The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
(TNS)
PENDLETON — As expected, eight local governmental units have agreed to expand the South Madison Fire Territory.
Representatives from all eight units of government voted unanimously Monday to expand the territory to cover four townships comprising the southern portion of Madison County, including the towns of Pendleton, Lapel, Ingalls and Markleville.
Adams Township, Stony Creek Township, Markleville, Lapel and Ingalls were all looking to form a new South Madison Fire Territory starting in January 2026.
The current fire territory includes Pendleton and Green and Fall Creek townships.
Attorney Jeff Bellamy explained that each governmental unit had to approve an interlocal agreement and a motion to approve the merger.
Once each governmental unit approved the merger there was a round of applause from the gathered members of the South Madison Fire Territory and the newly merged departments.
“This is an exciting day for the department to grow and provide services,” said Chris Nodine, chief of the South Madison Fire Territory.
Nodine said the next step will be approval from the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance to establish a tax rate.
He said the department will hire 30 firefighters in July, and eventually the territory will have 80 full-time firefighters located in Pendleton, Lapel and Markleville.
“I was confident,” Nodine said of the merger being approved. “This is a way for local government to provide fire protection.
“We will be hiring a bunch of firefighters in 2026, 2027 and 2028,” he said.
Greg Valentine, Green Township Trustee, previously said a significant advantage of expanding the fire territory would be capturing the assessed value in all the political subdivisions.
According to a public notice, the budget for 2026 would be $12.5 million, increasing to $14.7 million in 2027 and $17.7 million in 2028.
The estimated property tax rate is 67 cents in 2026, 75 cents in 2027 and 87 cents in 2028.
The cost for a homeowner of property valued at $100,000 is estimated at $39.71 in 2026.
Property owners currently at the 1% cap for property taxes would see a minimal impact.
Stony Creek Township, Lapel, Adams Township and Markleville will continue to own the existing fire station and equipment; South Madison would provide the staffing and pay the operating costs.
Each governmental unit will have appointments to a nine-member board that will oversee the South Madison Fire Protection Territory operations.
The member government agencies have already created a new property tax of 3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to fund fire equipment.
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