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Abingdon resident warns supervisors that town’s plan to stop outside fire service could raise insurance costs and response times
Summary
Ed Morgan, a former Abingdon mayor, told the Washington County Board of Supervisors he is "alarmed" by the town of Abingdon’s plan to stop providing fire service outside town limits and urged the board to negotiate with town leaders or pursue targeted annexation to preserve fire protection and avoid higher homeowner insurance costs.
Ed Morgan of 259 Bradley Street, Abingdon, spoke during the board’s public comment period to urge county supervisors to address a developing dispute with the Town of Abingdon. Morgan, who said he served 16 years on Abingdon’s town council and six years as mayor but spoke only for himself at the meeting, said Abingdon’s plan to cease fire protection outside its town boundaries could increase response times and raise homeowners’ insurance premiums for county residents.
Morgan said Abingdon has a legitimate complaint about compensation for providing fire services to county areas and called the issue longstanding. He offered negotiation as the preferred option and proposed one concrete alternative: negotiating an unopposed annexation of commercial properties around Exit 19 to increase the town’s tax base in exchange for continuing fire services for an agreed period.
Morgan described fire protection as critical infrastructure and questioned whether the county should be prepared to purchase another platform truck or replace other costly equipment if the town discontinues service. He urged the board to sit down with town officials to reach a negotiated solution.
Board members did not take immediate action during public comment; subsequent agenda items included budget and fire‑operations discussions that the board later tabled to allow additional negotiations and review.
