During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Statesboro Fire Chief Tim Grams presented to council on a number of claims made about the ongoing dispute over fire services in unincorporated Bulloch County.
City Manager Charles Penny, who said incorrect information is circulating in the community, repeatedly expressed his disdain for the ‘lack of professional courtesy’ provided by the county with regard to the termination of the fire service agreement back in December. Recall that commissioners voted to terminate the agreement in hopes of renegotiating the terms of the agreement, according to statements made during the public meeting. The county provided just under seven months notice to the city in compliance with the 5-year agreement that requires at least six months written notice.
“Some of it has been misinformation, some of it has been, uh, flat wrong,” though he did not distinguish the difference between misinformation and ‘flat wrong.’ “We’re not trying to change the county commissioner’s minds about anything. But what we do want is to make sure the public has the correct information,” Penny said.
BACKGROUND
What is the 5-Mile District?
Residents within a 5-mile road distance of one of Statesboro’s two fire stations who live in unincorporated Bulloch County are within the Statesboro Fire District or the 5-Mile District. The Statesboro Fire Department has a tool with 5-mile district details on its website.
The Statesboro Fire Department serves these residents in an effort to provide additional fire coverage and higher ISO rating, which impact insurance rates for property owners.
In exchange for the assistance, the county pays the city the millage rate collected for fire services on the properties in the 5-Mile District. The amount of money paid to the city varies each year because the fire fee is tied to the millage rate. In FY 2023, the amount paid to the city was approximately $2.5 million. The number has increased each year due to the expanding tax digest and higher assessments. FY 2025’s total to the city was over $3 million, according to county finance officers.
Statesboro Fire Tax District (includes 5-Mile District)
2.7 mills levied and funds paid to the City of Statesboro for fire services. The funding accounts for approximately 30% of the city’s fire department budget.
Rural Fire Tax District
3 mills levied and paid to the Bulloch County Fire Department
Meanwhile, the county, which services the unincorporated parts of the county but also provides support to the cities, has three 24-hour stations in Brooklet, Portal, and Register. There are 30 staff firefighters with volunteers who respond and 11 volunteer stations around the county.
TIMELINE
December 3, 2024 – County Commissioners voted to terminate the fire services agreement for the 5-mile district with the City of Statesboro. The vote followed commentary from County Attorney Jeff Akins and a presentation by BCFD Chief Ben Tapley.
Akins told commissioners the current agreement had been in place since July 1, 2020 and would automatically renew for another 5-year term if no action was taken. If commissioners wished to take action, they were required to act by December 31, 2024. “I would say that termination would be appropriate if either the county wants to renegotiate aspects of the agreement or change the fire protection services in some way,” Akins said. He also said if the agreement renewed automatically for another 5-year term, the county could still cancel the agreement with 12-months notice to the city.
Tapley told commissioners that the current contract was not ‘Bulloch County friendly.’ Citing a lack of fire stations in the 5-mile district due to the current agreement barring the county from placing infrastructure in the 5-mile area, Tapley said the BCFD position was that the agreement should be renegotiated to allow the county to build in the district and to set a date for the BCFD to take over the 5-mile district.
Commissioner Jappy Stringer stated that the fire department had changed since the agreement was negotiated the last time. “This agreement does not fit our department now which is why we need to move forward with a new agreement,” Stringer said.
“They were all volunteers back then, just adding the first paid firefighters in,” Tapley said.
Citing city responses to the 5-mile district in 2023, Tapley said the approximately 400 calls for service in exchange for the $2.5-2.6 million in county funds equates to $6,500 per call. He said the BCFD ran 3,500 calls in 2023 with a $3.5 million budget, equating to approximately $1,000 per call. “Based on the projected calls, we could offer a cost-savings to the citizens.”
