MADISON TOWNSHIP — Citing several problems with the township’s 2020 financial report, members of the Madison Township Advisory Board declined to approve it.

The board held a two-hour meeting Wednesday night at the township’s fire station on Landersdale Road.

While no money is unaccounted for at the township, board chairman Larry Ellis and members Jim Johnson and Amy Russell were not happy with the way some items were accounted for last year.

The board reviewed the 31-page report line by line.

Part of the problem was the township lost its clerk well into 2020.

Denise McClure has been hired to do the job.

McClure told board members that while she has experience in accounting, she is unfamiliar with the bookkeeping system used by the township.

In 2020, the township received funding to help pay for expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and there were questions about how the funding was accounted for.

There were several voided checks from 2020 and questions on why the checks were voided and how the money was replaced back into the township’s accounts.

A member of the audience questioned why some checks were written in 2021 with 2020 dates on them.

Several expenses for 2020 were questioned. Some expenses were for ongoing improvements to the two fire stations the township has.

After more than a hour of discussion, the board voted 3-0 to not approve the report. The financial report will now be sent to the state without board approval

Township trustee Scott McDonough and McClure said they will work to get the answers to the questions the board had before the next meeting.

McClure said anyone with questions about the township’s financial report may call her at the clerk’s office at 317-834-6027.

Fire chief questioned

In 2019, the township’s fire department received approval from the board for its capitol improvements plan.

One section of that plan called for the replacement of vehicles used by the department’s battalion chiefs.

One vehicle was to be replaced in 2020 if there was funding in the cumulative fire fund available for it.

According to township fire chief Mike Lang, there was funds available for the vehicle so the department purchased it.

Lang said it would be replacing a 10-year-old vehicle, which would be used as a pool car.

Board members felt that Lang should have informed them of his intent to purchase the vehicle.

They felt that since the fire department was planning to purchase new radios and medical equipment with funding from the cumulative fire fund, the vehicle’s purchase should have been delayed.

As for the new radios and medical equipment, the board discussed the purchasing and financing of the equipment.

Lang said the current radios are no longer made by the company.

He said anytime one has to be repaired, it is sent out of state to a repair facility, which has to wait for used parts to become available before the radio can be repaired.

He said the department has used those radios for more than 10 years.

The new radios would come from Motorola.

The department will be purchasing 40 portable radios and 14 base units.

With supporting equipment and programming, the total cost will be around $245,000.

Lang said the department has the same problems with their medical monitor/defibrillators.

The current monitors are more than 10 years old and are no longer maintained by the company.

Lang said the three new monitors/defibrillators along with the 14 new AEDs will cost around $133,300.

The chief said he had found a place, Republic First National, that had the best terms for a loan for the purchase of the equipment.

Lang said the loan would be for $365,000 for five years.

The township would have to make two payments a year of around $40,000 each.

The interest rate would not be more than 3.99 percent per year.

The money for the loan would come from the cumulative fire fund.

Lang said they should be able to make the equipment last for at least 10 years.

Board members approved the purchase of the equipment and the loan to pay for it.

They did caution the chief that for the next five years, nearly half of the money the township receives for the cumulative fire fund would be used to pay the loan.

No big hits for township relief

McDonough said at this time, the requests for help from residents has not jumped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said there are other places for people to get financial assistance.

The trustee said he does not plan to open the office until the county opens its offices.

He said the township will follow what the county does when it comes to reopening.

At the end of the meeting, board members said they would like to see better coordination between the departments and the board.

The want everyone to “be on the same page” when it comes to making decisions.

They asked Lang about revisiting his capitol improvement plan to see if changes should be made.

The board has not schedule a meeting for March.

~ By Keith Rhoades | Reporter | Published February 26, 2021 in The Reporter Times

MADISON TOWNSHIP — Members of the Madison Township Board held their first meeting of 2021 to reorganize the board. Larry Ellis was elected chairman and Jim Johnson was elected secretary.

