(a) Purpose. The General Assembly finds the consolidation of fire protection services on a regional basis provided by fire departments throughout the State of Illinois to be an economic benefit. Therefore, this Act establishes procedures for the creation of Regional Fire Protection Agencies that encompass wider service areas by combining existing fire departments and extending service areas of these departments into under-served geographic areas. It is the expressed intent of the General Assembly that Regional Fire Protection Agencies shall achieve a net savings in the cost of providing fire protection services, emergency medical services, and related services in the expanded service area by reducing and eliminating costs including, but not limited to, duplicative or excessive administrative and operational services, equipment, facilities, and capital expenditures, without a reduction in the quality or level of these services.
     (b) Creation. A Regional Fire Protection Agency may be formed by filing voter-initiated petitions for the purposes of integrating existing service areas of contiguous units of local government providing fire protection services to achieve the purposes of this Act.