But the trade-off for a bigger dispatch center budget could mean less money for township fire departments, as well as the city, county and towns, for their specific public safety needs, such as purchasing firefighting equipment and hiring new personnel.
Last year, around $2.18 million of the public safety local income tax revenue was allocated to Monroe County’s emergency dispatch center for its operations, and around $391,000 went to township fire departments, which provide services to unincorporated areas in the county.
This year, the dispatch center is requesting $2.87 million in public safety local income tax revenue. The dispatch center also receives money from statewide 911 funding, which is collected through charges assessed to cell and landline phones and distributed to counties. That amount is projected to be around $860,000 in 2018.
Jeff Schemmer, communications director of the Bloomington/Monroe County 911 Dispatch Center, said highlights of the 2018 budget include hiring six additional dispatchers and designating around $890,000 to procure mobile data terminals for the seven fire departments in the county.
Schemmer said the mobile data terminals are part of a larger effort to improve communication between fire departments and dispatch as well as to improve response times. Another part of the project is purchasing new radios so all fire departments are on the same frequency. Schemmer said the plan is to request funding for the radios next year. In addition, he said any unspent funds earmarked for the mobile data terminals will be used to offset the cost of the radios.
Weighing the dispatch center’s proposal, along with individual township fire departments’ most recent requests for equipment, personnel and, in one case, a new fire station in Washington Township, is the challenge facing members of the Monroe County Income Tax Council’s Public Safety Local Income Tax Committee. The committee is charged with providing the income tax council a recommendation on how to spend the incoming public safety local income tax revenue.
The committee will resume discussions at 5:30 p.m. today in the Nat U. Hill Room of the Monroe County courthouse.
Weighing needs
On Tuesday, committee member and city councilwoman Isabel Piedmont-Smith said all of the funding comes from the same pot, public safety local income tax revenue. As part of a conservative approach, committee members are using last year’s distribution as a starting point.
Township fire departments would benefit from the dispatch center’s proposal by receiving radios and the mobile data terminals, which are essentially laptops.
However, more details still need to be worked out regarding the amount of equipment to be distributed. Another question is if the center’s request for this equipment is a priority for township fire departments, many of which cite equipment in their requests for funding.
When asked Tuesday about the proposal, responses from township fire departments varied.
“We need to have things to go into a fire, but we also need to be able to communicate when we get there if we need mutual aid,” said Helen Caves, a representative with the Benton Township Volunteer Fire Department. Benton is requesting eight self-contained breathing apparatuses, an estimated cost of $65,824.
David Parsons, president of the board for Indian Creek Firefighters Inc., said his department is well-equipped with regard to radios and laptops but understands the benefit of having a uniform system throughout the county. He said in his department’s jurisdiction, there are dead spots where communication is difficult, so their radio choice was made with that in mind.
“To really make this work, there needs to be more feedback from the townships from what they need in specific areas,” Parsons said.
Piedmont-Smith said she sees both sides — the need for standardization throughout the county as well as the needs of township fire departments.
It’s not just township fire departments that benefit from the tax revenue. After requests are filled, any leftover revenue is distributed to city, town and county public safety agencies, so representatives from these agencies on the committee are also weighing their needs. County councilwoman and committee member Cheryl Munson said, for example, the county is responsible for the sheriff’s department and the courts.
Munson said she is concerned by the size of the dispatch budget because of its potential impact on other agencies. For example, Sheriff Brad Swain said his department was hoping to increase the number of deputies by 10 over two years. Swain said that effort entails purchasing equipment, such as vehicles.
“I am concerned that I am going to be punished for trying to have a realistic projection,” Swain said Tuesday night. “I appreciate everything that we need to do for the dispatch center, but I certainly don’t want — because I wanted to be responsible and realistic — that I would lose any of the personnel that we had targeted for because I chose to spread that out over two years instead of the first year.”
The new tax went into effect last October.
For 2017, the public safety local income tax brought in around $7.5 million, with 29 percent of the revenue going to the central dispatch center for its operations. After funding was distributed to township fire departments, about $4.9 million was divided among the city, county and towns within Monroe County — Bloomington received $2.4 million, while the county’s share was $2.3 million, the town of Ellettsville received around $139,000 and Stinesville received $859.
Need among fire departments
Equipment and staffing were among this year’s requests from six township fire departments that have made it to the committee.
City councilwoman and committee member Allison Chopra said there was a request from the Ellettsville Fire Department, but because it was not received by the deadline, it cannot be considered. Combined, township fire department officials are asking for around $900,000 in funding from the public safety local income tax. Last year, their combined request was for around $1.3 million.
Among the requests is a petition from the Northern Monroe County Fire Protection Territory for $50,000 on behalf of Washington Township to assist with the construction of a new fire station in the township.
However, some township department requests, such as replacement of self-contained breathing apparatuses, potentially could be funded from other sources. Many departments originally obtained their equipment with a countywide grant. Joel Bomgardner, Northern Monroe County Fire Protection Territory chief, said there is currently a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant application out for replacement of breathing devices.
“It is a competitive grant,” Bomgardner said. “There is no guarantee that it will come to fruition. I can tell you it has not yet been denied. So that, in and of itself, is good news.”
Here is a breakdown of the departments’ 2018 requests for public safety local income tax dollars:
Bean Blossom Township Stinesville Volunteer Fire Department Inc.
Turnout gear (10): $25,000
Station repairs: $15,000
Storage shelter: $10,000
Medical and EMS training supplies: $6,000
Personnel (part-time, two people): $58,240
Public safety vest and lights: $1,200
Dump tank: $1,600
Fire prevention education: $1,500
Total: $118,540.
Benton Township of Monroe County Volunteer Fire Department Inc.
Self-contained breathing apparatuses (eight): $65,824
Total: $65,824.
Indian Creek Firefighters Inc.
Firefighters/EMT (part-time, one new position and one to maintain staffing): $28,100
Extrication equipment: $25,000
Thermal camera (1): $6,000
EMR/EMT class: $2,200
Total: $61,300.
Northern Monroe County Fire Protection Territory
Washington Township Fire Station: $50,000
Self-contained breathing apparatuses (25): $22,500
Outfitting apparatuses with lettering, lighting and affiliated equipment: $25,000
Total: $97,500.
Perry-Clear Creek Fire Protection District
Firefighters/EMTs (six part-time): $263,520
FICA for positions: $16,338.24
Medicare: $3,821.04
Total: $283,679.28.
Van Buren Township Fire Department
Firefighters/EMTs: $126,000
Insurance/benefits: $72,000
Fire helmets: $2,500
Emergency medical products: $1,500
Annual apparatus service: $3,500
Fire gear: $21,000
Extrication equipment: $50,000
Total: $276,500.
Grand total: $903,343.28
More money
Local volunteer fire departments are among 53 departments throughout the state to receive a portion of more than $250,000 in Volunteer Fire Assistance grants.
The Northern Monroe County Fire Territory received $2,039 in the water handling category, and Perry-Clear Creek Fire Protect District received $3,868 in the wildland category, respectively, as part of the awards.
The Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry administers the grants that are made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Forest Service. According to a news release, grants ranged from $721 to $5,000 and can be used for training, installation of dry hydrants or purchase of firefighting equipment and gear to combat wildland fires.
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