7/17/2006
Media Contact:
Justin Ohlemiller, [317] 327-3690 |
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Council makes history by approving IFD/WTFD fire merger
INDIANAPOLIS – Mayor Bart Peterson praised members of the City-County Council for their historic vote to approve the merger of the Washington Township Fire Department (WTFD) into the Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD).
Tonight’s bipartisan vote ratified the merger, which will create efficiencies and enhance fire service in neighborhoods at no additional cost to taxpayers.
“The council’s history-making vote is a victory for residents, neighborhoods and businesses,” Mayor Peterson said. “This merger will showcase the benefits that can come from consolidating fire service in Marion County. Merging these two departments increases public safety and enhances fire service for Washington Township residents – all while staving-off future tax increases over the next two years and actually saving taxpayer money for the long-term.”
The Mayor said the merger will save at least $2.3 million annually in taxpayer dollars, and Washington
Township fire tax rates will be frozen for at least two years.
Mayor Peterson also thanked Washington Township Trustee Gwen Horth and Washington Township Fire Chief Joe Anderson for their hard work, leadership and cooperation throughout the discussions of the merger.
“I applaud Trustee Horth and Chief Anderson for their vision and leadership throughout this process,” Peterson added. “By agreeing to this merger, they made a conscious decision to move public safety and fire protection in our community forward and put the needs of Indianapolis and Washington Township’s residents and taxpayers before everything else.”
The consolidation means the area formerly served by WTFD will officially become part of the IFD service district effective January 1, 2007. The new IFD service district created by the merger will incorporate the Washington Township name to maintain the history and tradition of WTFD. The chiefs of the two departments, along with other representatives of both departments, will begin meeting immediately to initiate the consolidation transition process.
The merger of IFD and WTFD will improve service by:
- Ensuring all fire engines and apparatus will be staffed according to levels called for by national fire service standards, which means four firefighters will be assigned to each fire engine and ladder. This is an enhancement of current WTFD staffing levels;
- Bringing additional specialized fire services to Washington Township, including hazardous materials, heavy extrication and water rescue operations.
The merger also means that:
- Ambulance service in Washington Township will continue to be operated by the fire department, covering the same service area it does now;
- Ambulances will now be staffed by qualified civilian paramedics and EMTs, rather than firefighters; and
- IFD will continue all of the community outreach activities initiated WTFD, including holding the annual safety festival, teaching public safety techniques to township schools and providing free smoke detectors to residents.
Last week, leaders of several prominent organizations representing businesses across the city and state and the presidents of state and local firefighters unions endorsed the IFD/WTFD merger.
Background. Last month Trustee Horth and Mayor Peterson announced that an agreement had been reached to merge WTFD into IFD. The agreement was then ratified by the Washington Township Board.
During the announcement, Horth stated that she wanted the merger “to serve as a model for other townships,” and that the agreement “will show that fire consolidation can be done seamlessly, provide enhanced service for residents and save taxpayer money.”
During the 2005 legislative session, the General Assembly passed Senate Enrolled Act 307, which permits each township in Marion County to choose to consolidate its fire department into IFD if the township board and trustee each approve a resolution authorizing consolidation.
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