The Baldwin City Council approved several public safety agreements during its regular meeting Monday evening.
FD training facility agreements
The fire department presented agreements with four local fire departments for the use of Baldwin’s training facilities. The agreements are with Banks County, Habersham County, Clarkesville, and Demorest. Each department’s use of the training facilities costs $1,500 a year, and the contracts are for one year.
The facilities include a burn building, a five-story enclosed training tower, a flammable liquid pit, confined space tunnels, an extrication pit, a portable classroom, a vehicle live fire area, and an L.P. tank live fire simulator.
The contracts will be submitted to the local fire departments and governments for approval.
Jail agreement
The council approved an inmate housing agreement with the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office. The new agreement has been presented to the cities that provide policing services and utilize the jail to house offenders. Since a new Sheriff has been elected, the agreement has been updated to provide for his signature.
The agreement provides that the city will impose an additional 10% penalty on any offense that occurs in Baldwin. The offender will pay that penalty upon payment of citations unless the municipal court judge dismisses the citation.
The agreement will be in effect until December 31, 2028. This date reflects the Sheriff’s four-year term in office, at which time a new agreement will be presented to the cities for approval.
PTSD fund
The council also approved the participation of the First Responder PTSD Program. This mandated program requires local governments that have first responders to participate in a PTSD fund to provide benefits for those employees who suffer from the effects of traumatic incidents while performing their duties.
Baldwin elected to participate in the fund with a lump sum PTSD diagnosis limit of $15,000. The premium cost will be $7,180 for the first six months of the city’s participation. The premium is based on the number of first responders employed by the city. The cost could go up or down after the first six months.
