WEBVTT 00:00:05.506 --> 00:00:15.646 - Well, we'll just roll without it. You've all heard this already. I'll be very brief. If you do have 00:00:15.646 --> 00:00:25.785 - any new questions, please let me know. I'm Brandon Scruggs with Baker Tilley. All right, so what is 00:00:25.785 --> 00:00:33.694 - a fire territory? A fire territory is really a funding mechanism so that your 00:00:33.858 --> 00:00:40.489 - Fire protection service area has reliable funding. And it's basically to the consolidation of two units, 00:00:40.489 --> 00:00:46.931 - whether it be township, two municipalities in this case, as you know, it's a town and a township. And 00:00:46.931 --> 00:00:53.499 - we're also spreading the cost of fire services over a large area in order to make it fair and equitable 00:00:53.499 --> 00:00:55.646 - for all people receiving service. 00:00:57.602 --> 00:01:04.266 - If you're following along page three, there's a process. We are in the third of three public hearings 00:01:04.266 --> 00:01:11.061 - on the fire territory. As Paige mentioned, this is also the public hearing on the equipment replacement 00:01:11.061 --> 00:01:17.791 - fund. So today would also be time to ask questions about that. We'll move on to the potentially to the 00:01:17.791 --> 00:01:23.998 - adoption of the fire territory or the vote on March 25, which is in two weeks. Following that, 00:01:24.290 --> 00:01:32.014 - the if it's approved it would be forwarded onto the state for approval by the state for the levy for 00:01:32.014 --> 00:01:40.045 - the operating fund as well as the levy for or the rate for the equipment replacement fund. The two units 00:01:40.045 --> 00:01:47.845 - involved in this are Ellisville and Richland. Ellisville is going to be the provider unit as you know 00:01:47.845 --> 00:01:51.134 - and the first year the levy would be 2027. 00:01:55.138 --> 00:02:03.576 - Current funding for fire for Ellisville is about 1.5 million and for the township it's about 1 million, 00:02:03.576 --> 00:02:12.095 - comes to a total of 2.6. There's a little bit of difference in the tax rates. Township is about 14 cents 00:02:12.095 --> 00:02:20.533 - and Ellisville is about 18 or 19 cents if you round up. Moving on to the budget, for 2027 the operating 00:02:20.533 --> 00:02:23.454 - budget would be about $3.8 million. 00:02:23.810 --> 00:02:32.537 - And then the equipment replacement fund is just based off of what revenues generated with that 33 cent 00:02:32.537 --> 00:02:41.180 - tax rate, yeah, which is about $505,000. Next, we're on slide 10 now. This is a cash flow of the fire 00:02:41.180 --> 00:02:49.992 - territory. Really what you wanna get from this is that in total for 2027, the new tax rate for the fire 00:02:49.992 --> 00:02:52.958 - territory would be about 27 cents. 00:02:53.154 --> 00:03:00.214 - That'll make more sense on a later slide as we compare it to the current rates. Right now, so any debt 00:03:00.214 --> 00:03:07.069 - that's outstanding with the town currently would stay with the town. As you know, there's currently 00:03:07.069 --> 00:03:14.335 - an aerial ladder truck that will, again, stay over the taxpayers in Ellsville. It will not be distributed 00:03:14.335 --> 00:03:17.214 - or added on to the taxes of the township. 00:03:17.570 --> 00:03:25.027 - and then in future years, the fire territory could choose to issue new debt, but there's no plans for 00:03:25.027 --> 00:03:32.557 - that at this time. On to the next slide. So that tax rate of 27 cents that I mentioned comes into play 00:03:32.557 --> 00:03:40.015 - here. You'll see for Richland Township that you would be reducing the 14 cent or removing the 14 cent 00:03:40.015 --> 00:03:46.302 - tax rate for fire and adding on the 27 cents for an overall impact or increase of 8%. 00:03:46.882 --> 00:03:55.113 - And for Ellisville town, it would be an overall increase of 4%. And that's just because you're removing 00:03:55.113 --> 00:04:03.028 - a larger tax rate. On to the next slide, there's some examples of how different properties would be 00:04:03.028 --> 00:04:11.576 - impacted. So for $150,000 home, Richland Township property owners would see about an $80 increase annually, 00:04:11.576 --> 00:04:13.950 - which is about seven monthly. 00:04:14.370 --> 00:04:23.121 - in Ellitsville properties would be about $55 annual increase, which is about $4.50 monthly. The properties 00:04:23.121 --> 00:04:31.463 - in Ellitsville would not be impacted if the value is over $228,000. That's because they're already at 00:04:31.463 --> 00:04:39.887 - the caps, so their taxes wouldn't go up. For a median home in Richland Township of about $293,500, you 00:04:39.887 --> 00:04:44.222 - could anticipate taxes to go up about $193 annually. 00:04:44.482 --> 00:04:52.246 - And that's because the property owners in Richland are not yet at the tax caps. On to the next slide, 00:04:52.246 --> 00:04:59.933 - there's other types of properties. All 2% properties in Ellisville are at the caps, so they wouldn't 00:04:59.933 --> 00:05:07.620 - see any property tax increases. However, the Richland Township 2% properties are not at the cap. So, 00:05:07.620 --> 00:05:14.014 - for example, $100,000 agricultural land would see about $130 tax increase annually. 