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Fire District Would Cost Taxpayers More:
- The process to achieve our current I.S.O rating took the Township
years to complete. As
confirmed by Mr. Derrick Thomas of the I.S.O office,
creation of a fire district would require I.S.O. re-testing.
In the meantime, the I.S.O. rating for Center Township may become
worse with consequent increases in insurance cost
to resident.
- Taxpayers would bear the start up cost for a new entity and
possibly suffer higher taxes.
A board appointed by the County Commissioners, not elected by you effectively
takes the decisions regarding fire safety away from the Township residents
and places it in the hands of others. These appointed people may not even
live in the Township and bring more politics to your community. Keep in mind
that this change would affect generations to come. Who will pay for the all
the administration work currently performed by the Trustees office?
- The intent of the Fire District was to unite a number of townships
to improve services
and save tax dollars, not to sidestep the Trustee system.
This is why only a few exist in the
entire state.
The corporate department had talked about this concept for years,
it is nothing new and it remains a bad idea for Center Township.
It’s now just a last ditch, self-interested effort to disrupt
our community and its taxpayers. During the most recent elections
2 department members tried to run for, and take control of the Township
board. Most people would find this a direct conflict of interest.
The new department has just completed its first month and all measures of
calls and response times were found to be comparable to surrounding township
departments as reported by the 911 Center.
Center Township does have First Responders, and the department’s Registered
Nurse (RN) will be allowed to test out of the program due to this nurse’s
exceptional background and prior military service as a navy corpsman according
to State EMS director Mr. Tony Pagano in Indianapolis.
The present membership roster of
our fine reorganized Department now exceeds the former corporate department
in active firefighters and will continue to grow. Fifty percent of our current
members are from the same corporate department who has protected you in the
past.
The goal of your Trustee is not to remain comparable to our surrounding Townships,
but for this department to be an example for the region of superior service
and efficient operations to our Township and its citizens. To this end, the
Township has equipped every firefighter on the department—not just a
chosen few officers as was past practice—with 2 way radios to allow
communications in route and on the scene—not just a simple pager.
Why would you reduce your protection with a smaller corporate department?
Your Township is in good hands, as it has always been, and this fine group
of volunteers is ready, willing and able to serve.
Sincerely,
Deb Arnold
Center Township Trustee |
