Discussions between Liberty County officials and Emergency Services District representatives continued during the Liberty County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday, Dec. 16, as disagreements remain over how mutual aid fire contracts should be structured.
Mark Neal and Bill Wingfield, ESD commissioners representing Liberty County Emergency Services District 7, which oversees Hardin Fire and Rescue, attended the meeting and shared their concerns regarding the proposed contracts. Neal told commissioners that ESDs contract with volunteer fire departments to provide the fire protection services the districts are responsible for delivering.
Neal explained that ESDs generate the tax revenue that funds fire protection and that those tax dollars are used to purchase and maintain assets owned by the districts. According to Neal, volunteer fire departments do not own fire stations, trucks, or equipment. He said ESD contracts with volunteer departments specify that any assets purchased with tax dollars are relinquished to the ESD.
Despite hearing the concerns raised by ESD representatives, County Attorney Matthew Poston echoed his recommendation to Commissioners Court to continue contracting directly with volunteer fire departments. Poston said it made more sense to contract with the departments providing the services, though he acknowledged that tracking funds through volunteer fire departments can be more difficult.
“That’s why we have a lot of the reporting requirements in these contracts,” Poston said.
Poston also noted that the county could legally contract with volunteer fire departments in areas without ESDs while contracting directly with ESDs in areas where districts exist. He said he was seeking direction from Commissioners Court on how to proceed.
Steve Mitchum, assistant fire chief for Kenefick, told commissioners that county firefighters meet monthly and that at one of those meetings they were informed the fire marshal could not contract with Emergency Services Districts.
“There was no communication between the fire marshal and volunteer fire departments. It was just a plain no,” Mitchum said.
Mitchum said that was the reason Kenefick Volunteer Fire Department pursued a contract with the county as a volunteer department rather than through the Emergency Services District.
Pct. 1 Commissioner Bruce Karbowski said that information was incorrect.
“That was false,” Karbowski said.
Pct. 2 Commissioner Greg Arthur said the county has contracted with Emergency Services Districts for several years without issue.
Caleb Anderson, fire chief under Emergency Services District 3 in Westlake, told commissioners he supports routing mutual aid contracts through ESDs, stating that the districts are ultimately responsible for providing fire services within their boundaries.
“I think it makes more sense to go through the ESD because to me you’re funding the district that has the power of emergency services,” Anderson said. “I could breach my contract tomorrow and be gone in seven days or however long, you know? They (the ESD) still has a district to cover.”
Following an earlier Commissioners Court meeting on Dec. 9, county officials and Emergency Services District representatives were able to resolve at least one issue related to the proposed contracts: firefighter background checks. The county agreed that Emergency Services Districts and volunteer fire departments would handle their own background checks by following the criminal history standards required for certification through the Texas Commission on Fire Protection, rather than funneling those checks through the county.
Despite the ongoing negotiations, mutual aid fire responses are not at risk. Fire departments will continue responding to calls as needed while discussions over the contracts move forward.
Wingfield suggested that commissioners and ESD representatives participate in a workshop before approving the contracts in the new year. Liberty County Judge Jay Knight agreed that a workshop would be helpful.
As a result, the contracts will be placed on hold until after a workshop scheduled for January.