Board members asked township trustee Scott McDonough if he could get information they would be voting on a week ahead of time so they could review it.

McDonough said he would try but sometimes items come in late.

A lady in the audience asked if the board would be electing a finance committee chairman.

McDonough responded the township has no investments and that all their money is in a bank.

After the meeting, several members of the public stayed to discuss items with both the board and trustee.

One person asked if the township’s web site could be updated. They asked if the minutes of the meetings could be posted on it. The trustee said at some point in time, the township’s new clerk would be posting that information.

There were also comments on the agreement the township has entered with Morgan County to provide ambulance coverage to Harrison Township.

One person asked if, once the construction of I-69 is finished, if the township could be contracted to cover Harrison Township.

Currently, the Harrison Township Fire District contracts with the Bargersville Fire Department to cover the township.

McDonough and board members said that was something they would look into.

McDonough told board members he may be asking for them to consider changes in pay for some fire department employees.

He noted there is a need to fill some vacant positions in the department.

Board members decided to meet at 7 p.m. on an as needed basis and not have a set specific meeting dates for the rest of the year.

~ By Keith Rhoades | Reporter | Published January 8, 2021 in The Reporter Times

MADISON TOWNSHIP — Madison Township will temporarily provide EMS service to Harrison Township after the Madison Township Board approved an agreement Tuesday night.

Madison Township Fire Chief Mike Lang told members of the township board that Morgan County Commissioner Ryan Goodwin and county administrator Josh Messmer approached the township’s fire department this past summer to ask that it help provide EMS service to Harrison Township during the construction of Interstate 69.

Currently, Morgan County EMS provides EMS service to Harrison Township — but the construction of the interstate will likely make it difficult for crews to arrive to an emergency situation quickly in the township.

Lang noted that the agreement between Madison Township and the county is “almost identical” to a countywide mutual-aid agreement.

“What they are asking us to do is relocate our medic truck, which is right now stationed here at Station 32,” Lang said. “They are asking us to put it at Station 31 for a period of 12 to 18 months during the construction process when (Ind.) 37 will be shut down.”

Station 31 is located along Kitchen Road, just south of Ind. 144, while Station 32 is located on Landersdale Road, between Slideoff and Paddock roads.

According to Lang, moving the primary medic truck, as well as the paramedic to staff it, to Station 31 locates it in the middle of Madison Township, and makes it more accessible to Harrison Township.

The county will provide Madison Township with $48,000 per year to help provide EMS services to Harrison Township.

“So, essentially, we already have a mutual aid that says we’re supposed go over there if we are called,” Madison Township Trustee Scott McDonough said. “So, now this is an opportunity for us to get paid additional funds to help offset our cost on that.”

Bargersville Fire Department currently provides fire services in Harrison Township, and Lang said that Bargersville would provide “first response EMS.”

“They just don’t have a transporting unit at Station 202,” Lang said.

Lang also noted that Harrison Township has about 120 runs per year, and that the township would have the ability to bill patients for many of those runs.

The agreement will go into affect on Jan. 1, 2021.

The Madison Township Board unanimously approved the agreement, 3-0.

Fire Chief report

Lang noted that in 2019, the township fire department responded to 822 calls.

“As of today, we are at 1,057,” Lang said Tuesday night. “Our fire runs are up from 245 last year to 369 so far this year.”

The department’s ambulance calls are at 688 so far this year, up from 577 in 2019.

Lang also reported that EMS revenue this year is up more than $57,000 more than what was projected for 2020.

With the extra revenue for EMS services, and the $48,000 from the county, Lang asked that the board consider giving hourly firefighters a raise of 50 cents per hour, instead of the 25 per hour.

“We are now comfortable with our revenue numbers on both EMS and the interlocal agreement that we would be able to fund that extra quarter per hour,” Lang said.

The township board approved the salary increase for the firefighters unanimously, 3-0.

The next meeting of the Madison Township Board is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at Madison Township Station 32, 7047 E. Landersdale Road, Camby.

