WHITE HALL FPD forces annexation of final properties

By Editor | November 28, 2025 |

By Carmen Ensinger

The White Hall Fire Protection District held a public meeting on Thursday, Nov. 6, to address the forced annexation of properties that were not on the original list in 2023.
Back in 2023, the District found 101 parcels that were not on the original list of parcels within the fire district. Forty-four of those property owners agreed to the annexation after being sent the first letter from the district. Another 12 responded to the second letter, but there were four that had yet agreed to the annexation forcing the district to do a 3.3 annexation.
A 3.3 annexation refers to Section 3.3 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (705 ILCS 5/3.3 which governs the annexation by a fire protection district. These rules outline a process for fire districts to annex property they are already providing services to. It requires the adoption of an ordinance and sending a certified copy of the ordinance to the property owner and county clerk after a public hearing.
Before the final vote to force annexation of the remaining properties, the board opened the meeting up to public comment. Jim Telzrow, who has vehemently opposed the annexation of his property since the initial meeting in 2023, shared his feelings.
“I would like to see the remaining people not included in the first bunch to be put in a separate paper district,” he said. “I believe that is the only way we could express some dissatisfaction with the rates or the service. If we had a separate district then we could negotiate with you for the rate.”
Jim Sinclair, attorney for the Fire Protection District, explained why a paper district is not a viable option.
“Having a paper district for the remaining parcels is not practical at this point,” he said. “The parcels have to be contiguous. Another thing you need to realize is that no district ‘has’ to contract with you. You can’t just walk in and say ‘this is how much I’m going to give you for fire protection.’ What usually happens is that the district you go to for service, but you pay the same rate that their people pay.”
The White Hall Fire Protection District was formed eight years ago. Prior to its formation, the City of White Hall funded their own fire department and those in outlying areas could “subscribe” for fire service by paying a voluntary fee.”
It came to the point where the city could no longer fund their fire department, thus was born the White Hall Fire Protection District, which encompasses the cities of White Hall, Patterson and Hillview, plus the outlying areas not included in either the Roodhouse or Carrollton Fire Protection Districts.
Once the district was formed, everyone who lives in the district, including those with farm ground, are required to pay the tax rate on this ground. Those who voluntarily chose to pay the city of White Hall for their fire protection, are now required to pay the same rate as those who live in White Hall.
The City of White Hall was operating their department on roughly $90,000 a year, which was not enough to maintain equipment, buy new equipment, keep fire gear up to code, etcetera.
After looking at the outdated equipment and the fact that a lot of their equipment needed replacement according to State standards, the District figured an operating budget of $230,000 per year.
The tax rate on this farm ground in outlying areas, is what Telzrow opposes, as well as the tax rate itself.
“Back when this District was formed, we were promised two different things,” Telzrow said. “One was reasonable rates. At an earlier meeting, Scott (Seely, board member) said that $90,000 was enough to run the department. Then you tax us at a rate that brings in $230,000 a year. The rate you charge is almost obscene for what we need.”
Board President Le Esary addressed this issue.
“The $90,000 that Scott referenced back then was what the City of White Hall was paying at that time for their department,” she said. “That was not put out as that is what is going to be the tax levy asked for. That was just what White Hall was paying.”
In other words, the amount of money that the city of White Hall could levy for the department was not enough to keep it operational.
“I’m a landowner too, and I don’t like paying the tax either, but the fire department was woefully underfunded,” Esary said. “Specialty equipment is astronomically expensive.”
The District recently purchased a used fire engine at a whopping cost of $175,000.
“We had engines that didn’t work and it was expensive to try to maintain them,” Esary said. “Most of the equipment, such as the bumper gear (fire gear), ladders, axes, etcetera weren’t passing State inspections. The bumper gear was expired.”
Bumper gear, which is the fire retardant pants, coat and pants that firemen wear when on a call, generally expire after 10 years.
Telzrow didn’t argue that the department needed new gear and equipment, but rather that the $230,000 each year they will be collecting is more than is needed since there have already been some upgrades made.
“The way it is set up now, in five years you will get over a million dollars,” he said. “This rate is in perpetuity until you decide to do a more reasonable rate.”
Esary tried, once again, to explain why the department needs this much money.
“It is not what we want, it is what is necessary to get this district to where it needs to be,” she said. “The rate will stay the same until we have three new fire engines. We have one right now that is 46 years old and impossible to repair and keep in working order. Until they have the equipment that will work and we can pass state inspections, we need that much.”
Telzrow asked if they will then lower the rate.
“What I’m going to say is that we are going to keep as close to what we have now until we get everything updated,” Esary said. “If we stay on schedule and find two more engines to replace our olds ones and update equipment, at that point the tax levy will be lowered. That is what we have in mind.”
