By Ken de la Bastide
The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON, Ind. — Several local towns and townships are considering becoming a part of the South Madison Fire Protection Territory.
Adams Township, Stony Creek Township, Markleville, Lapel and Ingalls are 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.
“All three departments will merge together,” said Chris Nodine, chief of the South Madison Fire Territory. “Having the stations in Stony Creek and Adams townships help a bunch.”
Nodine said he’s confident the expansion of the territory will be approved.
“We will be hiring a bunch of firefighters in 2026, 2027 and 2028,” he said. “Right now we’re trying to keep everybody informed.”
Greg Valentine, a trustee for Green Township, said three public meetings are required by the state.
There are meetings scheduled for 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday at the Lapel Elementary School and on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. at Pendleton Heights High School.
Valentine said expanding the fire territory would allow the organization to capture the assessed value in all the political subdivisions.
“Over the past 18 months we have hired 23 full-time firefighters,” he said. “We plan to hire nine more in January and six in June.”
Valentine said a problem is recruiting volunteers for the departments.
“The fire territory has been running all the ambulance runs in Adams Township for some time,” he said.
Valentine said all the government entities involved in the expansion of the fire territory must vote unanimously for the merger.
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 per $100 of assessed value in 2026, 75 cents in 2027 and 87 cents in 2028.
Valentine said both Stony Creek and Adams Township already have fire stations.
He said there is a station in Ingalls with three full-time firefighters, a new ambulance and truck.
Valentine said both Adams and Stony Creek townships have equipment that is in good condition.
Earlier this year, the town of Lapel took the first step toward a possible merger.
Town Council President Chad Blake said Stony Creek Township manages the local fire department.
He said both the town and township will have to vote to merge with South Madison after a series of public meetings.
Blake said the Stony Creek / Lapel Fire Territory has been in place for 13 years. He acknowledged that the department has been losing volunteers as costs increase.
“There is no way to raise the money to make the fire department full-time,” Blake said. “We would have a full-time fire department and ambulance in Lapel .”
Blake said a full-time fire department would lower the cost of homeowner insurance premiums.
He said property owners currently at the 1% cap for property taxes would see a minimal impact.
Blake said the other taxing entities in the fire territory would pay the difference for the merged fire department based on a formula set by the Indiana State Board of Accounts.
Terry Wilson, a member of the Stony Township Advisory Board, said it wasn’t an easy decision.
“Most of the southern and western part of the county would be in the fire territory,” Wilson said. “We need to do something.”
Stony Creek and Lapel would continue to own the existing fire station and equipment. South Madison would provide staffing and pay operating costs.
If the merger takes place, Lapel and Stony Creek would have two appointments to the nine-member board that oversees 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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