Rushing made a motion to terminate the agreement, which was seconded by Stringer. The vote was unanimous with Commissioners Toby Conner, Timmy Rushing, Ray Mosley, Anthony Simmons, and Jappy Stringer voting affirmatively. Commissioner Ray Davis was presiding over the meeting as then-Chairman Roy Thompson left the meeting early. You can watch the presentation by Chief Tapley and vote by commissioners here. [Discussion begins at 3:18:30 mark]
December 4, 2024 – The interim county manager notified Statesboro City Manager Charles Penny of the vote. He acknowledged receipt and would advise the city council to ‘accept the decision of the commissioners’ and they would be responsible for fire services in the district as of July 1, 2025.
December 5, 2024 – Interim County Manager, according to Charles Penny, replied saying, “I do not believe the intent of their vote was to take responsibility of the fire service in the Fire District as of July 1, 2025, but to negotiate another agreement.”
January 30, 2025 – A Fire District Committee meeting was held.
Interim County Manager Cindy Steinmann told the committee that the agreement is no longer up-to-date with fire inspections in th 5-mile district being conducted by the county, and the change in the 5-mile district millage rate (up by 0.50 mills), among other things.
The County presented a plan that would split the fire district with the county covering the northern portion of the Fire District and the City covering the southern portion. The funding split would be 52% to the county and 48% to the city. Then, in July 2026, the county would take over the entire fire district. The county asked the city to decide by February 17, 2025.
February 18, 2025 – Penny emailed the county to say the city wanted time to review the proposal, to include at the city council retreat in March, which happens outside of city hall chambers and outside of the public eye. According to Mayor Jonathan McCollar, the county declined the city’s offer to continue with the current agreement for the next year.
February 18, 2025 – City Manager Charles Penny wrote a memo to the mayor and council, recommending that the city not accept the plan by the Bulloch County fire chief. After reading the memo, council voted to direct Penny to make a counter offer to the county that the City will serve the Fire District under the current contractual conditions for one additional year.
March 4, 2025 City Council Meeting
Grams said the SFD is disappointed that it will no longer be serving the five-mile district, but respects the county’s decision and hopes the county is successful. He offered a powerpoint presentation, noting that the city was not given any prior notice about the county’s intention to terminate the agreement and that no concerns regarding fire service delivery were communicated.
On whether or not the agreement is ‘Bulloch County friendly’
Grams relied on the 2.7 mills millage rate for the Statesboro Fire District, noting that it’s a lower millage rate than the 3 mills levied on those in the rural fire district.
On the current ISO rating of Statesboro
Grams said the Statesboro Fire Department currently holds a “Flat Class 2 ISO PPC” and the Bulloch County Fire Department holds a Split Classification of 4/4Y.
Grams refuted a statement made by Chairman David Bennett during a town hall last week in which he stated that the ISO 2 rating only applied to commercial buildings and that residents were really a class 3 ISO.
“This is completely false and inaccurate. The class 2 applies to all properties within the district as long as they’re within 5 road miles of a fire station,” Grams said.
On whether or not the county is allowed to build fire stations in the 5-mile district
“This was intended to avoid and prevent duplication of services and certainly could have been addressed if the county had communicated its intention of assuming responsibility for the Fire District,” Grams said, noting that the county indicated on numerous occasions that it had no plans to assume responsibility for the Fire District when asked directly by the City.
This aligns with the statements made in the December meeting, in which county officials said the goal was to renegotiate the terms of the agreement. Grams lamented, however, that the county did not raise concerns about the fire service delivery within the Fire District.
On Attempts at Negotiations
During the January 30 Fire District Committee Meeting, Grams said the city was presented with a proposal by the county, but had not previously been informed that such a proposal would be offered. This meeting occurred almost 60 days after the termination of the agreement by the county and following a number of statements about a desire to renegotiate the terms.
Grams said that the county’s desire to have a decision from the city by February 17, 2025 was not adequate to review the county’s proposal and discuss with council.
On Insurance Rates
“It is very likely that folks will see a pretty significant increase in insurance rates,” Grams said while also stating that each company utilizes ISO data differently. “But folks who go from an ISO 2 to an ISO 4Y could see increases of upwards of 30-40%,” he said.
