A special guest was at Canton City Hall on Thursday evening to help the Canton City Council get a more clear picture of all the fire services options available to the city.
Cherokee County Commission Chairman Buzz Ahrens fielded questions from councilmen Bill Bryan and Hooky Huffman regarding the county's proposal to consolidate the Canton Fire Department with Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services.
The councilmen asked Ahrens about the consolidation agreement, which they both felt was highly stacked in the county's favor. One of the biggest sticking points for the councilmen was the over $4 million in fire department assets the city would transfer to the county as part of the agreement.
Other issues raised included the quality of service that a combined department would bring as opposed to the Canton Fire Department operating independently, and the issue of where to station the vehicles of the county's ambulance service.
Huffman wanted assurances from Ahrens that if the city and county fire services were amalgamated that Canton would eventually earn an ISO rating of 3, which would attract more businesses and developers to the city. Currently, Cherokee County's ISO level is a split rate of 5/9, which properties without access to fire hydrants and the water grid at a higher insurance risk.
"I can't guarantee you can get it, or a compensation factor if you don't," Ahrens said.
Failing that, Huffman wanted to know if the city could get a third ISO rating, maintaining its 4 while the rest of the county remained at 5 with the exception of the areas without fire hydrants. City Manager Scott Wood informed council that an expert he had talked to said that ISO does not allow triple ratings.
County Commissioner Harry Johnston, who was also in attendance at the meeting, stressed that the county is very close to earning a 4 ISO rating, and would not broach consolidation until they have earned that lower rate. Additionally, Johnston said the county is not forcing consolidation on Canton, merely providing an offer to the city.
The fire services conversation, which all parties agreed was one of the most productive and fruitful discussions of the issue since its inception, was spurred by a motion brought before the council by Councilman John Beresford to abandon consolidation plans entirely until the county provides a suitable agreement for both parties.
The motion was not voted on due to the absence of Councilman Glen Cummins from the proceedings. Beresford said he felt it would be unfair to act on the issue if the chief proponent of consolidation was not there to weigh in.
Opponents of the current consolidation plan were able to share their thoughts on the current deal and why it would be bad for the city.
"We want to build a city, we want to see this city grow," said Huffman. "If we are to do this, it needs to start right now with fire and police."
Councilman Bill Bryan said that although the City of Canton charged money in the form of taxes and millage rates for its "premium services," the charge averaged out to about $150 a year on a $100,000 house.
Beresford questioned some previous council support of other consolidation efforts, wondering some were so eager to "sell off" city assets such as the reservoir. Beresford said that whenever anything required a tax increase for Canton, some on the council would try to transfer the load onto other entities.
Hobgood said that the consolidation option was still the most economical solution to providing fire services to Canton, and was backed up in this claim by Wood.
Additionally, Hobgood planned to host a series of town hall meetings to get citizen input on the issue.
"My constituents should tell me what I want," he said.
As it currently stands, the nascent Canton Fire Services Committee will explore consolidation options, while a third party organization whose contract to perform a fire services funding study for the city was approved at the meeting will examine alternatives to consolidation, including hybrid volunteer and professional models.
To view the complete replay of Thursday's city council meeting, please follow this link and look for the April 18 city council video.