Voters who live in and near Whiteland will be asked if they would like the town to provide fire protection services in lieu of a fire protection board that historically oversaw those services.
The proposed change will not affect services residents receive and is not expected to raise taxes.
If the referendum passes, the Whiteland Fire Protection District would dissolve and the town of Whiteland would take over fire protection services for the town and part of Clark and Pleasant townships, which are the boundaries for the fire protection district.
The Whiteland Fire Department will become a town-run department, rather than being under the control of the fire district’s board of trustees, similar to how fire departments in Greenwood and New Whiteland operate.
The fire district covers Whiteland and parts of the surrounding area. The district extends west to Honey Creek Road and east to the area around Interstate 65, and is bordered by Greenwood to the north and Franklin to the south and doesn’t cover New Whiteland, which is served by that town’s own fire department. Voters who live in the district will see the question on their ballots.
Changes have already been made to bring fire protection services into the town’s jurisdiction. Fire protection board members approached the town council about the change and the town council approved it in a vote last year. The referendum, if passed by voters on Nov. 6, would ratify the agreement that the fire protection board and town council made and voted to approve, Norm Gabehart, Whiteland town manager said.
Some residents in the fire protection area were experiencing double digit response times in an emergency and growth in the area was expected to challenge the fire protection district board further. Since the changes started, response times have been taken down to about four minutes, Gabehart said.
“The No. 1 thing in the structure was that public safety was No. 1,” he said.
Eliminating the fire protection board would save taxpayers about $100,000 by eliminating administration and insurance fees the fire protection board needs. The board would dissolve, essentially taking out a layer of government, Gabehart said.
The money saved would be allotted back into public safety expenses, he said.
“Service and coverage will not change, but will get better,” Gabehart said.
The merger will pass if a majority of voters who live in the fire protection district vote “yes” on the question, Johnson County Clerk Susie Misiniec said.
Residents who live in the area had the option to file a remonstrance if they were against the question. A remonstrance was not filed, Misiniec said.
Town officials are unsure what the next step would be if the referendum fails, Gabehart said.
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Here is a look at the question some voters in the Whiteland area will be asked to consider when they vote:
The Whiteland Fire Protection District (“District”) Board of Fire Trustees now levies taxes and oversees fire/protection services for the District, which include the Town of Whiteland (“Town”), parts of Clark Township and parts of Pleasant Township. Under their reorganization plan, the boundaries of the town and district would not change, and it is estimated that the reorganization will not cause an increase or decrease in the tax rates in 2020. Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, the Town would provide fire services to both the town and all others within the District; the District’s Board of Fire Trustees would dissolve and the Town Council would oversee fire service’s for the District’s territory.
Should the Town of Whiteland and the Whiteland Fire Protection District reorganize as a single political subdivision?
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