Habersham County officials plan to meet this month with representatives of the cities and towns in the county to explore the feasibility of potential consolidation of city fire services with the county. This will be a staff-level meeting, and no action will be taken, a county spokesman said.
“The study will be conducted by an independent consultant, and there will be
opportunities for input and feedback throughout the process.
Explorations may result in potential faster response times, lower ISO rates,
and less tax burden on both city and county residents by reducing the
duplication or overlapping of services that currently occurs in some areas
that are covered by both city and county response.
“We want to look at how we’re delivering fire services through the county,
and study potential savings to taxpayers in the county and its cities that
provide fire protection either by a staffed department or a contract with
another city,” said Habersham County Emergency Services Director / Chief
Jeff Adams.
Potential consolidation of fire services also could eliminate situations where
one side of a street is covered by a city while the other side is covered by
the county, or possibly where county units have to drive through the city to
cover isolated pockets of county homes and properties, such as the current
situation in several Cornelia neighborhoods.
“We anticipate that the results of the study will provide valuable insights into
how consolidation could be structured to serve the best interests of both the
city/cities and the county,” said Habersham County Commission Chairman Ty
Akins.
“Looking at service delivery is one of the most important responsibilities we
have as a local government,” Vaughn said. “The cost of equipment is going
up constantly and delivery time for new apparatus is significant, meaning if a
department has a truck go down, it must rely on its neighbors to fill the gap
until a new purchase can be funded and produced.”
Currently, the municipalities of Baldwin, Clarkesville, Cornelia, and Demorest
provide fire service with paid personnel, while the Town of Tallulah Falls has
a volunteer department. Alto contracts with Baldwin for fire protection, while Mt. Airy contracts with
Cornelia.
No city is required to participate in the meeting or study, but the more that
join in the conversations the more comprehensive the results, Vaughn said.
“We want to stress that before any decisions are made, the media will have
the pertinent information,” Akins said. “Any actions will take place in
meetings open to the public, but we have to get the information to
determine whether this is a path worth pursuing.”