Third Fire Territory public hearing Thursday

ARGOS — the third and final public hearing concerning the proposed Argos Fire Protection territory will be held on thursday at 6:30 p.m. inside the Argos Fire Department.

While the process has been a lengthy one, the first public hearing for the proposal was held on thursday, Jan. 28. Legally, there has to be a total of three public hearing in order to give the public chances to hear the proposal and how the tax rate would be impacted.

According to Indiana Code 36-8-19, a fire territory may be established of at least one contiguous units in order to provide fire protection, fire prevention, or other purposes or functions related to fire protection and prevention.

the participating units for the proposed fire territory include the town of Argos, Green township, and Walnut township. If passed, the town of Argos would be the

provider unit and would be responsible for preparing the annual budget. The town would also perform all necessary accounting and financial functions related to fire services.

If enacted, the territory would combine the EMS and Fire Department into one department with a Fire Chief overseeing the two departments.

The Fire Chief would report to the Fire Territory board. The board would consist of an appointee from the three participating units.

Stated during the second public hearing, the Fire side of things won’t change, but if enacted, the territory would be able to provide a much needed boost to the EMS Department.

In 2019, argos EMS had 232 calls and missed 53 of those calls. In 2020, they had 244 calls and missed 19.

according to the presentation, the EMS budget has risen 45 percent from 2019 to the current year’s budget due to staffing and funding shortages.

The meeting consists of presentations about the how the proposal came to be, what would the proposed territory would like, how things would operate, and the financial impact if it was enacted. at the end of the presentations, the public will have a chance to ask questions and give their opinions.

at the end of the meeting, the argos Town Council, and the Township boards of Green and Walnut will vote on whether to establish the argos Fire Territory. The vote must be unanimous.