Habersham County staff is set to hold a meeting with city representatives in November over the “feasibility of potential consolidation of city fire services with Habersham County.”
The cities 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 services, and Mt. Airy contracts with Cornelia.
County officials said in a news release Wednesday, Nov. 6, that the meeting is part of an effort by Habersham to “reduce taxpayer-funded expenses for its residents.”
No action will be taken during the staff-level meeting, according to the release. There also will be a feasibility study conducted by an independent consultant and opportunities for input and feedback throughout the process, according to county officials.
Habersham County officials believe these “explorations” could potentially bring “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 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,” Habersham County Emergency Services Director Jeff Adams said.
County officials also state that potential consolidation of fire services could “eliminate situations where one side of a street is covered by a city while the other side is covered by the county,” or resolve instances when “county units have to drive through the city to cover isolated pockets of county homes and properties.”
“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,” Habersham County Commission Chairman Ty Akins said.
There will not be a quorum of any elected body during the meeting, which will be limited to staff, management and no more than two representatives from any government council or commission.
“Looking at service delivery is one of the most important responsibilities we have as a local government,” Habersham County Manager Alicia 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.”
Vaughn went on to say that no city is required to participate in the meeting or the study, but the more that join in the dialogue, the more comprehensive the results could be.
“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.”
