CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — The fight over the fire department in the City of Riverdale got tabled by the Clayton County Board of Commission on Tuesday night.
This comes after the Riverdale City Council discussed a proposal to consolidate the city's fire department with the county's fire department on Monday. However, with so many concerned residents coming forward, elected leaders said there needs to be a broader discussion before anything is finalized.
Riverdale's meeting was a bit chaotic, but the county board meeting went much smoother.
Chairman Jeff Turner explained the reasoning behind the motion to table.
“The City of Riverdale did not approve their resolution last night, which means that any resolution that we do will be null and void," Turner said.
Riverdale resident Terri Benn spoke at the council meeting and spoke again to the board on Tuesday.
“I appreciate the Clayton County meeting. We’ve gotten a lot more information," Benn continued. "This is what Riverdale should have done."
Turner wanted to make clear that the county isn't making any decisions behind the scenes, as residents have been contacting him since Monday.
“We weren’t moving into Riverdale trying to initiate a takeover at their fire department. We, basically, [were] approached," Turner said.
Turner said he's not advocating for the merge but wouldn't be opposed to it if it happened. He also maintained that eligible firefighters would have jobs within the county if the departments consolidated.
Clayton County Fire Interim Chief Tim Sweat said they're ready to facilitate the idea.
“We’re in a situation to always expand, to assume more responsibilities and more jurisdictions," Sweat said.
EMS response times were a big concern for the citizens of Riverdale. Sweat said their current response time is about eight minutes, and he's confident adding Riverdale Fire won't worsen things. Sweat said county EMS workers already support Riverdale.
However, the one thing that could change with this proposal is the taxes. EMS is funded by the fire tax, which is assessed and applied to property taxes.
“If an agreement is reached that, once again, we will impose a fire tax in the city, but also they will adjust their taxes," Sweat said.
Sweat said it'll be up to Riverdale to balance that to ensure the rates don't increase.
Benn plans to take her inquiries back to the city, as she feels leaders could invest more in their departments.
“I still have questions regarding our current personnel and their jobs," Benn said. "I still have questions about taxes.”
There will be a special meeting with the Riverdale mayor and the city council to discuss Fire & Emergency Services. That meeting is planned for tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at city hall.
The city also plans to have a town hall meeting for citizens either this or next Saturday.