The Schererville Town Council on Dec. 10 approved the town’s 2026 fire service agreement with St. John Township and moved forward on zoning for a planned fire station, after members of the Schererville Firefighters Union raised concerns about current staffing levels.

Kathy LaRue, Saint John Township trustee, told the council the township’s contract payment for 2026 was reduced from $37,080 to $32,500 because of a property tax cap impact linked to Senate Bill 1. LaRue said she used a reserve to blunt the reduction and has contacted state legislators to seek fixes. "It was due to this the new bill, this senate bill 1," she said, explaining the change in the levy calculation.

Jacob Thornton, president of the Schererville Firefighters Union Local 4279, spoke during public comment to defend the union's recent social-media posts and to press the council for staffing changes. "The town's minimum staffing assigns just 6 personnel to protect more than 30,000 residents every day," Thornton said, adding that "Station 3 is unstaffed whenever we're at minimum staffing, which occurs at least 33% of all shifts." He asked the council to pursue staffing closer to "1 firefighter for every 1,000 residents."

Council members voted to accept the 2026 contract with St. John Township; the council recorded the motion as approved by voice vote. Earlier in the meeting the council approved Ordinance 2036, rezoning a parcel from residential to institutional to allow a future fire station; planning staff and the planning commission had recommended approval.

The exchange combined a procedural step — adopting the intergovernmental contract — with a public call for longer-term staffing and infrastructure changes. Thornton and LaRue framed the issue as both an operational reality and a funding challenge tied to state-level tax policy; the council’s near-term action was to accept the township contract and advance land use changes that would enable a new station.

Council members did not adopt a staffing target on the record during the meeting; several speakers asked for continued engagement between administration, trustees and the union.

The council’s next procedural step on staffing would be for town staff and council liaisons to take up any budgetary implications during the 2026 budget and capital planning process.