Mike Ellis , IndependentMail.com 11:18 p.m. ET June 12, 2017<\/p>\n
After getting a call for service while elected officials talked about their future, firefighters sped away.(Photo: Mike Ellis\/Independent Mail) <\/p>\n
The firefighters stood, leaning against a firetruck marked Liberty Area,while Liberty and Pickens County officials talked about how the city firefighters will become county firefighters. <\/p>\n
A wall of Liberty City firefighters, at the meeting where city council members voted to jettison them to the county.(Photo: Mike Ellis\/Independent Mail) <\/p>\n
A call came over the emergency radios, buzzing on the belts of the 11 firefighters. They jumped on the truck and sped off. <\/p>\n
The decision council members reached in the moments before the fire call will go down in the citys history, Mayor Eric Boughman said. <\/p>\n
This is a turning point, he said. <\/p>\n
Firefighters, lined up against a wall, at a Liberty City Council meeting.(Photo: Mike Ellis\/Independent Mail) <\/p>\n
The citys 11 firefighters will soon be county firefighters, getting credit for the time theyve been on the job and being able to cash in their built-up vacation time. <\/p>\n
The citys three fire departments will stay open and stay staffed. One of the firefighters will move to a different county fire station, but the rest will be doing the same job at the same places, said Pickens County Council Chairman Roy Costner. <\/p>\n
The move will become effective July 1. <\/p>\n
Liberty City Fire Department Chief Chris Rowland praises the work that went into dissolving his department but keeping all the fire departments and firefighters under Pickens County control.(Photo: Mike Ellis\/Independent Mail) <\/p>\n
Pickens County Council members have already approved taking over the fire operations. Liberty council members are expected to have a second reading of the measure July 17 but would make the changes retroactive to July 1, Boughman said. <\/p>\n
Liberty Fire Chief Chris Rowland said the priorities were to keep fire service the same for the city and to keep the firefighter jobs. He said the deal had come through, and also had been able to save the city money. <\/p>\n
The fire department cost the city $465,608 in the current fiscal year, about $300,000 of that comes from tax money, Boughman said. <\/p>\n
Residents shake the hands of Liberty City Fire Department employees after city council members voted to jettison the department to county control.(Photo: Mike Ellis\/Independent Mail) <\/p>\n
Moving the department gives the city, with a $2.4 million annual general fund, an extra $300,000 to tackle years of budgets that have fallen short, Boughman said. <\/p>\n
Jettisoning the fire department would save enough money for the city to begin to give raises to other city employees and give the city a chance to have a good budget year, said Shirley Hughes, the citys administrator. <\/p>\n
Residents of the city will pay a $120 fire fee this year, something they hadnt had in previous years. The money will go to help pay for the fire department. Rural residents in the county had paid $106 a year and will pay a $14 increase, Costner said. <\/p>\n
Boughman said Pickens County also gets a model for absorbing a critical service from a municipality, which would help if the county wants to take on additional services from other communities. <\/p>\n
The Liberty City Council also on Monday approved the city's annual of $2.4 million for the coming fiscal year. The city has an additional $1.2 million in separate sewer and water funds. <\/p>\n
Follow Mike Ellis on Twitter @MikeEllis_AIM <\/p>\n
Firefighters mingle around after a vote that will move them to the Pickens County Fire Department(Photo: Mike Ellis\/Independent Mail) <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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