WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | City, County Can't Agree on Fire Protection
STATESBORO, GA--A fight is heating up in Bulloch County over who'll fight the fires and who will pay. The City of Statesboro told Bulloch County it would charge more to fight fires outside the city limits beginning July 1.
County Commissioners voted to start their own fire department. The two sides also disagree on whether or not either party can just cancel on the other.
"There's a provision that lets either party cancel the agreement unilaterally if advanced notice is given," contended county manager Tom Couch.
City leaders say their residents have paid more than their county neighbors for service.
"We want this resolved or we want to go to mandatory remediation. We're going to get it resolved one way or another because our taxpayers are over-paying and its not a fair system," countered city manager George Wood.
The city voted Tuesday night to give the county until January 18 to renegotiate. Couch said Thursday commissioners will have their own department plan ready before that.
Reported by Dal Cannady, dcannady@wtoc.com