Telzrow then noted that other districts, including Roodhouse, Carrollton and Greenfield have much lower rates.
“Those districts have been fire districts for over six decades,” Esary said. “They have had a tax levy and had their citizens paying taxes for the past 60 years. This district is only about eight years old and we have only had everyone contributing for the last two years. It is time everyone fund the fire department. I know it is expensive, especially for the larger land owners, but landowners have not been helping fund this district in any way for the past six decades.”
Telzrow said he fears the district what the district will eventually use the money for
“I just don’t like the trajectory of this thing,” he said. “I see what is going to happen – you guys are going to get rich and all of a sudden we are going to need a new firehouse, like Greenfield.”
Board member Andy Mansfield set Telzrow straight.
“It is not on the agenda to replace the fire house,” he said. “We are just trying to get equipment up to specifications. When one of our trucks was brand new – I was 17 and it has to be replaced. What is it going to cost five years from now? We haven’t even talked about a new firehouse.”
Telzrow wouldn’t believe it.
“I’m not arguing that you need equipment, but every five years you are going to get over a million dollars,” he said. “What happens is inevitably, you build a dynasty and then ‘we want to have this and that because we have the money’ and that is where we run into problems.”
Sinclair told Telzrow there was no need to worry about the district even considering a new firehouse in the near future.
“I have worked for a lot of fire districts and I can tell you that if they had a million in the bank it wouldn’t touch a new fire station,” he said. “For a fire station to be built according to code, it would take a minimum of $5 million. So the only way you are going to get a new fire house is to have a bond referendum and you vote on it.”
Sinclair also tried to explain to Telzrow why the tax rates in other districts are so much lower than White Hall’s.
“The reason their tax rate is lower is simple,” he said. “They have been accumulating funds for over six decades. The actual rate may look lower than this one simply because of time. You are under PTELL (Property Tax Extension Limitation Law). What it does is, over time, cause that actual rate to go down. That is why you see a difference. This district hasn’t been in existence very long.”
Sinclair went on to say that the tax levy for this year is limited by the tax extension for last year so they are working with a lot of limiters around here.
“Another point is that at the rate that things are going up, it is going to be a stretch to operate within compliance,” he said. “The fire service is governed by the Illinois Department of Labor – OSHA, and they will shut a fire department down if it is not in compliance. So, it is critical that you have a sufficient finance base to procure equipment to be able to provide the basic service. If you don’t, you will lose your fire department.”
Mansfield tried to calm Telzrow on the issue by telling him that the more people who are paying into the district is going to lower the amount everyone has to pay.
“When we annex more property and we have more people paying in, while the tax rate may stay the same, since we have more people paying it will lower the amount everyone has to pay,” he said.
Kind of like if you have an apple and three people want a piece of that apple, but then another person comes along and also wants a piece. Because there are more people, the slices of the apple will get smaller.
Telzrow basically said that those in the district have no say whatsoever.
“We have no recourse,” he said. “If something is going on you don’t like the people getting service have absolutely nothing to say.”
Esary disagreed.
“I disagree with that because we have open meetings every single month,” she said. “In the two years I have been on this board I have not seen one single person at this meeting. “
Board member David McCollum stated the obvious.
“Nothing we say is going to appease you,” he said.
Seely agreed.
“We do this on a volunteer basis,” he said. “It is not like any of us are getting rich. I am just trying to do my part to help this community, but I feel like I am talking in circles.”
Telzrow said he felt the board ignored everyone two years ago when they started this annexation process.
“Part of the reason this got my attention is the way it was first set up and handled,” he said. “We had 200 people in here not happy about it and you went ahead and did it anyway. You didn’t offer any other option. These folks didn’t know anything. This was just shoved down our throat.”
To a point, Esary agreed with Telzrow.
“I was on the other side at that point,” she said. “I don’t disagree on what they did, but I absolutely disagree on how it was done. It could have been handled differently.”
McCollum said it was sour grapes.
“I tell you what pisses me off – I have lived here my entire life and my taxes have funded the free ride of the people in the country for all these years. You haven’t had to ante up and you are mad about it. The city gave us this building and equipment plus handed over $100,000 in debt immediately. You guys act like this was a great big thing given to us by the city and it wasn’t – they couldn’t fund it anymore.”
McCollum said that he watched the city of White Hall sink deeper and deeper in debt with the fire department.
“I watched the city fathers say they couldn’t afford it anymore and a faction of farmers would come running in saying ‘here is a donation – we don’t want taxed’ and they would back down. Finally, it got to the point where they could no longer afford it – they were broke and said they were getting out.”
After more than an hour of discussion, the board voted unanimously to force the annexation of the remaining four properties.