Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
A dispute between a city and a county in Georgia over the delivery of emergency services has spilled over into the courts. The City of Tifton is suing Tift County to stop the county from providing vehicle extrication and rescue services within the city’s corporate limits.
The parties jointly managed the Tifton Fire Department under an inter-local agreement until last year, when the county decided to part ways and start its own fire department. The county’s withdrawal was effective June 30, 2016, coinciding with the operational activation of the Tift County Fire & Rescue.
The city alleges that on June 13, the county indicated its intention to deliver extrication services in Tifton, prompting it to inform the county of its intention to perform those services after July 1.
The city claims the Georgia Constitution prohibits a county from providing services within a municipality without a contract with the municipality affected. It seeks an order prohibiting Tift County Fire Rescue from providing fire and emergency rescue services inside the corporate limits of Tifton.
