The city of Clarkesville became the third municipality to enter into a county-sponsored feasibility study after a unanimous vote by council Monday, Dec. 9.
The study will review municipal fire services and weigh the pros of potential consolidation with Habersham County. The cost of the study is not yet known, according to county officials, though it will come at no cost to participating cities. Participation in the study does not come with any obligation to cities.
“I don’t see any downfall in doing this. There’s no commitment from us,” City Manager Keith Dickerson told council members. “There’s no cost from us. I think some of the data that comes out of this would be good for us to look at, and maybe very useful…I want to see what they consider to be (Clarkesville’s) fire district – what we’re covering in the county now, and I think that information will be really important for us.”
ISO ratings
The feasibility study will look at services, staffing and other elements of city fire departments in relation to ISO ratings. An ISO rating is a score that measures a fire department’s ability to protect people/property. Scores range from 1-10, with lower scores being considered a better rating.
ISO is also a third party audit team for insurance companies, and ISO ratings are directly tied to insurance policies for cities and counties. Standards to achieve better ISO ratings include various requirements – such as a minimum of four firefighters on staff and water pressure (PSI) standards.
Clarkesville’s ISO rating is a 3, and the city’s budget for fire services is just over $515,000.
Recent changes to ISO requirements have made achieving a higher score a greater obstacle for certain cities, prompting the feasibility study.
Cornelia became the first city to enter into the study last week. Demorest also voted to participate in the study last Tuesday.
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