~ By Lance Gideon | Reporter | Published December 25, 2020 in The Reporter Times

Former Madison Township Board member James Johnson is back on the board after being selected by the six township precinct committeemen Wednesday night to fill the spot of former board member Angela Turley.

Turley resigned from the board in October.

She, along with current board member Amy Russell, defeated Johnson in the 2018 election.

Johnson has previously served on the board.

He replaced board member Kelly Alcala, who resigned from the board to be the township’s clerk.

Alcala, herself, recently resigned from that position.

It took three rounds of votes by the committeemen before Johnson received the four votes necessary to secure the position.

James Dallas Hayden had submitted his name for consideration for the position.

Both candidates each received three votes in the first two rounds.

On the third vote, Johnson received four votes, while Hayden received two.

Had neither candidate received a majority of the votes, it would have been up to Morgan County Republican Chairman Daniel Elliott to break the tie.

Before the vote, both men had a chance to address the committeemen.

Hayden said he and his family had moved to Madison Township around seven months ago.

Hayden, who is a deputy sheriff, said he wanted to make sure the township was able to provide service to its residents.

Johnson said he wanted to keep the residents in mind when preparing the township’s annual budget.

He felt it was not the time to be raising taxes on residents.

Johnson will be sworn in at the next board meeting.

He joins Larry Ellis and Russell on the board. Scott McDonough is the Madison Township Trustee.

Future caucuses

Elliott said he has four more positions to fill before the end of the year.

There are two spots open on the county council, one spot on the Mooresville Town Council and one spot open on the Brown Township Advisory Board.

Elliott said he plans to hold multiple caucuses on Dec. 10 at the Morgan County Administration Building, 180 S. Main St., Martinsville, to fill those positions.

Bryan Collier, who represents District 1 on county council, was recently elected to the Morgan County Board of Commissioners and Collier’s council seat will be open.

The spot held by District Four representative Dave Zoller became open after his passing and will have to be filled.

Jessica Hester’s resignation from the Mooresville Town Council will have to be filled.

The Brown Township Advisory Board also has an opening after Christopher Hester’s recent resignation.

~ By Keith Rhoades | Reporter | Published November 27, 2020 in The Reporter Times

MADISON TOWNSHIP — Madison Township has a budget for 2021.

According to township trustee Scott McDonough, next year’s budget is $20,000 less than the 2020 budget.

The total 2021 budget is $2,072,870, which includes $160,027 for township expenses, $38,616 for township assistance, $1,550,000 for the fire department, $160,227 fire equipment debit and $164,000 for cumulative fire fund.

Madison Township Fire Chief Mike Lang said his 2021 budget has remained the same for three years. The only thing the department has done is move some amounts around in the various line items.

Township board member Larry Ellis questioned why the department still had $18,000 budgeted for professional services when there are no pending legal matters.

The township spent around $11,000 this year attempting to create a fire territory with Madison and Harrison townships.

McDonough said the township may need the money for services other than legal next year.

He went on to say the township’s clerk, Kelly Alcala, had turned in her resignation letter and that Oct. 31 would be her last day.

McDonough went on to note that Alcala did not give a reason.

The trustee said the township has someone who is now learning the job.

McDonough said the person wanted time to see what the job involved before committing to it full time.

The trustee said there is also a dispute now that may require the township to go to court to get resolved.

If that happens, he said the township will need to have an attorney represent it.

That argument did not change Ellis’s mind, as he continued to push to have the amount reduced.

Board member and chairman Angela Turley was not at the meeting.

Amy Russell chaired the meeting.

She made a motion to approve the budget.

The vote was 2-1 to approve the budget with Russell voting for approval and Ellis voted against.

The trustee voted to break the tie and voted to approve.

After the meeting, McDonough said Turley had sent him an email Wednesday night in which she resigned from the board effect immediately.

He said she did not give a reason.

Other business.

Lang said the department’s EMS runs are up over last year.

