The office will be closed for the holidays on December 22, 25, 29, 2023 and January 1, 2024.
OFFICE HOURS:
MONDAY – FRIDAY 8:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.*
*CLOSED FROM NOON – 1:00 P.M. FOR LUNCH
Fondulac Township is among 19 townships in Tazewell County and one of 1,432 in all of Illinois.
We currently serve a population of approximately 12,489 residents (2020 Census). The main office is located at 143 Arnold Road, East Peoria, IL 61611 and a Road District garage is located at 3510 E. Washington, East Peoria, IL 61611. ***The main office serves as the business office for all Township, Cemetery, Assessor and Road District inquiries and/or correspondence.
Fondulac Township operates a 30 acre cemetery with plans to construct an additional 7 acre cemetery. There are four full-time employees in the Township, Cemetery and Road District. Additionally, Fondulac Cemetery and Road District employ between 1 and 5 part-time employees during the summer.
The 2023-2024 operating budgets are:
Total Town Budget (includes Cemetery, General Assistance, Assessor & IMRF) – $1,747,200.00
Total Road District Budget – $450,500.00
TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS – A RICH HISTORY, A VIBRANT FUTURE!
“Township government has served both the rural and urban residents of Illinois since 1848. Although Illinois’ 1,432 townships still function according to provisions of the Township Act of 1874, amendments to the act have kept township government as modern as any and more progressive than most. Township government is grassroots government, the closest level of government to the people.
By statute, three services are to be provided by townships: a general assistance program to qualifying residents, property assessment, and maintenance of township roads and bridges. General assistance at the township level provides immediate help to the destitute, according to local standards and needs and with local dollars. Accurate property assessments provide income through tax levies for all local governments. The greater the proficiency of the township assessor, the more equitable the taxes paid by the property owners.
Township road district commissioners are directly responsible for maintaining more than 53 percent of the state’s total road miles and nearly half of all bridges. These roads and bridges provide access for police and fire protection, school buses and rural postal service. Even in highly urban areas, township highway commissioners are vital. In Cook County alone, the 22 highway commissioners are directly responsible for more than 300 miles of local roads. Township roads may not be as heavily traveled as the ones under the state or interstate systems, but they are lifelines that must be maintained and kept open despite floods, snow, etc., especially in rural Illinois. Neither the state, county nor municipal road systems could accept the responsibility of the townships’ more than 71,000 miles of road and 17,000 bridges without increasing their own tax rates or abandoning some of them, or both.
But beyond these mandated functions, many townships offer a variety of social services designed to improve life for their township residents, including senior citizen and youth programs, transportation, and cemetery maintenance.
A unique feature of township government is the annual town meeting that all townships hold each April, the only instance in local government in which the citizens have a direct say in how their government is run. Some township detractors claim the annual town meeting is archaic, but they overlook the fact that this is true democracy in action. No other form of government annually places 38 specific voting powers in the hands of the people. This is just another example of why township government is truly the grassroots government of the people.”
***
“In 1980, Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court decision (Griffe v. Spanski) Justice Albert G. Webber III wrote: “Township government today is probably the last bastion of pure democracy in an otherwise bureaucratized republic. It is the direct descendant of the idealized state envisioned by the ancient philosophers where every man could speak his piece and be afforded a hearing by his peers. The government may propose action, but is subject to the will of its constituents.”
Township government was, and is, intended to follow the will of the people and to respond to their needs. Township government today meets these criteria better and more effectively than any other form of local government.”
– Bryan Smith, Executive Director, Township Officials of Illinois (retired). June 27, 2011
The Township Officials of Illinois [TOI] is a private, not-for-profit organization that currently represents 99% of the state’s 1,432 townships. TOI was organized in 1907 in an effort to promote township government in Illinois. Originally, TOI’s principle function was lobbying on behalf of member townships. Today, TOI’s function is three-fold: the education of township officials; the promotion of township government; and lobbying on behalf of Illinois townships.
*Please visit the Events Calendar page for meeting dates and holiday closures.
*As an IMRF Employer, and pursuant to the July 1, 2020 amendment (40 ILCS 5/7-135.5) of Section 5 of The Illinois Pension Code, Fondulac Township is required by law to share the following link to the IMRF Employer Cost & Participation Information.
*FOIA Officer – Kindra Cunningham
Requests may be made in person at 143 Arnold Road, East Peoria, IL 61611 or by emailing office@fondulactownship.com *Fees may be applicable as authorized in 5 ILCS 140/6 Illinois Freedom of Information Act