- ISO 2 is the rating for all properties in the city limits of Statesboro
- ISO 4 must be within 5 road miles of a fire station AND must also be within 1,000 feet of a creditable water source in order to receive Class 4.
- ISO 4Y must be within 5 road miles of a fire station but are not within 1,000 feet of a creditable water source (This classification was previously known as 8B)
On Whether or Not the Agreement Could Have Been Renegotiated Without Termination
Grams called the county’s statements ‘inaccurate’ because Chairman David Bennett said at a recent town hall that the only way to renegotiate was to terminate the contract. That statement relies on what County Attorney Jeff Akins told commissioners in the December 3 meeting.
But Grams said the agreement allows terms to be amended by written approval of both the city and county. He also said the contract could have been automatically renewed for five years and the county could opt out at any time with 12 months notice.
On Price Per Call for Service
Grams refuted Bennett who cited Chief Tapley’s ‘cost per call’ statements for the 5-mile district made back in December.
“The $6,000 per call is a misleading representation of the services and benefits received. Lower insurance premiums as a result of ISO classification, response times, property loss vs property saved, community education and risk reduction are all factors when considering the value of fire service levels,” Gram said.
Grams said the 5-mile district response time was approximately eight minutes with a property loss rate of 4.2% of the pre-incident assessed value.
On The City’s View of the 5-Mile District
Grams said the city could have achieved a 1/1Y ISO rating several years ago but opted to go to the flat ISO 2 because the people with the 1Y classification, largely in the 5-mile district, would have been negatively impacted and would have seen a ‘significant increase’ in insurance rates.
On Automatic Aid
The automatic aid agreement means BCFD automatically responds to all city structure calls and the City does the same. BCFD Chief Tapely said in December 2024 that he wanted to see the automatic aid remain in place.
Grams said Tuesday that while automatic aid is a separate agreement, the primary benefit at this point is in the fire district with regard to water. He said the automatic aid was beneficial years ago when the city had lower staffing levels and the county was mostly volunteer. It’s used to capitalize on neighboring resources to provide a higher quality of service.
“In order for automatic aid to be justified in those organizations, there needs to be an equitable, mutual benefit.” That said, Grams said he would continue to advocate for mutual aid because “both departments are going to experience incidents beyond their capabilities. That’s just the nature of the beast.”
In 2024, there were 64 structure fires in the City and 25 in the fire district. No tankers from Bulloch County responded within the Fire District, only engines.
In 2024, Statesboro responded to 52 structure fires in Bulloch County (outside the fire district). 24 were disregarded or canceled while en route. Of the remaining 28 responses, Statesboro arrived on scene first and/or initiated the primary fire attack on 9 (32%).
The City of Statesboro takes 7,000 gallons of water with it when it responds to a fire with the tanker truck.
“It’s difficult to help when there’s been no communication,” Grams said.
Commentary from Mayor, Penny
“You know I was going crazy,” Mayor Jonathan McCollar said. “There may be close to a dozen things that’s been said that’s just not true.” He said there were never any negotiations between the city and the county and the county came to the January 30th meeting to tell the city what it was going to do.
Penny conceded that he did say the city would not participate in automatic aid as stated by Chairman Bennett, but that it was only a recommendation. “First off, I work for the mayor and council. Whatever I say is a recommendation and so, again, I would recommend that we not participate in automatic aid, but I’m not asking you today to do that. The reason that I said that is because at the time, when this proposal was thrust upon us without any, and I mentioned it that day, no professional courtesy…you don’t drop it in a public meeting. They weren’t expecting us to say, cause their recommendation was that automatic aid stays in place and that is a negotiating point and if we are not protecting the fire district, what it means is that the citizens of Statesboro are not subsidizing fire protection in the county. Is that right…That was a recommendation from me. I don’t have that kind of power.”