He said at this time, revenue was also up over last year.

Lang said the COVID-19 pandemic had caused their overtime budget to go up as they had people off due to the virus.

~ By Keith Rhoades | Reporter | Published October 23, 2020 in The Reporter Times

CAMBY — Madison Township resident Rick Harrison received an apology of sorts after Thursday night’s Madison Township board meeting.

Harrison was the person escorted by law enforcement out of a township meeting earlier this year.

The apology came from board chairman Angela Turley after Thursday’s meeting was over.

Harrison, however, said the apology should have come from the board member who had him removed, Amy Russell.

It was an end to a meeting that had several people, both board members and the public, at odds over the proposed 2021 township budget.

The total township budget for next year is around $2,073,000 which — according to township trustee Scott McDonough — is about the same amount for 2020.

According to township clerk Kelly Alcala, the money in the accounts was moved around, but the total amount stayed the same.

The meeting Thursday night was the public hearing on the proposed budget.

It did not go well.

Lack of advertisement

Board member Larry Ellis said he felt there could be more cuts made to the budget. He felt the township had too much budgeted for legal expenses. He asked McDonough about getting copies of the township’s legal expenses for this year and last year.

Alcala said she had already given the copies to Ellis’ wife and she hoped his wife would share them with Ellis.

Turley said the board would be making decisions on cuts to the budget at its next meeting.

There was also a brief discussion on the 2021 salary ordinance.

McDonough said the board will have to decide on raises when it approves a salary ordinance later this year. Ellis said he felt that since the fire department did not get raises, the officials should not either.

Ellis’ wife, Trudy, wanted to know why the budget had not been published in the newspaper.

She said she tried to find it on the state’s Gateway website, and was unsuccessful.

That sparked a long discussion on the changes to state law on advertising budgets, which is no longer required, and questions of when the clerk submitted the budget to the state.

One person in the audience was able to find the budget under “Budget notices” on the state website.

Alcala said she waited before posting the budget because the township was working on it up to the last minute to make sure it had accurate budget figures for the year.

After the budget discussion was done, Larry Ellis said he wanted to discuss the meeting that Harrison was ejected from.

He said said people were still talking about it and he wanted answers as to why Harrison was removed. He said it put a “bad light on the board,” and the board members “need to resolve it.”

Trudy Ellis said there was a recording of the meeting and, according to her, Harrison is not heard saying anything bad to the board.

“He as the freedom of speech,” Trudy said.

She said there was no record at the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office on the incident.

Larry Ellis said everyone he had talked to told him they never heard Harrison say anything bad.

During a break in the discussion, Turley made a motion to adjourn the meeting.

It was seconded by Russell with the vote ending 2-1 with Ellis voting against.

As everybody got up to leave, Turley looked at Harrison and said “I apologize for it.”

The Madison Township Board will meet again to approve the 2021 budget at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22, the fire station located at 7047 E. Landersdale Rd., Camby.

~ By Keith Rhoades | Reporter | Published October 5, 2020 in The Reporter Times

MADISON TOWNSHIP — Taxing units throughout the state of Indiana are working on their 2021 budgets, and some are farther along in the process than others.

While some units are getting ready to approve their respective budgets, others are just beginning to advertise the 2021 budgets.

Recently, Madison Township advertised a $2.073 million budget for 2021 — a slight decrease from its 2020 advertised budget of $2.093 million.

According to Indiana Gateway, which is used by taxing units to advertise budgets, Madison Township has advertised $1.55 million for its Fire fund for 2021, the same amount that was budgeted for 2020.

The township has also advertised $164,000 for its Cumulative Fire (township) fund, $160,227 for the Fire Equipment Debt fund, $160,027 for its General fund and $38,616 for the Township Assistance fund.

The township will hold a public budget hearing at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Madison Township Fire Station, 7047 E. Landersdale Rd., Camby.

An adoption meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22, at the same location.

~ Staff Report | Published September 29, 2020 in The Reporter Times