Residents and Bennett Fire officials oppose petition to move a neighborhood into Southeast Rural Fire district; county to decide later

Lancaster County held a public hearing Feb. 24 on a petition to annex a portion of the Bennett Rural Fire Protection District into the Southeast Rural Fire Protection District. The board closed the hearing and will consider a decision at a subsequent public meeting.

Scott Kinsey, president of the Bennett rural fire district board, told commissioners that about 25 households in the area indicated they wanted to "opt out" and that he had not been contacted by those residents beforehand. Kinsey said Bennett meets response standards, described typical response times (7–13 minutes depending on station), and warned that removing territory would reduce Bennett’s tax base and recruiting potential. He said the change could create mapping confusion and asked the board to "look hard at this."

Bennett Fire Chief Luke Baldwin provided operational data, saying Bennett had its ambulance in service full‑time for two years and that, in the last two years, Bennett responded to seven incidents in the neighborhood; most responses met NFPA standards. Baldwin said the department revised standard operating guidelines and does not permit personal vehicles to respond except in limited circumstances. He left response‑time printouts and maps for the county record.

John Weese, Southeast Fire Chief, testified that Southeast did not solicit the annexation and described Southeast’s staffing and mutual‑aid procedures; he also said both departments are paged together for calls on border roads and that Southeast intends to serve the public rather than recruit territory.

Deputy County Attorney Morgan Sanchez confirmed statutory notice requirements were met (two public notices were published and the most recent more than seven days prior to the hearing). County Budget and Fiscal Officer Dennis Meyer explained tax timing: even if the board approves an annexation at a future meeting, tax revenue allocation would not change until the next budget/tax year (tax year 2026 in the county’s description).

The board closed the hearing; the item will be scheduled as a public hearing action on a future agenda where the commissioners will vote.