Fort Wayne City Councilmen Russell Jehl, Nathan Hartman, and Scott Myers publicly discussed their ongoing concerns about the weakening of EMS services being provided to the citizens of Fort Wayne, created by the failure of Allen County and Fort Wayne elected officials to collaborate.
News release from the Fort Wayne City Council:
Fort Wayne City Council Members call for joint City-County task force for EMS services
Fort Wayne, Indiana (July 18, 2024) – Councilman Russell Jehl (R-2nd), Councilman Nathan Hartman (R-3rd), and Councilman Scott Myers (R-4th) publicly discussed their ongoing concerns about the weakening of EMS services being provided to the citizens of Fort Wayne, created by the failure of Allen County and Fort Wayne elected officials to collaborate.
With the establishment of the new County Fire Districts by the County Commissioners at the beginning of 2024, enough TRAA employees have been poached to substantively strain TRAA’s staffing, response abilities, and long-term outlook. These Fire Districts provide services exclusively to non-Fort Wayne residents. Also, the creation of the Fire Districts changed the local income tax formula and will directly deprive Fort Wayne over $1.3 million annually, making it even more difficult to financially address these challenges.
The County Commissioners, elected by all residents of the County, including those inside Fort Wayne’s boundaries, have dismissed those residents’ needs for reliable EMS service, leaving TRAA playing catch-up to the continuing cannibalization of staffing resources by the Fire Districts. TRAA is formed by an interlocal agreement between the City and County where both are co-equal stakeholders. The Commissioners make board appointments to TRAA, have a legal responsibility to TRAA, and bear these fiduciary responsibilities before their creation of the fire districts. However, repeated calls for the Commissioners to engage in good faith on a solution with City authorities has been met with more dismissals. TRAA simply cannot safely operate much longer without the cooperation of the County Commissioners.
Said Councilman Jehl, “When someone is experiencing a health emergency help needs to come quickly. The bickering between city and county officials is putting every life in Fort Wayne at risk. That’s not acceptable. We need to be having fruitful discussions committed to substantive changes—now.”
Councilman Myers expanded, “As a physician, my top concern is health and well-being. TRAA is a fully capable organization, but when the county Fire Districts continue to poach staff, TRAA cannot function at max efficiency. This would not be acceptable in any other business, and it is definitely not acceptable as best EMS practices.”
Councilman Hartman concluded, “We call on County officials to come together with City officials to work in good faith on a true, sustainable solution. The recent delays and lack of forward planning for the residents of Fort Wayne does nothing to move the solution forward, and waiting for the system to fall apart is not an option.”
A Joint Task Force focused on the needs of the entire community, factoring in all parts of the County, including Fort Wayne, and providing a system that ensures everyone in a medical emergency receives timely care, is the only right way to move forward. The Councilmembers originally submitted the Task Force proposal to the County Commissioners in March. After being rebuffed by the County Commissioners, the Councilmembers are introducing it as a Resolution to publicly call on the County Commissioner’s participation.
About a proposed task force: The purpose of this task force is to develop a sustainable funding model for all EMS providers in the Allen County, which also incorporates enhanced collaboration in other services such as mutual aid, unified dispatch, etc. This task force would include health system representatives, County EMS/Fire protection providers, Fort Wayne EMS/Fire protection providers, and others with knowledge of the systems and industry.
Related Images:
