The consolidation of the Lawrence Township and Indianapolis fire departments could come at the start of 2011.

At a Tuesday meeting of the Lawrence Township Board, a resolution was introduced that calls for the consolidation and allows Trustee Russell Brown to start negotiations toward a merger.

“It makes sense for the fire department and for firefighters as well,” Brown said at the meeting. “It will not happen overnight.”

Brown said the township should set Jan. 1, 2011, as a goal for completing the merger.

Township firefighters and their union have called for the merger. “We have always been in favor of consolidation,” said Wayne Smith, president of Local 416, Indianapolis Metropolitan Professional Firefighters. “We have always felt it was the right way to go.”

Dozens of firefighters were on hand for the meeting, one carrying a large banner supporting the merger. The meeting lasted only 20 minutes, compared with the board’s previous three-hour meeting at which firefighter salaries were reduced to compensate for a revenue shortfall.

The resolution calls for salaries of Lawrence Township firefighters to be consistent with IFD salaries. While that is not guaranteed, IFD salaries are currently higher than Lawrence Township’s, especially after budget cuts led to pay reductions.

A shortfall in the department’s revenue led to a budget that reduced spending by $5.8 million for 2010.

With a merger, Lawrence Township Fire Department property would be transferred to IFD and property taxes would also go to the merged agency. A fire department merger also would merge budgets, benefits and pension plans.

One issue that will need to be resolved in any merger talks will be how to handle the shortfall in the Lawrence Township budget, caused in part by property tax changes imposed by the legislature in recent years.

If negotiations lead to an agreement, a merger would have to be approved by the Township Board, the trustee, the City-County Council and the mayor of Indianapolis.

After an unsuccessful attempt to have the Indiana General Assembly merge all fire departments in Marion County, there have been separate mergers between IFD and departments in Washington Township, Warren Township and Perry Township. The Franklin Township Fire Department also is working toward a merger.

A public hearing on the proposal may be held by the Township Board in February.