South Madison County Fire Territory worried about funding after new property tax law

A new fire territory in Madison County that was intended to increase staffing and services is now worried about promised funding after the state’s new property tax rules are enacted.  IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports

Last February, five townships voted to join the South Madison County Fire Territory.  They also voted unanimously for a tax levy of 80 cents per $100 dollars of assessed value to help fund the expansion and improvements to fire and rescue services.

The new property tax law, referred to as Senate Bill 1 as it journeyed through the Statehouse, caps that levy at just 40 cents.

South Madison Fire Territory Chief Chris Nodine says the territory’s coverage area is just too big for that 40-cent levy to work.

“If you have two participating units, yeah, that 40 cents may work, but eight, it doesn’t work,” Nodine said. “And that’s where, we need to really concentrate is, you know, not all fire territories are the same.”

The language implementing the tax levy limit was originally proposed in House Bill 1402, which didn’t make it out of committee. The limit was then added to Senate Bill 1 days before it would be signed into law earlier this month.

Even though the communities merged into the South Madison County Fire Territory in February, the bill included that the levy limit was retroactive back to December 2024.

When the bill was signed, Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) said the new tax limits will cost local governments and schools up to $1.8 billion in funding over just the next three years.  To help balance that, the measure gives locals new income tax tools. 

Rep. Kyle Pierce (R-Anderson) represents the area.  He says there are still avenues for the fire territory to secure funding.

“They have the ability to go to LIT [local income tax] to ask for funding,” said Pierce. “That’s part of the shift that we’re talking about in SB 1, it’s trying to have it where government doesn’t have to be so reliant upon property tax.”

Nodine says he is waiting to hear back from his financial team about how to best move forward.

“It’s a chess match right now to see exactly what happens,” he said. 

Should the expansion go through, rural stations in the territory would be able to employee full-time firefighters, provide them with better equipment and give them retirement benefits.

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer.  Contact him at [email protected]