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GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS

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$8*867 – Vol. 150, No. 35 – &DUUROOWRQ ,OOLQRLV

WH fire district policy causes uproar The Campbell Publication offices will be closed Monday, Sept. 2 in observance of Labor Day. Deadline for news and ads for next week's edition is 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30. Marketplace classifieds and legal notice deadline is Friday at noon.

INSIDE NEWS County Board approves resolution federal funding. See page B4

LOCALS

West ~ Portwood engagement. See page A5

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WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, AUG. 30

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SATURDAY, AUG. 31

78 63 High

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SUNDAY, SEPT. 1

77 63 High

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Greene Prairie Press

By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press White Hall City Council chamber was packed Monday night with White Hall firemen and EMS personnel after the White Hall Fire Protection District (a separate entity from the city) convened a special meeting to discuss a recent policy they adopted regarding the response of WHFPD personnel to fires and EMS calls outside the city limits. This policy, adopted by the district at the Aug. 14 meeting, resulted in Fire Chief Garry Sheppard submitting his resignation and many of the city’s volunteer firefighters threatening to quit. The goal of the policy, however, was to secure more funding for the fire protection district, which lost a

good portion of its projected funding when the outlying areas of Patterson, Hillview and Walkerville voted down the referendum. The policy states that when answering a fire call to a noncontract location, they would respond with no more than five firefighters and would only send a tanker, fire engine that is designated to respond to rural fires and rescue vehicle. There were, however, many exceptions. For example, the department would respond in full if there is any question about the owner being under contract. If it is determined, they are not a contract holder after arriving, the additional personnel and units would be sent back to the station. If there was any question of an individual being trapped

or even the possibility of someone being trapped in a structure fire, they would also be required to dispatch a full response. The idea behind it is that the district did not want to have a full crew battling a fire at a non-contract residence should a call come in of a fire in town or to a contracted residence and then not have the personnel or equipment to respond to the fire. For EMS calls, if the location or individual is not covered by a contract, they would not answer the call. In the event, however, there is confusion, just as with fire calls, they would send a full response to the call. They would also answer (See, FIRE, A2)

3URWHFWLRQ 'LVWULFW¡V IXQGLQJ LVVXH KDV EHHQ GLIILFXOW By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press The White Hall Fire Protection District was formed last year after a referendum was placed on the ballot to establish the district. In addition to the city, White Hall Fire Department also covers the outlying areas of Hillview, Patterson and Walkerville. Prior to the formation of the district, the fire department was funded solely by the city through tax dollars. The establishment of the district would take the burden of funding the department from the city and create a tax levy on property within the district to generate funding. While the referendum passed in the city, it failed in the outlying areas, ultimately creating a tax base of less than half of what was expected to be generated by the levy. The tax levy on property within the city limits generates a revenue of around $81,500 (See, FUNDING, A2)

Carrollton moves ahead with TIF district By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part story on the proposed TIF district the city of Carrollton is looking to establish. Next week, the newspaper will look into the objectives the TIF district would hope to achieve. At a special meeting on Aug. 20, Carrollton City Council came one step closer to establishing a TIF district by approving the TIF plan and feasibility study presented by Moran Economic Development— despite a sea of protestors, including members of the school board and fire protection district, both of which will be affected by the establishment of this TIF district. Moran Economic Development President Keith Moran gave the presentation along with a 34-page handout detailing everything about plan. He pointed out that this is only the first of many steps the city will have to take in the next few months. “While we have been talking about this for several months, this is really just the beginning‌ When you go to establish a TIF district, there is a process you have to go through and that process can generally take up to six months,â€? Moran said. “So, even though these talks go back more than a year, we just started the process formally back on Aug. 8 when (the council) passed a series of items leading up to this.â€? The proposed TIF district in Carrollton would encompass all of the square including almost all of the area

along Rt. 108 and 67 and go over to the west to include the hospital. “That area came about through a lot of trial and error and a lot of discussion with business owners and is based on infrastructure needs, and looks at some new business recruitment potential and the restoration of existing businesses,� Moran said. “It certainly did center and start with the square, which is the main thrust of the plan, but we also wanted to take care of some of the larger job creators from a business retention standpoint.� Overall, the city is not doing too good in the area of business retention. “You are not doing as well as we would like to see in this area,� Moran said. “These initiatives aren’t about just recruiting new businesses but they are also about retaining business as well – helping those folks with a commitment to the city to remain here for many years to come.� One aspect of the TIF district is that all parcels included must be contiguous. “Some properties wound up in this proposed TIF district simply because we have to be contiguous but mostly what we are going for is development of commercial and light industrial uses throughout the city,� Moran said. “We do have some homes included but those homes could become commercial structures in the future and TIF could help with that conversion down the road.� Moran said there are 261 parcels of (See, TIF, A4)

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Carmen Ensinger/Greene Prairie Press

Moran Economic Development President Keith Moran, behind the podium, outlines the proposed TIF district in Carrollton during a special meeting on Aug. 20. A TIF district would capture new tax dollars from generated from property within the TIF district and allocate these funds to a TIF fund, controlled by the city.

Goetten announces candidacy for Greene County Circuit Judge By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press Former Greene County States Attorney and Carrollton native Matt Goetten has announced he will be seeking the office of Greene County Circuit Judge in the upcoming election. The announcement comes on the heels of current Greene County Circuit Judge James Day’s announcement that he will not seek another term as presiding judge in Greene County. Day’s current six-year term expires in December, 2020, at which point he will have been on the bench for 30 years. He was elected to his first term in 1990. It is no surprise that this would be the next step in Goetten’s judicial career. “I have spent my entire professional career in public service,� Goetten said. “I felt that calling from a young age and have partially fulfilled it as Greene

Š 2019

GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

MATT GOETTEN

County State’s Attorney, Special Prosecutor for the State of Illinois and over 20 years in the Illinois National Guard. It is with that call in mind that I announce my candidacy for Greene County Circuit Judge.� (See, GOETTEN, A2)

North Greene tentative budget shows deficit Carmen Ensinger/Greene Prairie Press

Pom-pom practice at Hawks game Livie Cox came prepared to cheer on the Carrollton Hawks during their scrimmage game Friday night with her pom-poms. More photos from the scrimmage game can be found on B5.

By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press North Greene School Board members approved a tentative budget for next year which shows the district in deficit spending by around $300,000 – at the moment. “We are going to run negative in the building fund because of the maintenance projects we have going on,� Superintendent Mark Scott said. “It shouldn’t be that big of a sur-

prise because I talked about it last month. However, we should have more General State Aid coming in at the beginning of next week and we will have the tax money in mid September.� The biggest factor for North Greene at the moment is the outcome of union negotiations between the teacher’s and bus driver’s unions. “Your biggest expense in education (See, BUDGET, A2)


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