WAYNE TOWNSHIP— Wayne Township Fire is now standing on more stable ground. The department was facing financial difficulty last year until a merger with IEMS helped balance their budget.
"I was originally thinking we were in trouble," said Wayne Township Trustee Jeb Bardon.
The Wayne Township Fire Department and EMS was facing a $ 5 million dollar shortfall, losing $2.5 million in 2023 alone. In early 2024, the township made the decision to merge EMS with IEMSand the fire department with IFD, but the EMS merger saved about $5 million and the fire department no longer needed to merge with IFD. The department also made cuts to administration and insurance costs.
"It really saved the day," said Bardon.
This now allows the department to keep moving forward. With recent retirements and a need to fill positions, the fire department is looking to hire eight to twelve firefighters. Right now, they're in the list-building process.
"Under Indiana merit law we are required to have a list of hiring candidates," said public information officer Eric Bannister. "Every two years is a fresh list."
Bannister calls it a relief to be able to look at hiring again and says it's a competitive process. There are close to 200 applications for those limited spots.
"Like anything else the new person you hire doesn't replace the veteran, but it allows you to climb the rank. As we’re - those of us that are retirement age- there are folks under us that have been studying and are part of our succession planning so they’re ready to go to take over for us," said Bannister.
Even though the numbers are in order, how many people they can hire is now dependent on what happens with Senate Bill 1. The statewide property tax reform would cut revenue for local governments. Bardon says the initial version had them with a $7.5 million loss in annual revenue.
"It seems to have gotten a little bit better so I'm hoping calmer minds are going to prevail in figuring out how to reduce property taxes without eliminating local government," said Bardon.
Applications for Wayne Township Fire are open until March 24 at 4 pm. You can apply online or in person at their headquarters.
