Firefighters answer the call 365 days a year to keep you and I safe.
But across America, departments are having to answer those calls with less help and limited resources and in Vigo County it’s no different.
Sugar Creek Fire Department makes an average of 1,200 runs a year with only having 3 paid firefighters and 30 volunteers.
“Unfortunately, nationwide the number of volunteers is falling, the run counts are increasing,” Sugar Creek Fire Department Chief Darrick Scott said. “Unfortunately, it’s going to come on the tax payers that we have to put full time fire fighters on duty.”
Just up the road Shepardsville Volunteer Fire Department makes around 100 runs a year with 23 volunteers.
A full set of gear from top to bottom is about 4 thousand dollars, that is a third of my annual budget for one person,” Shephardsville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jeff VanLannen said. “Fuel alone to run the trucks is about a 3-thousand-dollar budget. Shepherdville’s budget is roughly 20,000 dollars.”
The Vigo County Council passed an increase to the income tax back in august 2018 to help the counties 11 fire departments.
The tax was an increase of 75 cents on every 1 hundred dollars.
45 cents went toward a new jail, 20 cents went toward public safety and the remaining dime went towards funding 911.
The county started collecting the new tax October 1st but because of the wording in the ordinance departments haven’t yet seen a dime.
“When we passed that ordinance it was our assumption that the local townships, the fire departments and fire districts would receive their distributions directly, on a monthly basis like the other units of government,” Vigo County Council President Aaron Loudermilk said. “We found out later on the way the ordinance was written it wasn’t specific enough to allow for that.”
The income tax was on everyone’s mind during Vigo County Councils budget meeting last Thursday night.
Fire chiefs from multiple districts discussed a fix and how to distribute funds.
The board gave a favorable recommendation to a 65 percent run and 35 percent levy distribution system, meaning the number of calls a department responds to and the tax rate in their district will be taken into account when the money is given out.
“Are assess evaluation is how our budget is given to us so if you have a low self-evaluation, if you don’t have a lot of factories, you don’t have a lot of business you have lower revenue coming into your fire house,” Scott said. “Luckily, we all worked together, we are a community even though we are different departments we all try to work together. We all try to make the best for everyone.”
The total amount distributed from the tax will be $235,796.45 dollars.
In the compromise some stations lost money while other gained money.
Under a 65/35 spilt Sugar Creek will be able to add three new paid positions and Shepardsville will be able to buy a new set of gear.
Both Scott and VanLannen say they have full confidence that a resolution will happen soon.
“I think the council has done a really good job of making adjustments to kind of help the smaller departments and not throwing it all in the big tax bases,” VanLannen said. “They’ve done a really good job of at least opening their minds up and to try to help the smaller departments out.”
Loudermilk says he will ask the council to double it up for next year, meaning departments would receive a payment for 2019 and 2020 next January.
The full council is expected to take up the recommendation at its meeting June 11th.
