Members of a Utica fire board who were suddenly removed this week ahead of a vote to create a fire territory with Jeffersonville are seeking legal action. If they’re successful, it’s possible the vote could still happen this month.
The Clark County Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to remove President Joe Jarles, Kelly Khuri and Randy Leverett from the Utica Township Fire Protection District board. They’ve so far named one new member.
It came one day ahead of a planned meeting with the Jeffersonville City Council to adopt the new fire territory, which would have bolstered fire protection in Jeffersonville, cemented coverage to Utica and Utica Township and included EMS.
Jarles said the board members believe that was “an illegal and improper dismissal,” and they’re moving forward with legal action.
“And we feel like we'll prevail,” Jarles said Thursday after a meeting that had been intended for the vote with Jeffersonville. “We think that the law is on our side. We think case law is on our side.”
Clark County Commissioners President Bryan Glover told LPM News early Thursday he was confident their actions were legal. “We know we were within the law,” he said. Glover reiterated that Friday when asked about the board members’ plans for litigation.
“The county commissioners feel 100% confident in the legal advice that we were given by our county attorney with 25 to 30 years of municipal experience,” he said. “We felt that we did what we need to do that was absolutely legal and absolutely right.”
The fire territory proposal, as written, has drawn criticism from some local officials who had concerns it would cut into their tax revenue. Others questioned the large territory budget and why they needed to include EMS coverage. Clark County government currently contracts with Heartland Ambulance Service to cover the entire county.
The county previously contracted with New Chapel EMS, which former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel operated. He’s currently serving time in prison, including for theft from New Chapel. Officials in Clark and Floyd counties brought in new EMS providers as the Noel investigation progressed.
Jarles said Noel’s actions, including theft of fire trucks, has meant the Utica Township doesn’t have enough money for effective fire protection. Jarles and the other board members have been tracking down information on what Noel did and where their equipment is. He said just this week, they’ve identified a ladder truck worth $400,000 that was stolen. They’re also already involved in litigation against Noel and others.
“There's been a lot of diligent time and research,” he said. “We would hate for the citizens of Utica and Clark County, and now even New Albany Township, to miss out on being able to recover that money.”
Jeffersonville has been serving the area under an automatic aid agreement since last year. Supporters say the fire territory would allow for better protection.
At the Thursday meeting when Jeffersonville City Council originally planned for the vote on the territory, Council President Evan Stoner said he was disappointed with the commissioners’ actions but said the communities need to work together to ensure public safety is a priority.
“While this decision is undoubtedly a setback, I remain hopeful that all of the River Ridge representatives, mayors, town managers, school superintendents, county commissioners and county council members that engaged during the public hearings stay true to their word that they are ready and willing to engage in meaningful dialogue and action planning to solve our fire coverage gaps and address the long term sustainability of EMS services,” he said.
Dustin White, the council member who brought the idea for the fire territory last year, said he hopes the removed board members take legal action.
“I would welcome that,” he said. “Because what happened to them is unfair. It’s disrespectful.”
The entities statutorily have until the end of the month to approve a territory for it to go into effect next year.
“I'm hoping that the, what I call, the legitimate members of the Utica Township Fire Protection board, do file suit and have a judicial order confirming their legitimacy as board members,” White said Thursday after the meeting. “And then we can have a meeting and get this done.”
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