Odd Elmhurst-Area Agency Persists; It's On Paper Only

ELMHURST, IL – An odd agency exists for the residents in the unincorporated neighborhoods between Elmhurst and Bensenville.

It's called Bensenville Fire Protection District 1. But it has no fire station, trucks or firefighters, which is why it's called a "paper" district. That's the way it's been for more than three decades.

The district has just one job: Send annual checks to two entities – Elmhurst and Bensenville Fire Protection District 2 – which provide fire service for the district.

That seems simple. But the overhead to do that last budget year amounted to just over $24,000, or about 8 percent of the budget.

That's an improvement from 2021, when the district spent 12 percent of its budget on administrative functions.

The district's money comes from property taxes. Similar districts exist around the state.

Through a public records request, Patch obtained the district's expenditures for the budget year that ended last May.

The spending includes $16,932 for professional services (much of which is for the district's attorney, Patrick Bond), $2,195 for insurance, $1,000 for website maintenance and $570 for dues and postage, among other items.

Each of the district's three board members gets $1,000 annually. That's in contrast to school and park board members statewide, who are unpaid.

The board members are President Mark Nowak, Treasurer Jeff Agonath and Secretary Paul Guerino.

For a long time, a former board member charged $550 for travel each year. He was given the money for hand-delivering documents to Bond's office or county offices, all of which are in Wheaton.

Contacted by email Wednesday, Guerino said he could not comment on the budget, saying the district's policy only allows its attorney, Bond, to comment. Patch left a message with Bond on Wednesday afternoon.

Four years ago, the district attracted attention when Guerino, a Republican, apparently used public resources to support a campaign fundraiser for then-state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, an Elmhurst Republican.

Guerino distributed the fundraiser's flyer, which appeared to include the district's stamp.

The DuPage County state's attorney's office investigated the matter, but nothing came of it.