Information was given to Argos residents Thursday night concerning the need for a Fire Protection Territory to continue to provide the fire and EMS services to the residents of the Town of Argos, Green Township and Walnut Township.
Argos EMS is currently experiencing a staffing issue and there are missed calls. Walnut Township Trustee Steve Wilhelm said that can no longer happen and there is a great need to raise funds to support a full-time EMS service in Argos with three full-time EMTs. The only thing that can help at this time is to create a Fire Protection Territory to raise taxes to pay for adequate services that the residents of Argos need.
The money raised will help pay full-time EMTs and pay for necessary equipment for the EMS and the Argos Fire Department. The fire service would remain a volunteer service.
Wilhelm said the maximum levy does not allow for more money. Part-time EMS pay contributed by the townships was higher than what could be collected in tax levies. The Town of Argos contributes 43 percent of the payment of services, while a contract with Walnut Township helps contribute 30 percent for services and a contract with Green Township provides a 27 percent contribution. This arrangement was sustainable for the past few years, but Argos Economic Development Director Mark VanDerWeele noted in two to four years Townships will be broke and will not meet the funding needs of these services.
VanDerWeele said private paramedic service was found to be too costly and could not guarantee a constant presence in Argos, and the dependence on other municipalities created a greater response time which officials believe to be unacceptable.
VanDerWeele said now is the time to make some changes.
“We tried to pump some money into this,” VanDerWeele explained. “We’ve forgone some other projects that we had planned to try and make this work. It has helped, but we’re at a tipping point that all three of these entities are going to be hurting in the long run.”
Susan Cowen, a partner with Baker Tilly, explained what would happen with taxes as a result of an Argos Fire Protection Territory in the first year.
Cowen stated, “If you live in the Town of Argos, you’re either in the Green Township portion of Argos or the Walnut Township portion of Argos. Currently, we show a 4.8 percent decrease in their taxes, but that 4.8 percent decrease will not be seen by all types of property or by everyone. In Green Township, we expect the first year there would be 21.5 percent increase in taxes and in Walnut Township roughly an 11.9 percent increase in taxes the first year.”
For farmland, commercial and other property in Green Township, taxes would increase 21.5 percent in the first year. Taxes will slightly decrease in year two of the Fire Territory and raise slightly from .2 to .3 percent.
No decisions were made Thursday night as information was for public consumption only. One more public hearing on the matter is scheduled for Thursday, March 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the fire house. It will be at that meeting when the township boards and the Argos Town Council make a decision to move forward with the process. If it is approved, it will take a few months for an Advisory Board to put together Standard Operating Procedures and a budget to be brought before the Argos Town Council for approval.
