PENDLETON — Speaking to a crowd of about 50 people at Maple Ridge Elementary School recently, South Madison Fire Protection Territory Chief Chris Nodine and Adams Markleville Fire Protection Territory Chief Matt Rambo discussed merging Adams Township and Markleville, along with Ingalls, with the South Madison territory.
Difficulty finding enough volunteers prompted Rambo to contact Nodine to explore merging with them, Nodine told the crowd last month, during the first of four public meetings on the proposed merger.
“We’ve looked to improve our department since 2022, at times we had staffing problems to the point that we would have to shut the station down,” Rambo said.
The department has been able to hire two fire personnel, which is all they could afford, he said.
“It takes 10 to 15 minutes to get out the door after a call comes in, and then another eight to 10 minutes to arrive at the scene,” he said.
Chief Nodine said of 2,437 runs in 2023, South Madison Fire Territory — which came into being on Jan. 1 of last year as an agreement between Pendleton, Fall Creek Township and Green Township — was dispatched 233 times to assist other agencies.
“That is 233 times we were not in Pendleton,” he said.
Nodine said if Ingalls, Markleville and Adams Township are brought into the fold, he would like to hire 18 full-time staff to work at the Markleville fire station.
“Pendleton had one of the best response times when it was a volunteer staff, but we don’t have (those volunteers) anymore — everyone works out of town now,” Nodine said.
Ingalls was part of previous discussions involving the creation of South Madison Fire Territory. It didn’t join the territory then, but it is contracted with the territory for fire protection and is part of the current proposal.
Nodine said he would like to have three full-time firefighters in Ingalls. Although they could use more, there isn’t room yet to house them, he said.
When the floor was opened for questions, attendee Mike Kelly asked why Adams Township wasn’t brought in last year.
“We were still trying to figure out what we were doing,” Rambo said. “We finally figured out that we can’t do this alone.”
The tax impact on residents of the proposed merger — which will take effect Jan. 1 2025, if approved — is complicated because there are a variety of factors involved, Nodine said by phone this week.
Nichole Franklin, a consultant working with with South Madison Fire Territory on the potential expansion, said residents within South Madison Fire Territory would not see property tax increases in 2025 related to the proposed merger, if it goes through. Any rate increases associated with fire protection in 2024 and 2025 will be the result of previously approved South Madison territory budgets, which were designed to phase-in expenses associated with transitioning from a largely volunteer force to a largely paid one.
People living in the Adams Markleville Fire Protection Territory area who are at their property tax cap would not pay more in taxes if the proposed merger is approved, Franklin said. However, those not at their caps would see their rate increase from their current territory’s rate to that of South Madison Fire Territory.
Ingalls residents would be similarly subject to South Madison Fire Territory rates.
In an analysis using 2023 data, Franklin estimates overall annual property tax increases in 2025 in the six entities in the proposed district range from about 14% (Markleville) to about 22% (Green Township).
What rates will be after 2025 is not known, Franklin said, as they will change based on variables such as assessed valuation in the entire territory.
Officials from Pendleton, and Fall Creek and Green Townships voted unanimously in 2022 to create South Madison Fire Territory. They and their counterparts from Adams Township, Markleville and Ingalls would all get a vote on the new merger, Franklin said.
The next public meeting is set for Feb. 13 at Pendleton Heights Middle School, 7450 S. County Road 300 W., Pendleton; the third will be on March 7 at Adams Markleville Fire Territory, 7457 S. County Road 200 E., Markleville; the fourth meeting is scheduled for March 26 at South Madison Fire Territory Station 81, in Pendleton, 100 S. Broadway.
Each of the meetings start at 6 p.m. Residents may ask questions and express opinions at these meetings.
At the last meeting, township and town representatives will vote on the merger.
Editor Scott Slade contributed to this story.
