Liberty County to renegotiate Riceboro fire pact; board backs paid‑per‑call model and talks with city

The Liberty County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday directed county staff to renegotiate how the county compensates the City of Riceboro for fire and emergency response in an unincorporated area around Riceboro, seeking to shift from a fixed $16,000 annual payment to a pay‑per‑call arrangement.

The move follows lengthy discussion about Riceboro’s volunteer fire department’s staffing and missed or unanswered calls. Chief Brian (Liberty County Fire Department) told the commission that Riceboro is a volunteer agency and that “whether it is 1 call a year or a thousand calls a year, they get paid the $16,000.” He said dispatch protocol gives Riceboro two minutes to respond before calls are re‑toned to county stations.

The board’s review centered on two problems: the county often responds into Riceboro’s city limits when Riceboro volunteers do not answer, and the fixed payment does not reflect actual calls handled by the city. Commissioner Frazier said, “I’d rather us go back and look at this and go to a per call. And if they don’t show up, they don’t get paid.” Commissioner Walden and others pressed staff to seek options that would ensure reliable daytime and around‑the‑clock coverage.

Chief Brian described operational detail: Riceboro is dispatched first for incidents inside its district; if two minutes pass with no radio traffic indicating a response, dispatch moves to the county’s Miller Park station and, if needed, additional stations in a stair‑step. He said county crews sometimes decline to respond into other districts when doing so would leave county primary zones uncovered.

County staff told commissioners that the current annual agreement covers Riceboro’s response to unincorporated areas within Riceboro’s fire district and also helps lower ISO ratings for addresses inside that response district. The county’s fire chief and County Manager Moseley were instructed to meet with Riceboro officials and prepare a revised contract that shifts to a paid‑per‑call model, returns a comparison to the board, and seeks a short extension if needed so coverage continues without interruption when the existing contract expires on July 1.

Action taken: Commissioner Thrift moved and Commissioner Stevens seconded a motion directing staff to pursue a paid‑per‑call contract and to meet with Riceboro; the board voted to approve the direction and asked staff to return with recommended contract language and data on call volumes and costs.

The chief also warned the board that the county’s dispatch data platform has been unavailable since late 2024 or early 2025, limiting staff’s ability to produce current call‑volume statistics; staff said they are working with IT and Tyler Technologies to restore or replace reporting capability. Commissioners asked for an expedited set of options, including an interim extension of the current agreement if Riceboro and the county need more time to negotiate.