00:05:15.266 --> 00:05:22.861 - Commercial properties, no properties in Ellitsville or Richland are at the cap for commercial or 3% 00:05:22.861 --> 00:05:30.608 - properties, so they would see the full impact of the tax rate increase. There's also impacts on other 00:05:30.608 --> 00:05:38.202 - overlapping units. So I believe all of you know, but just a quick reminder, property tax caps limit 00:05:38.202 --> 00:05:44.734 - how much you can pay on property taxes. They're based on one, two, and 3% properties. 00:05:44.994 --> 00:05:51.573 - and they're based on gross assessed value. So if you have $100,000 home, you would pay a max of 1% of 00:05:51.573 --> 00:05:58.216 - the gross assessed value, which would be a maximum of $1,000. So that's something to take into account 00:05:58.216 --> 00:06:04.923 - when considering whether or not you're gonna see a tax rate increase. And those circuit breaker credits 00:06:04.923 --> 00:06:11.566 - that go up would again have an impact on overlapping taxing units. You can see that on the next slide. 00:06:11.566 --> 00:06:13.630 - The details are in the handout. 00:06:13.826 --> 00:06:21.163 - If you have any questions about that, please let us know. I'm not going to go over that in detail as 00:06:21.163 --> 00:06:28.499 - you've heard it before. On to local income tax. So again, I want to go through this quickly, but one 00:06:28.499 --> 00:06:35.763 - thing worth noting is that the short legislative session has ended and they did choose to move back 00:06:35.763 --> 00:06:43.390 - the lit changes a year, which means the current income tax structure is going to stay in place for 2028. 00:06:43.842 --> 00:06:52.039 - rather than ending at December 31 of 27. So really it's just put everything that's in this report is 00:06:52.039 --> 00:07:00.236 - accurate. It's just moved back a year because they need more time to come up with the adjusted gross 00:07:00.236 --> 00:07:08.676 - income in different municipalities. If you have any detailed questions on that, we'd be happy to answer 00:07:08.676 --> 00:07:12.734 - them. There are impacts again to local income tax 00:07:13.154 --> 00:07:20.761 - And those are shared on pages 24, 25, and 26. Again, in the handout, if you have any detailed questions, 00:07:20.761 --> 00:07:28.224 - we're happy to answer them. And then moving on to vehicle excise tax. At this point, you all know what 00:07:28.224 --> 00:07:35.686 - that is. There's gonna be some impacts to that as well. Again, shown in the report. Please let us know 00:07:35.686 --> 00:07:40.830 - if you have any questions. That's it. Does anybody have any questions? 00:07:45.890 --> 00:07:53.712 - We know online. Thank you very much. Would you like to go next? So in order to establish the fire protection 00:07:53.712 --> 00:08:00.887 - territory, there are some reservations in case the township ordinances in the case of the town need 00:08:00.887 --> 00:08:08.207 - to be considered and passed. And you are slated to consider those at its next meeting, which is March 00:08:08.207 --> 00:08:13.086 - 25th. And so what you have before you are drafts of five documents. 00:08:13.218 --> 00:08:19.605 - The first is an ordinance to be passed by the town to establish the fire protection territory and to 00:08:19.605 --> 00:08:26.309 - adopt the Elksville Richland Township Fire Protection Territory Agreement. The second one is a resolution 00:08:26.309 --> 00:08:32.697 - to be passed by the township. The statute requires them to be substantially similar, but essentially 00:08:32.697 --> 00:08:39.084 - each of those documents simply says, yes, we want to enter into this agreement, and yes, we're going 00:08:39.084 --> 00:08:42.942 - to establish an agreement for the fire protection territory. 00:08:43.362 --> 00:08:49.386 - Then the third document you have is the actual fire protection territory unit, which I know is a little 00:08:49.386 --> 00:08:55.758 - lengthy, so I'll just summarize it. It's 14 pages long. But this document says, yes, we the two participating 00:08:55.758 --> 00:09:01.666 - units are going to establish the fire protection territory. The territory includes the unincorporated 00:09:01.666 --> 00:09:07.516 - area of Richland Township and the corporate limits of Ellsville. The town will be the provider unit. 00:09:07.516 --> 00:09:12.382 - The Ellsville Fire Department will continue to provide the services as it does now. 00:09:12.674 --> 00:09:19.881 - The services that the fire department provides to the original township and the town will be exactly 00:09:19.881 --> 00:09:27.016 - the same. There is a territory executive board, and the way I have it written, it's a draft. It can 00:09:27.016 --> 00:09:34.365 - be changed, but it establishes a five-member board. One, the township trustee will be a voting member, 00:09:34.365 --> 00:09:37.790 - town council president will be a voting member, 00:09:37.954 --> 00:09:43.751 - Township board voting member, an additional member of the town council will be a voting member, and 00:09:43.751 --> 00:09:49.316 - then one at-large member to be selected from the township who will be your fifth voting member. 