Floyd County commissioners approve ordinances to shrink three fire boards to five members and appoint new trustees

Floyd County commissioners on Feb. 11 approved three ordinances that reduce the membership of three township fire boards to five members and named trustees for each district.

The actions amend existing establishment documents for the New Albany Township Fire District, the Highlander Fire Protection District and the Georgetown Township Fire Protection District and were presented by County Attorney Christie Fox. The ordinances were a second reading and were approved by voice vote. A board member said the change is intended to improve quorum reliability and transparency by requiring each district to provide email addresses for board members and post meeting agendas online.

The ordinances will: streamline each fire board to five members to help ensure quorums for meetings; require board members to be provided a district email address and be listed on the county and district websites; and require monthly meetings and public posting of agendas in accordance with statute. A board member described the measures as “designed to ensure our fire boards are opening operating openly and transparently.”

Following passage of the ordinances, the commissioners nominated and approved five trustees for each district in separate motions. New Albany Township trustees approved were Colinue, Scott Sears, Ben Gipe, Gibb Kenny and Danny Jacobs. Highlander trustees approved were Matt Smith, Mike Nevin, Michael Bloom, Heather Schonkweiler and Bill Fender. Georgetown trustees approved were Michael Moody, David Fair, Jeffrey McNulty, Travis Sharp and Mark Ringenberg. Each slate was approved by voice vote.

The commissioners noted they had spoken with the presidents of each district board, and that each president had expressed support. The board chair said the appointed five members will be the voting membership, but that input from the public or previous board members is permissible at meetings; the chair asked the public to “give it a chance to work.”

The topic is part of a larger discussion about possible territory changes and future public hearings. Commissioners said there will be two additional public hearings and a later vote on whether to accept a proposed territory (sometimes described in the meeting as a “territory” or combined service area). One commissioner described the process as “more of a marriage than it is a merger,” saying it would allow existing districts to pool resources while preserving local structure.

A county commissioner also discussed the county’s broader emergency-services plans during the meeting, including work by an EMS advisory committee and task force to evaluate funding and delivery models. The commissioner said some districts face fiscal pressure — noting Highlander’s reported $2.3 million in debt — and described a proposal for a unified approach to fire and EMS as an attempt to standardize training, hiring and equipment across jurisdictions.

Public comment at the meeting included a petition and request regarding state authority to expand impact-fee use (see separate article). The commissioners encouraged residents to attend the upcoming public hearings on the fire territory proposal and noted meeting materials and recordings are available through the county’s streaming system.

Votes and formal trustee appointments were recorded by voice; the meeting transcript records voice approvals for each ordinance and each slate of trustee appointments.