Tippecanoe Township Trustee Chris Francis outlines some points about the formation of the proposed North Webster Tippecanoe Township Fire Territory at the first of three hearings on the issue Wednesday, Feb. 10. Seated from the left are Tippecanoe Township attorney Andrew Grossnickel and board members Ed Clayton and Jim Smith. Two more hearings will be held, both at 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Feb. 24 and March 17 at the Tippecanoe Township Building, North Webster. Photo by Martha Stoelting.

By Martha Stoelting
InkFreeNews

The first of three hearings about the possible formation of the North Webster Tippecanoe Township Fire Territory was held Wednesday, Feb. 10. It took place at the Tippecanoe Township Building and featured two speakers. Approximately 40 people were in attendance.

Using PowerPoint presentations for the first two sections, Fire Chief Jeremy Likens and CPA Paige Sansone of Baker Tilly Municipal Services outlined the nuts and bolts of what a fire territory would be like and what it would cost. Questions and comments were made at the end of each section.

Likens outlined the reasons why a fire territory is needed by highlighting the challenges the fire and EMS department currently face. The department is overseen currently by Tippecanoe Township and its board. The department needs manpower. It has two ambulances that could be in service but not enough in the budget and workers to man both.

Volunteers are hard to come by for several reasons. Most do not work in the township and most employers no longer give time off for volunteers to respond to fires and medical emergencies. Many volunteers are already working two jobs and have family obligations that limit participation, according to Likens.

He noted, “We want to provide the best possible EMS and fire service to the town and township that we can. A fire territory is how we can do that.”

If approved, it would allow the department to staff the two ambulances 24/7 with two cross trained staff between EMS and fire and a battalion chief. These three positions would be full time.

The creation of the fire territory would make pay of staff competitive with other area departments so personnel can be retained, and would re-establish the tax rate to better meet the budget. It is now capped by state law.

Sansone outlined the summary of financial impact. A fire territory is a type of fire service consolidation provided by Indiana Law IC 36-8-19 enacted in 1994. It can be established by two political subdivisions of government, in this case Tippecanoe Township and the town of North Webster.

A fire territory would provide additional funding for operating and spread the cost of the services over the same tax base that currently exists for property owners in Tippecanoe Township. Population of the township is estimated to be just below 7,000 residents.

After three public hearings, both the Tippecanoe Township board and the North Webster Town Council must approve the creation of the fire territory. The state of Indiana must approve the initial maximum property tax levy for the operating fund. The provider unit would be Tippecanoe Township, making it responsible for preparing the annual budget and performing all necessary accounting and financial services related to the fire territory.

Certified net assessed property values were given for Tippecanoe Township as $682,307,774 and for the town of North Webster $70,924,074. Estimated projections through 2024 were also made available. The estimated increases to property values is 3.5 percent for each year. The estimated property tax rate for 2022 is 23.09 cents, for 2023 it is 23 cents and for 2024 would be 22.93 cents. The increase in the tax rate for Tippecanoe Township would be 15.9% and for North Webster property 9.7%.

Warsaw-Wayne Township Fire Territory Chief Michael Wilson explained the improvement to services the fire territory brought while Tippecanoe Township Trustee and 20 year firefighter Chris Francis told of the cost cutting measures the department has undertaken and it is still running in the red at the current time. He emphasized the creation of the territory is to add staff and optimize service for local taxpayers and residents and to keep the services under local control.

Comments and questions from those present seemed about evenly split in support of the territory’s formation and against raising any taxes. Speakers included Mindy Scaggs, president of the North Webster-Tippecanoe Township Chamber of Commerce. She commented, “I am personally in favor of paying for more taxes if kids like my 3 year old granddaughter who has cancer gets prompt service.” Brian Dawes suggested the issue be revisited in a year and too much is being asked for with the pandemic. “I am offended to be asked for this now,” he added.

The next two hearings will cover the same information and all are encouraged to attend. They will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Feb. 24 and March 17. The vote by both boards will be taken at the end of the March 17 hearing. The location for both hearings is the Tippecanoe Township Building, 102 S. Morton St.

Parking is on the west side of the building and enter through the township trustee office door.