On the last possible day of the calendar year Indiana law allows for the formation of a fire territory, the North Webster Town Council and the Tippecanoe Township Advisory Board got it done Wednesday.
At a March 18 meeting between the two boards, the Township Board voted 2-1 to approve the resolution and interlocal agreement for the fire protection territory. Jim Rhodes, Board member, voted against both of them. It then moved to the Town Council where Council President Lisa Strombeck made a motion to approve the resolution for the formation of the fire territory but neither Councilman David Waliczek nor Dan Thystrup provided a second to her motion so the motion died and the meeting abruptly ended.
Then at Wednesday’s special meeting, Waliczek made the motion to approve the ordinance establishing the Tippecanoe Township-North Webster Fire Protection Territory, and Thystrup provided the second. It was approved 3-0. They then unanimously adopted the interlocal agreement between the Council and Township for the fire territory.
Indiana code permits two or more participating units of local government to establish a fire protection territory to provide fire protection and emergency medical services to those participating units. The two units must be contiguous.
Before the Town Council took its vote, Township Trustee Chris Francis “recapped” what had occurred between the March 18 and Wednesday meetings. The March 18 meeting was the third public one on the formation of the fire territory after an initial public information meeting in October.
“There were some technicalities that occurred that kind of left us open-ended, so we went back to the drawing board. We reached out to the Council over the concerns that they had, and thankful that those guys took their time,” Francis said.
A woman in the audience asked what the “technicalities” were. Francis said there was no vote cast from the town’s side at the March 18 meeting and then the meeting wasn’t adjourned. Town Council attorney Jack Birch said there was no motion that was seconded so Strombeck’s motion died for a lack of second.
“So, with all that being said, Dave and Dan thankfully and gratefully, and I highly appreciate, took their time. We went back to the drawing board and then cut the figures down from where they had initially been,” Francis continued.
He said in government budgeting, they have to present high in order to cut. “You can’t present low and then have nothing to cut,” he said. Over the course of the three public presentations, Francis said the figures were cut back each time.
In going back to the “drawing board,” Francis said they were able to come up with some numbers that the Town Council was looking for while still moving forward.
“I think there’s been a little bit of confusion throughout these presentations that this is just about the future, just about buffing our staffing and growing. The biggest issue that I have, as the trustee, is right now. We’re at a budget shortfall right now, which means that if we continue, and if we spend our entire budget, which we have to watch and not spend the entire budget, if we spend our entire budget, we will run out of cash reserves that we have,” Francis said.
He said in drafting some new numbers up, the Town Council “wanted to see an 8 cent increase the first year, with a maximum increase of about 11.3 cents, thereabouts.”
The equipment replacement fund is solely for vehicles and buildings. It has to be adopted with the fire territory, which the Council and Township Board did Wednesday.
“That tax rate is no different than the one that is currently figured right now for the cumulative fire fund. That’s $0.0333 (on each $100 of assessed valuation). That doesn’t change,” Francis said, adding that it’s already at its maximum levy.
He then opened the floor to the Town Council, which opened its meeting and approved the fire territory ordinance and interlocal agreement.
After their actions, Township Board President Jim Smith called the Township meeting to order for the “purpose of finalizing details of the formation of the proposed fire territory and for purpose of considering a proposed resolution for the establishment of a equipment replacement fund.”
Township Board member Ed Clayton asked what the maximum levy will be. He said under what the Township approved, the maximum levy would be about $2.1 million. Birch said nothing has changed and the maximum levy would not exceed that. The Council adopted the same ordinance as the Township’s resolution.
Alissa Schmucker, North Webster Fire and EMS, said, “What you advertised in the newspaper is what you’re agreeing to as far as your max levy goes. But, you guys have come together and decided on a set of figures that you’re both agreeable to right now. Your max levy is what you advertised.”
After a little more discussion, Smith entertained a motion to approve a resolution for the establishment of the equipment replacement fund. Clayton made the motion and Smith seconded. It passed 2-1, with Rhodes against.
The Town Council then unanimously approved an equipment replacement fund ordinance, and both boards adjourned.
A copy of the fire protection territory agreement defines the territory’s boundaries, provider unit and participating units. It states that the territory shall provide to the participating units fire protection and emergency medical services.
Membership of the fire protection executive committee will include the Township trustee or a Township Board representative; a Township Board representative selected in January of each calendar year; two Town Council representatives; and an additional voting member selected in January each year, from the Township Board in odd-numbered years and from the Town Council in even-numbered years, but they must be a resident of the Township. Terms are for one year.
Among the duties of the committee will be recommending an annual budget and major purchases in excess of $3,000. The Town Council and Township Board both must approve the budget.
After the meeting Wednesday, Thystrup was asked why he changed his mind from the March 18 meeting.
“We had a long discussion with the trustee, and he was meeting us half way,” Thystrup said. He said the idea was to hold the fire territory’s budget numbers down as much as possible.
Fire Chief Jeremy Likens was asked how the fire territory would be beneficial to his department and the community.
“Basically, with forming the territory, it’s going to give us a solid foundation for the department. It’s going to give us (help) for the future, more staffing to be able to support the community and what she needs,” he said.
The fire department has slots for 34 volunteers, but has 26 active, though obviously not all 26 are able to show up when there’s a fire, he said during the meeting.
Likens estimated the department will start noticing the slow increases to the funding in the middle of 2022 or 2023.
