There’s been some ruminating going on in the wake of last Thursday’s meeting regarding fire territories and fire districts. By me, for one. I am sure it remains a topic of conversation in the county’s fire stations. As it should be.
Kudos to Wells County Council President Seth Whicker for calling the meeting and leading the discussion. In proof of the old adage “No good deed goes unpunished,” his desire to simply have a conversation about the future of public safety in Wells County — to include emergency medical services and fire protection — blew up on social media to the point that there was an expectation that the county was poised to take over all of the volunteer fire departments in Wells County. Indeed, those rumors may have cost Whicker some votes in the Primary election.
The view from here is that he was able to convince the majority of those in attendance that was not his intention by any stretch. However, even after repeated assurances that nothing was going to happen — if anything is going to happen — without the full participation of all involved, there remained a certain amount of disdain. But I like to think that the majority left knowing much more than they’d known before it started, and seeds were planted for what will certainly be more discussions.
It can be difficult to definitively define the problem, as alluded to by County Commissioner Jeff Stringer’s comments during the meeting. It involves the escalating cost of fire equipment, the escalating training and expertise requirements of being a firefighter (full-time or volunteer), the decreasing number of those willing to do that and/or able to do that with the difficulty of employers allowing employees to make those commitments as a volunteer. It also involves insurance — workers’ comp and homeowners’ and business owners’ insurance premiums. It also significantly, if not equally, involves EMS services’ similar escalating costs and challenges in hiring and retaining qualified EMTs.
But to know a problem exists, you need to look no further than the fire protection issues causing headaches between Jefferson Township and the town of Ossian, and the recently announced merger between the Uniondale Volunteer Fire Department and the Markle Fire Department. Add last year’s decision by the township trustees and board members of Harrison and Lancaster townships and the City of Bluffton to create the county’s first fire territory.
In the wake of his independent research with leaders in other counties his individual discussions with several of the fire chiefs and township trustees, Whicker had hoped to simply have representatives of the Baker Tilly advisory firm go over the basics of funding options that exist to meet the growing challenges they face.
What it all adds up to, upon some rumination, is a strikingly similar scenario of what led to the school consolidations in the 1960s. As the 1950s progressed, it became increasingly apparent that the then-standard arrangement in rural Indiana of small, township schools could not meet the changing demands and needs of the changing world and, just as important, the costs of providing the growing demands for increasingly higher levels and broader spectrums of secondary education.
In 1959, the state mandated that school systems consist of a minimum number of students and that each student would be supported by a minimum level of assessed valuation. There were many contentious meetings, much gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands. Many parents wanted to protect the existence of “their” school. That transition was not an easy one. Not all school systems stayed within a county’s borders for legitimate geographic reasons, and many feared that the county-seat community or the county itself was trying to gobble them all up.
It is not hard to imagine a time when the state, which is just now becoming acutely aware of the impact fire protection costs are having on local property taxes, might make similar directives or requirements, thus essentially mandating the creation of fire territories or districts. These changes could also be kicked into high gear by insurance concerns and costs.
One huge difference in the analogy is the dedication and hard work of the dozens locally and the thousands of volunteer firefighters across the state. I believe it is safe to say that no one would advocate discontinuing their existence. Their sense of community and duty represents the backbone of what has made this country exceptional. It would not make any sense to design any solution that did not utilize them.
Speaking of solutions, Whicker made a point that he would not accept any that do not 1.) reduce response times and 2.) increase manpower and equipment to handle the emergency at hand. Which raises another huge difference in the school consolidation analogy: rather than the fewer actual school buildings we have now, my rumination would expect at least the same number of current fire stations if not one or two more.
These personal cogitations have included the recognition that essentially, there exists a county-wide EMS district here to provide those services. How much different would a county-wide fire district look? Interestingly, the Baker Tilly gals mentioned last Thursday evening that so far, no such thing exists. There are plenty of fire territories and fire districts in Indiana, but no county has put together one single entity. My mind wonders — perhaps “wanders” is also a good word — “what if?”
There are a myriad of details involved in any considerations. One very important detail was mentioned at the meeting by the professionals that some may have missed: Any debt incurred by an existing government entity, such as a township, would stay with that entity if a succeeding fire territory or district was created. Something elected officials need to keep in mind.
Change is something not always to be embraced but also not to be ignored. Change will come whether nothing is done or much is done. The future depends on knowing options, understanding challenges and facing realities.
All of which takes some ruminating.
miller@news-banner.com
