Buck Creek Township firefighters responded to a record number of calls in 2021.
Submitted photo
HANCOCK COUNTY — Officials have agreed to use over $80,000 in county funds to cover a pension shortfall for the Buck Creek Township Fire Department.
The decision means firefighters no longer face a pay cut this year. County leaders say the township’s challenging administration transition and important service firefighters provide justify the relief.
Of the commitment Buck Creek Township makes to its firefighters’ pension fund, a portion of it can be mandated on the firefighters. The township has picked up that firefighter portion in the past, but leaders determined late in the 2022 budget process last year that it couldn’t, and placed the expense on the firefighters.
The determination stemmed from a new township trustee working to make the budget more transparent following his predecessor’s death. Also, the township learned late in the budget process to expect a far smaller increase in income-tax revenue than what was initially built into the budget.
Buck Creek Township needed $83,000 to remedy the matter. The Hancock County Council voted unanimously to provide it from the county’s food and beverage tax.
Bill Bolander, council president, said he felt the circumstances justified the county’s involvement.
“They’ve got a new regime to look after things, and coming in behind somebody is hard,” Bolander said.
Robin Lowder, a county council member, noted during the council meeting that the pension shortfall stemmed from township leaders’ efforts to improve the township’s accounting.
“There were bookkeeping issues too that played into that,” Lowder said.
Jim Shelby, a council member, pointed to all of the new buildings, many of them large warehouses, the Buck Creek Township Fire Department is becoming responsible for.
“We know that Buck Creek Fire is pressed because of economic development out there,” Shelby said.
Township officials told county council members that many of the fire department’s ambulance runs used to assist Indianapolis EMS, something the township has cut back on.
“They’ve put a curtailment to that now, so that made us more eager to help out,” Bolander said.
Brandon Wilch, a Buck Creek Township paramedic and firefighter who represents the department’s professional firefighters in their union, said he and his fellow firefighters are grateful for the response to the problem by the county commissioners and county council.
“The funding granted by the council gives Buck Creek Township the opportunity through the year to re-evaluate the budget to ensure we aren’t in this position again,” Wilch told the Daily Reporter in an email. “This funding provides continued stability for the firefighters and their families for 2022.”
Jack Negley, Buck Creek Township trustee, said he’s grateful as well.
“I’m absolutely thrilled that the county council was able to vote and pass to help us with $83,000 to pay for their (firefighters’) pension,” Negley said.
Negley told the council that he doesn’t expect the request to be an annual one. He anticipates income tax revenue going back up and added the township plans to apply to the state for additional sustainable funding based on the township’s rising assessed value and population.
Kent Fisk, a county council member, said during the meeting that the council has always prioritized helping emergency services throughout his time in office. He added he was frustrated to learn about the pension shortfall through a Daily Reporter article that covered a township advisory board meeting last month rather than the township coming to the county council first. Fisk said he felt the piece placed undue blame for the township’s financial challenges on the economic growth in the western part of the county.
At last month’s township board meeting, officials discussed tax increment financing districts in the township, which capture taxes from new development for use by the Hancock County Redevelopment Commission to fund improvements in the districts. The officials expressed concerns over the township not benefiting from that tax capture while still being responsible for protecting many new buildings from fires and the people inside them from emergencies.
Bolander said he doesn’t feel the impact of the districts is that substantial on taxing units like the fire department.
“Maybe they wouldn’t get as much as they would have otherwise, but now that we’re doing these EDAs (economic development agreements), that should solve that issue,” he said.
Hancock County commissioner John Jessup has been negotiating the agreements with developers getting tax abatements and/or tax increment financing incentives. The agreements, which go to the county commissioners for approval, include terms for payments to sources like public safety agencies and schools.
One thing county and township leaders can agree on is that the matter ultimately shines a light on the difficulties of funding townships in quickly growing areas. Buck Creek Township Fire Chief Dave Sutherlin said the solution can only come from state legislation, something the township plans to pursue in the Indiana General Assembly’s current session.
“Township government needs to be funded to support its ability to handle the economic growth that we have going on,” Sutherlin said.
Bolander agreed.
“The state needs to come across and help us out with some of this stuff with the fire departments,” he said. “It’s just insane that we get all this growth in assessed value but we’re capped on how much we can get.”
