INDIANAPOLIS — The merger of the Wayne Township Fire Department with the Indianapolis Fire Department has been called off.
In February, the Wayne Township Trustees voted unanimously to merge the township's fire department with IFD. But the timeline became problematic.
The city of Indianapolis, Wayne Township and Indianapolis Professional Firefighters Local 416 released the following statement:
“Over the last six months we’ve been discussing merging the Wayne Township Fire Department with the Indianapolis Fire Department. It has been an open and productive conversation that included deep dives into finances, operations, personnel, and the tax structures that support the fire protection services. However, given the complexity of this multi-million-dollar merger, all parties have agreed it will not be feasible to complete by January 1, 2025, as we had initially hoped and planned. For now, and for the foreseeable future, the Wayne Township Fire Department will remain its own entity providing fire services to Wayne Township residents.
We thank the teams from the City of Indianapolis, Wayne Township, Local 416 and both fire departments for their hard work on this merger and we look forward to continuing our long partnership to provide world-class fire protection to Indianapolis.”
Cost was the driving factor of the decision, according to Wayne Township Trustee Jeb Bardon.
“Wayne Township can no longer afford to maintain a standalone fire department. And, while we cannot go back and change the decisions of the past, we can secure a future where every Wayne Township resident continues to receive world-class fire and emergency medical protections — and that’s what happened tonight,” Bardon said after the vote to merge in February. “I want to thank the members of the board, the community as a whole and our team at Wayne Township for working through this difficult situation in a responsible, respectful way.”
The merger of Wayne Township EMS with IEMS has helped lessen the financial burden on the township.
A merger of Wayne Township's emergency medical services with IEMS has already happened. That merger could reduce the tax rate in Wayne Township by as much as 60%.
Combined with cost-cutting measures, a Wayne Township spokesperson said the fire department is now "on solid ground."
The department does not plan any layoffs or service cuts. In a letter going out to Wayne Township residents, Bardon said:
"With this decision made, we will now work to create a fire department budget for 2025, including beginning negotiations on a new contract for our union firefighters. Our focus will remain on continuing to provide world-class fire protection to the residents of Wayne Township."
Due to the complexity of the process of merging departments, Wayne Township leaders do not anticipate trying the merger again on a different timeline.