposed $49,950 professional-services agreement for construction engineering for the Minton Road lift-station replacement, a $139,900 Hickory-Spring Creek cleaning contract and additional sewer-cleaning and inspection work. Those infrastructure matters are separate from Tuesday’s public-safety funding and contracting agenda.
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