Plan on fire merge may take years

The leading consolidation planner and Evansville's fire chief do not envision beginning a study of fire protection issues in a merged government until that government is in place.

"The way I see it, the most we could do is to make the recommendation to conduct that study as part of our plan," said Rebecca Kasha, chairwoman of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Reorganization Committee.

Kasha, who estimates such a study would take two years to complete, said the reorganization committee should not recommend the hiring of any company to do the study.

"We would be disbanded probably before the study would be completed, so they couldn't present it to us," she said.

The study — the fire protection component of consolidation — would examine ways Vanderburgh County's urban and suburban fire departments could work more efficiently together.

City Fire Chief Keith Jarboe produced an eight-page "scope of work for a cooperative services feasibility analysis" that was bid by Emergency Services Consulting International at $78,624. But there is no commitment to that company or that price.

"I don't have that kind of funding in my budget at this time, and I know the suburban departments have indicated they don't have that kind of funding in their budgets," Jarboe said.
City and county governments are poised to kick in more than $100,000 to support the committee charged with crafting a proposal for government consolidation.

The County Commissioners has approved a contract to put up as much as $30,000 for legal counsel for the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Reorganization Committee. Commissioners Steve Melcher, Troy Tornatta and Lloyd Winnecke also voted to seek another $5,000 earmarked for administrative support.

The commissioners' action comes with the understanding that Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel soon will ask the City Council to pay another $30,000 for legal services. That would send a total of $60,000 to local law firm Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn and the Indianapolis firm Krieg DeVault, which were chosen by the reorganization committee after it heard bids from several firms in late March.

The City Council also may agree to put up another $5,000 for administrative support for the reorganization committee, bringing that total to $10,000.

In addition, on June 29 County Attorney Ted Ziemer Jr. plans to present the County Commissioners with a contract for an amount not to exceed $38,500 to pay for services provided by public accounting and consulting firm Crowe Horwath. The city would pay half of that amount as well.

The 2006 legislation that creates a framework for local governments to merge allows financial compensation to service providers.

"The reorganizing political subdivisions shall provide necessary office space, supplies and staff to the reorganization committee," it states. "The reorganizing political subdivisions may employ attorneys, accountants, consultants, and other professionals for the reorganization committee."

Mike Schopmeyer, a partner at Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn, said the $60,000 maximum fee for legal counsel was negotiated.

"Let me assure you that (Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn and Krieg DeVault) will put a lot more time than that into this, based on what we've done so far," Schopmeyer said with a chuckle.

Ziemer told the commissioners that is entirely possible. The law firms' contract calls for legal advice and research to be billed at a rate of $250 per hour.

"If (the law firms put in) $100,000 worth of time, they'll only charge $60,000," Ziemer said.

Schopmeyer said his firm currently has no contracts with city or county government other than to act as counsel for the County Council, county government's fiscal body. The firm has held contracts to advise the executive branches of city and county government.

No date has been set for City Council consideration of the consolidation contract funding requests, but the County Council is set to consider them at its July 7 meeting.
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