FIRE COMPANY ADDRESSES CONFUSION OVER ICMESA

With the bills for the Indiana County Municipal Emergency Services Authority arriving in the mailboxes of residents in member communities, those who didn’t know about the new agency may be confused, prompting a Facebook post on Friday by the Creekside Fire Department, clarifying the role of ICMESA.

The post points out that none of the $75 fee residents must pay goes to the local fire departments, but it goes into a pool and is distributed to EMS agencies operating in the county. There may also be confusion because not all municipalities elected to join the ICMESA. Some of those not participating are encouraging people to support Citizens Ambulance Service directly by purchasing a membership. Other non-participants have not made public recommendations.

Checking the reaction to the post confirms that there is indeed plenty of confusion about ICMESA, even though the creation of the agency was well-publicized and every municipality had the choice of joining or not.

The Creekside Fire Department urges folks to research the issue and ask questions, and asks that everyone continue to support their local fire companies.

TEXT OF THE CREEKSIDE FIRE DEPARTMENT POST:

Important Information Regarding Billing for the ICMESA. With our Annual Fund Drive coming up we wanted to share some information with all of you.

The Indiana County Municipal Emergency Services Authority (ICMESA) has been created to provide funding for EMS Agencies that operate within Indiana County. This has been a work in progress for over 2 years and is attempting to address the large financial deficit facing EMS Agencies in Indiana County.

*** NONE OF THESE FUNDS GO TO YOUR LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS!***

You may have received a bill from Berkheimer Tax Services recently. This is a fee of $75 per household; if you own a business this fee varies depending on how many employees you have. The funds collected then goes into a pool and then gets distributed to EMS agencies operating within Indiana County.

Member Municipalities of ICMESA:

Creekside Borough

Ernest Borough

Rayne Township

* You pay the $75 fee*

Municipalities NOT in the ICMESA:

Washington Township

White Township

Armstrong Township

* You do NOT pay the $75 dollar fee.

*White Twp. & Armstrong Twp has paid for EMS services through the year 2026.

*Washington is encouraging you to support Citizens Ambulance Directly by purchasing a membership.

We ask that you please do your research and ask questions, the EMS system in the state is broken and its going to take everyone’s cooperation to fix it. This includes supporting your local fire companies which again does not receive funds from the ICMESA, including fire department QRS.

Any questions regarding the ICMESA should be directed to the website: icmesapa.gov or your local municipal government.