Proposed Fire Territory Revisited In Positive Manner
NORTH WEBSTER — A positive note was struck when the North Webster Town Council met with representatives from Tippecanoe Township and the fire and EMS department to discuss a possible formation of a new fire territory between the township and town. Council called a special meeting for Wednesday, Feb. 5, at the North Webster Town Hall Annex.
The meeting was opened by North Webster Town Council President Lisa Strombeck making a statement.
First she noted the meeting was for informational and discussion purposes only. She emphasized there had been no talk among the council members prior to the Jan. 27 meeting regarding the fire territory. “It is a policy that we do not speak among ourselves outside of a public meeting or special meetings,” she said.
She commented that a lack of information being given to the council was the reason for the vote and all of them were open to receiving more information and learning more on the topic.
Discussion then ensued with questions being asked and a good rapport developing among those present. Representing Tippecanoe Township were Trustee Chris Francis and board members Jim Rhodes and Ed Clayton. Attending for the fire department and EMS was Assistant Chief Dave Rensberger. Town council members Strombeck, David Walizcek and Dan Thrystrup were there along with Clerk-Treasurer Betsy Luce and Town Attorney Jack Birch.
The main points were all involved needed to have the information to be able to explain the proposed fire territory to the public and how that could be achieved. How to access the township’s representative from Baker, Tilly, Virchow, Krause LLP, the consulting firm, was given to all.
Questions asked included “Are volunteers being recruited?” “Will the use of volunteers continue?” “What does a volunteer make in a year?” Francis reported, “We have great volunteers that we value but we have a hard time keeping them because of jobs out of town and family responsibilities. We always welcome more people to become volunteers. An average volunteer makes between $750-$850 a year.”
He added, “We are seeking the fire territory to take care of our personnel to keep them doing the excellent job they do. We want to give them pay increases and provide benefits. We need more manpower. All our eight full-time employees are cross-trained in fire and EMS, which they need to be compensated for in a fair way. Currently our equipment is in good shape.”
Clayton added, “The costs of everything are rising. We want to be fair to the taxpayers but provide the best service possible. It is a fine line to walk. To do these things the fire territory is necessary.”
At least 24 times in the past year, calls were missed and another fire department had to go. Every time an ambulance is called, by law, the fire department also has to respond. The department had about 600 ambulance calls last year and there were 120 fire calls.
Concern was expressed by Thystrup raising taxes in any way would impact local businesses. Both he and Walizcek expressed they are representatives of the people. If the public wants the fire territory then they will vote their wishes. It was pointed out that is why public hearings are so important.
All parties acknowledged the difficulty of serving the public while being mindful of tax monies and rates. It was decided the town would revisit the proposed fire territory in April, giving the council a couple of months to study proposal and become more informed. Meanwhile the township will have discussions with other organizations about the possibility of joining with them in a territory.