00:09:49.316 --> 00:09:55.171 - The chief, the fire chief, will be a non-voting ex officio member. That board follows the same rules 00:09:55.171 --> 00:10:01.083 - as any other governmental entity with regard to the door log, posting notices and readings, executive 00:10:01.083 --> 00:10:06.880 - session, so on and so forth, subject to state order counts, Department of Local Government finance, 00:10:06.880 --> 00:10:07.518 - on and on. 00:10:08.898 --> 00:10:15.952 - The way I have it drafted is the executive board will release the first meeting on a quarterly basis 00:10:15.952 --> 00:10:23.424 - unless the board thinks that additional meetings are necessary. Again, just like the council and township, 00:10:23.424 --> 00:10:30.408 - you should post agendas, you need a quorum for a meeting, so on and so forth. The board will be the 00:10:30.408 --> 00:10:37.182 - one with the assistance of the fire chief. The department will suggest the budget, and the board 00:10:37.314 --> 00:10:45.260 - The executive board will come up with a budget and that will be provided to each of the township boards, 00:10:45.260 --> 00:10:53.508 - the township board and the town council for approval every year. The agreement also states that an equipment 00:10:53.508 --> 00:11:01.075 - replacement fund shall be established. There's a fire protection territory fund that's established. 00:11:01.075 --> 00:11:05.918 - There's language in the agreement stating that if either entity 00:11:06.306 --> 00:11:12.893 - either participating unit wants to withdraw, they can pass a resolution or ordinance after January 1st, 00:11:12.893 --> 00:11:19.291 - or before April 1st of every year. And that is a short summary of that agreement. And then the final 00:11:19.291 --> 00:11:25.815 - two documents that you have in front of you are the ordinance and the resolution to establish the Fire 00:11:25.815 --> 00:11:32.402 - Protection Territory Equipment Replacement Fund, which you will also vote on at the March 25th meeting, 00:11:32.402 --> 00:11:34.302 - and the Indiana Code requires 00:11:34.626 --> 00:11:41.531 - each entity to pass a resolution or ordinance to establish that fund. And that's what that two-page 00:11:41.531 --> 00:11:48.920 - document essentially says. And it states that the uniform property tax levy will be imposed on all taxable 00:11:48.920 --> 00:11:55.825 - property within the territory, and the rate shall not exceed 3 and 33 hundredths cents on each $100 00:11:55.825 --> 00:12:01.694 - of assessed valuation. Any questions? I know that's a lot. Questions from the board? 00:12:03.778 --> 00:12:12.845 - I guess one question I have is the executive board were controlled, essentially being the board of safety 00:12:12.845 --> 00:12:21.485 - for the nuclear mine. But since the chief and the assistant chief are appointees of the council, how 00:12:21.485 --> 00:12:30.466 - does that work? Well, what I think, what I put in there, Scott, was that the town council would continue 00:12:30.466 --> 00:12:33.118 - to be the public safety board. 00:12:33.314 --> 00:12:40.762 - The town council would be the public safety board. And that's in section, room number four, 00:12:40.762 --> 00:12:49.101 - on page five. The board would have the authority to recommend the removal of the chief if they thought 00:12:49.101 --> 00:12:57.440 - necessary, but that would still have to come before the town council and bystander. It would make sure 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:02.622 - the board started with the statute when we did this. Questions? 00:13:04.578 --> 00:13:11.331 - I don't have any questions, but I did want to point out that, excuse me, on page 4G, the quorum and 00:13:11.331 --> 00:13:18.151 - voting, I know that previously there was a conversation between if there were going to be a three or 00:13:18.151 --> 00:13:24.904 - a five member, so it does say the presence of two voting members of the board shall constitute one, 00:13:24.904 --> 00:13:31.454 - so yeah. Just need to change that. I'll change that. Any questions, other comments? Okay, again. 00:13:32.226 --> 00:13:38.772 - For those watching at home, these will appear before the individual boards at their next schedule meeting, 00:13:38.772 --> 00:13:44.889 - correct? March 25th. Yes, on March 25th. And I will be participating by Zoom. Mr. Cook will be here 00:13:44.889 --> 00:13:51.068 - in person. OK. And we may have a similar type of timeline. So if there are changes to be made to the 00:13:51.068 --> 00:13:57.430 - increments or the importance of the resolution, that means I can make those changes and email them back 00:13:57.430 --> 00:13:59.326 - for signature, because I think 00:13:59.746 --> 00:14:29.342 - Where would you like to go next at this point? Questions from counseling or any comments 00:14:31.010 --> 00:14:37.950 - Anything from the public? Seeing nothing, no further objection, we'll stand adjourned.