LOFS residents argue for increased fire service support

Residents on the Four Seasons Lakes side of Porter County – and some of their non-resident friends – listened to a speech about the financial needs of the Four Seasons Lakes volunteer fire force before a special meeting Thursday of the Porter County Board of Commissioners.

Board of Commissioners Chairman Jim Biggs, R-North, said there is no more funding available and he doesn’t believe key people in the fire department understand how the tax rate was set and what would allow it to be increased. He said the only way to raise more money would be to expand the physical size of the district.

“That’s what will be clarified at Thursday’s meeting, what the county can and can’t do,” Biggs said Tuesday. The next meeting was scheduled as the West Porter Township Fire Protection District seeks to finalize a 2026 contract with the fire department, which includes the Porter County side of LOFS as well as Winfield Township and the city of Winfield.

LOFSVFF leader Kevin Heerema said negotiations resulted in a deficit of $260,000. “We had hoped to increase it a little bit just to add an extra person at night,” Heerema said of next year’s proposed, slightly higher budget. There are currently four part-time first responders during the day and three at night. Heerema gave an overview of the situation from the department’s perspective during a Monday evening meeting at the LOFS Clubhouse.

Three of the WPTFPD board members were present, as well as board attorney Adam Sworden. He responded to board secretary Rob Rabelhofer’s statement at the meeting that the board had refused to complete a maximum drawdown request from the state to raise more funds. “We need statistical data. We need analytics,” he said.

“We started this in February,” said board president Craig Klauer. “We even made a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request. We didn’t get it,” Sworden added. He said the deadline for a maximum drawdown request was in August and the council had not received the requested documents.

“Oh, they got a lot from the FOIA request,” Heerema said when asked about it. “Everything they asked for in the FOIA request they received from our attorney.”

He said the FOIA request was received from Sworden on August 1. The fire department’s attorney, Nathan Vis, responded to the request within a week, according to Heerema, but requested an extension and provided the documents within a month.

Sworden provided a brief at Monday’s meeting that included a statement released Friday regarding a recent meeting between the district council and the department.

“The district’s takeaway from the meeting is that the department is unwilling to provide EMS services to the district unless additional funds are provided. Unfortunately for the district, it does not have the funds the department is seeking,” the statement said.

He goes on to say that the district is not willing to enter into a contract with the provision of EMS service. It also says the district is willing to incur $225,000, or $1,076 per call, compared to the $554 per call the city of Winfield currently pays.

“We have offered virtually all of our General Fund property tax dollars intended to ensure public safety. There are no additional funds available. While the City of Winfield is working to increase its funding levels for the fire force, it is still only paying $639.83 per call for 2026, which is still far from what we are paying,” the statement continued. “If the fire district paid the same ‘per call’ fee, we would only pay about $135,000.

As the debate over inequities of paying entities in the District continues, LOFS residents are concerned about response times if Northwest Health becomes the primary EMS responder for the District’s service area. Their two closest ambulance stations – one at the Union Township Fire Station and the other between Hebron and Kouts – are 15 minutes from LOFS.

“That 10 or 15 minutes scares me,” said Porter County LOFS resident John Dominikovich, who told the crowd he suffered a “massive” stroke and arrived for experimental surgery in Munster that saved his life with just 15 minutes to spare. “If I waited 15 more minutes, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Porter County Council Chairman Andy Vasquez, D-4th, told the crowd: “Basically the County Council takes care of your bills, except for this one. I’ve heard you for a long time. You’ve been extremely respectful today.”

He encouraged them all to attend Thursday’s meeting and bring more neighbors with them.

State Rep. Julie Olthoff’s district, R-Crown Point, includes LOFS, and she attended Monday’s meeting.

“We need to keep talking,” she said. “Tax rates are going to be fixed. The townships have been in trouble for four years in a row.”

Some in the room were concerned even though they don’t live on the Porter County side of LOFS.

“When Porter County loses something, Lake County will be next,” said Linda Vivirito, who has lived on the Lake County side of LOFS for 13 years. “If we don’t show up for our neighbors, Lake County will be next.”

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

If you leave

A meeting to address the issue will be held Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers of the Porter County Administration Building, located at 155 Indiana Ave. in Valparaiso. Doors open at 5 p.m.