CAMBY, Ind. - Tensions ran high Tuesday night as the Madison Township Advisory Board made its second attempt to settle on how much to set aside in the budget for fire and EMS services next year. In a heated meeting on Oct. 2, the board voted to defer budget adoption to Tuesday. “None of you have any business being up there. None of you," one community member said facing board members during Tuesday's meeting. "You have no idea what you're doing." "What level of protection do you want to provide for me and my family and the citizens of Madison Township?" another community member asked during public comment. Faced with an understaffed department and more competitive salaries pulling firefighters to neighboring ones, the chief asked to hire an additional firefighter per shift. After Tuesday's meeting, the department won't be able to after changes were made to the proposed 2025 budget by Board Chairman Nelson Hoggatt. Officials said that the changes were made in order to avoid far exceeding a 4% total increase over the 2024 budget. “The state budget agency is encouraging townships and everything to get their budgets under control and they’d like to see a budget that’s 4% higher than the previous year’s budget," Hoggatt said during the meeting. “So I calculated what that would be and then I looked at what was being proposed in our wages and salaries to see how we might accomplish that and still do a good thing for our firefighters.”  Hoggatt's changes bring the "salaries and wages" portion of the fire and EMS budget from a proposed $1,468,967.50 down to $1,256,690.50 - less than the $1,261,100 that was set aside in 2024. The fire chief's salary was also dropped from a proposed $72,000 to $66,950. The approved budget still does include a raise for full-time firefighters. As disagreements became tense during public comment after the budget was approved, board member Dawn Horock said to Hoggatt: "Just adjourn the meeting." The meeting was adjourned with nine people still signed up to speak, amplifying the tension in the room. Wanda Davee told FOX59/CBS4 she attended the meeting to show support for the department after they saved her life in 2017. "I ended up having a widowmaker heart attack. I had about a 2-4% chance to live. They got me to Methodist," Davee said. "If they hadn't been there, I would've died." Community member Gregg Terhune, however, said he supported the board's decisions Tuesday night, referencing a petition he says was signed by 200 citizens asking the board not to adopt the 2025 budget as proposed by the trustee, and its associated increased tax levy. “Townships can’t compete with cities and towns. They don’t have the tax base. They don’t have the businesses," Terhune said. “The full amount of the tax burden that they’re asking us to support is going to come totally from homeowners.” Madison Township Fire Captain Jeremy Moynahan said the budget they're being asked to operate under, though, is "dangerous." "My children are here and they have to think that one day I might not come back because I don't have adequate staffing, or I don't have the appropriate trucks – they're not up to snuff. It's kind-of sad, if you ask me," Moynahan said. “We do the best that we can with what we have and make it work with what we have, but there is going to come a time where something tragic is going to happen because of the situation we’re put in.”  Chief Chad Coulter asked for a full-time EMS chief, which was denied by the board. The department also lost an EMT stipend they say will impact plans to provide advanced life support to citizens. Department officials added that if they don't keep their current ISO rating, homeowners' insurance rates could go up. Township Trustee Larry Ellis declined to comment.