Winfield Township (IN) Board Votes Against Fire Territory Proposal, Cites Staffing, Budget Concerns

Dec. 26—WINFIELD TOWNSHIP — The Winfield Township Board on Thursday unanimously voted to pull out of previously announced plans to establish a fire protection territory, citing concerns with the negotiation process and remaining unanswered questions about staffing and budgetary issues.

Last month, the Town of Winfield and the West Porter Fire Protection District agreed on a framework for establishing the new fire territory. Winfield Township officials had been a part of negotiations, but the township had not struck an agreement with the other two entities.

The Thursday vote came nearly a week after the West Porter Fire Protection District Board voted 4-0 — with one absence — to end the current round of negotiations. That board also voiced its concerns with how the latest round of talks had played out.

Indiana law allows local government bodies with adjacent jurisdictions to create fire territories in order to consolidate resources and raise additional tax revenue. Creating a fire territory would have allowed the Lakes of the Four Seasons Volunteer Fire Force, which currently has no full-time positions, to create 18 full-time roles with benefits, the Times previously reported.

Formed in 1969, the fire force serves both the Porter and Lake county sides of the private Lakes of the Four Seasons community, as well as all of Winfield and West Porter townships. As the area’s population has grown, particularly in the town of Winfield, which became incorporated in 1993, local officials have looked for a solution to growing demands on the fire force.

The rising population in the proposed coverage area was the main concern for Winfield Township Board Secretary Jason Gikas, who said the plans did not include enough staffing to handle the population size.

“As someone who has served in every position from cadet to fire chief within the Lakes of the Four Seasons Fire Force, I was immediately concerned with the low staffing numbers proposed by this last plan,” Gikas said. “While I respect the desire to keep taxes at a minimum, short cutting staffing for fire and EMS would eventually cost lives. With a current service area of approximately that is home to 19,000 residents and growing, I fail to understand how the latest proposal would meet those needs.”

Winfield Township Board member Sherry Gasparovic said the latest round of negotiations had been “plagued by political brinkmanship and lingering resentment from the start.”

Tom Snowden, the Winfield Township Board Finance Chair, said the financial planning in the proposal “simply did not add up.”

“In many cases, this plan did not adequately account for equipment costs and overtime pay, among others,” Snowden said. “It also proposed a bewildering situation in which employees of the territory would have received a pay increase in the second year of the Territory’s operations, but would then be forced to take a pay cut in the following year. This would not lead to the (fire territory) attracting and retaining long-term talent.”

In a statement Thursday, Winfield Township Trustee Cody Reynolds said he was pleased with the Winfield Township Board’s unanimous vote.

“While we all remain committed to improving the fire and emergency medical services in our community, the proposed plan would have sacrificed the autonomy of Winfield Township residents and risked their decades-long investment in the Lakes of the Four Seasons Fire Force,” Reynolds said. “Once again, politics got in the way of good government. It is unfortunate that the actions of a few members of the Winfield Town Council and West Porter Fire Protection District Board continue to rob the community of this basic yet life-saving service.”

Winfield Township has not ruled out future talks, though the proposal will need a major overhaul before the township board supports it.

“The Township Board and I will continue to do everything we can to increase our support for our existing local service provider,” Reynolds said, “whether through future discussions of a fire territory or by some other means.”

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