| Commission OKs rural fire pact for Union City |
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Posted: Monday, July 16, 2012 9:02 pm
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By CHRIS MENEES
Staff Reporter
The Obion County Commission has given its approval to a rural fire agreement which would allow the Union City Fire Department to offer a subscription program in the city’s designated area.
A proposed rural fire agreement presented by Union City Fire Chief Kelly Edmison was approved this morning by the commission, pending approval by Union City’s city council and legal counsel.
Today’s action comes on the heels of last month’s decision by the county commission to approve a membership plan which allowed at least three other towns — Hornbeak, Samburg and Rives — to provide fire protection outside their city limits.
A countywide rural fire subscription program in existence the past year was halted in early May after the county clerk expressed concerns about her office collecting a fee not authorized by state statute and stopped collecting the rural fire subscription fees.
After much discussion and debate, on June 1, the county commission rejected a proposed fire tax — basically sending the hotly-debated issue of rural fire protection back to square one and leaving the county’s municipalities scrambling for options.
Hornbeak Fire Chief Bob Reavis appeared before the Obion County Budget Committee on June 4 to propose a rural fire membership plan which will solve his town’s issue of how to provide rural fire protection. His proposal was approved by the full commission on June 18.
At today’s commission meeting, Edmison said Union City’s contract for rural fire service is basically the same as the others — the only difference being that Union City is going back “to do what we’ve always done” in offering a subscription service to rural fire program members.
Union City’s plan offers coverage for a $75 subscription fee and includes a $750 response fee, an increase from the previous fee of $500.
Under the proposed subscription plan, the Union City Fire Department would not respond to non-subscribers, Edmison told the commission.
He said the database work has been completed and Union City’s rural fire agreement is ready to be presented to the city council at its session Tuesday night. He said it is at the point where the city could start mailing out notices, pending the required approval from the governing bodies.
County commissioner Jim Bondurant questioned the fire department returning to the method of having to consult a list of subscribers to determine response. He cast the lone dissenting vote this morning.
Edmison told The Messenger the Union City Fire Department is currently covering all property in its rural fire area until mailouts are sent. The mailouts will indicate the $75 subscription fee must be paid by a certain date, and Edmison is also planning a media blitz to spread the word.
Commissioners Kenneth Cheatham, Sam Sinclair Jr. and Cloney Taylor were absent from this morning’s county commission meeting.
Editor’s note: A follow-up story with other action from this morning’s commission meeting will appear in Tuesday’s edition of The Messenger.
Published in The Messenger 7.16.12 |
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