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Commissioners approve Riceboro per‑call contract and extend Midway agreement 30 days
Summary
The board approved a one‑year per‑call payment contract with Riceboro for fire protection inside a portion of Riceboro's district and granted a 30‑day extension to the county's temporary response arrangement with Midway while the city completes state compliance steps.
The Liberty County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a one‑year renewal of a per‑call intergovernmental agreement with the Riceboro Fire Department and separately extended the county's temporary emergency-response arrangement with the city of Midway for 30 days while Midway completes state compliance steps.
Brian Dyer, the county fire representative, summarized call-volume figures used to redesign the Riceboro payment model. He said that in April and May combined, Liberty County Fire was dispatched 26 times into the Riceboro district; of those, 23 were medical calls, one was classified as fire and two were rescues or services. Dyer told the board he reworked the agreement to a paid-per-call structure so Riceboro is paid only when it answers calls in the county area inside its district.
On Riceboro, the board approved the one-year per-call contract; commissioners discussed cost estimates and the administrative process for quarterly or monthly invoicing and noted that departments would hold Riceboro to submission requirements stated in the contract before payment.
The board also addressed the county's temporary arrangement with the Midway Fire Department. The March 11 agreement — under which the county has been providing primary response while Midway works to restore certification — had an approaching expiration. County staff recommended an extension; Midway officials at the meeting said the department has four full-time and four part‑time personnel and has purchased apparatus but needs two additional certifications to be evaluated by the Georgia Fire Standards and Training Council.
After discussion, a motion to extend the county's temporary agreement with Midway by 30 days passed. County staff noted the extension is intended to give Midway time to complete the remaining certification steps; commissioners and staff agreed the county will continue to provide response while mutual-aid and automatic-aid arrangements are reviewed separately.
Both actions were administrative and did not create new permanent service zones; the Midway extension includes an option for the county to revisit the matter if the city does not complete required steps within the extension period.
