Residents urge town hall and more funding for volunteer fire crews; judge reports smaller recidivism drop from navigator work

Multiple residents used the public-comment period to press county leaders on community engagement and public safety funding and to report local criminal-justice data.

A public commenter invited council members to attend a Pulaski County town hall planned for Saturday, Sept. 6 at 10:30 a.m. at Celebration Station in Winamac, saying the event is intended to provide two-way dialogue between residents and local leaders.

Another resident urged the county to increase funding for volunteer fire departments, saying funding for volunteer firefighting has not increased in about 12 years and citing equipment costs. The commenter said turnout stipends in their area are very small — she cited $7 per call in one township — and listed per-firefighter gear costs of about $14,000 (approximately $4,000 for turnout gear plus about $10,000 for air packs). She said fire trucks can range from about $120,000 to $750,000 and above, and asked the council to consider increasing support.

Pulaski County Judge Crystal Coker provided a brief report on a navigator program serving justice-involved people. Coker said the navigator has served 25 people so far and that the county’s recidivism rate declined by about 5 percentage points in the period referenced (from a 2022 baseline figure reported earlier in the meeting). Coker also cited an estimated daily cost-savings figure of about $35 per day per person served, which she said would amount to roughly $30,000 over a year under the program scenarios discussed.

Ending: Council members acknowledged the town-hall invitation and said budgets would be discussed at the scheduled budget hearing. The public speakers asked for follow-up on volunteer fire funding and for the council to consider the longer-term budget implications raised by the judge’s report on navigation services.