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Cheatham County approves multi-year fire-protection contracts and restricts solicitations to taxed property owners
Summary
Commissioners approved five multi-year fire-protection contracts with municipal and volunteer departments — Ashland City, Pegram, Pleasant View, Kingston Springs and Harpeth Ridge — and added a prohibition on mail solicitations to property owners who have already paid the county fire tax.
On April 21 Cheatham County commissioners approved multi-year contracts with five local fire providers and added an amendment barring mail-out solicitation to property owners who have paid the county fire tax.
The contracts — with Ashland City, Pegram, Pleasant View, Kingston Springs and Harpeth Ridge — were approved by roll call vote 12–0 after an amendment from Commissioner Walter Weakley to prohibit vendors or departments from mailing fund-raising solicitations to property owners who already pay the county fire tax. The amendment was accepted and incorporated into each contract before approval.
Key contractual terms: each agreement sets a primary annual service fee, a payment schedule (50% due Jan. 15 and 50% due March 15 in each contract year), termination and renewal rules, and an annual staffing- reimbursement component where applicable. The county also committed $200,000 annually (to be distributed by the County Fire Chief) among local departments: $55,000 to Ashland City and Pleasant View each, $27,500 to Kingston Springs and Pegram each, and $35,000 to the county fire association.
Examples of annual service fees (first contract year): Ashland City — $247,677.79; Pegram — $269,416.71; Pleasant View — $544,875.71; Kingston Springs — $231,781.36; Harpeth Ridge — $3,322.29. Several contracts include staffing-reimbursement schedules for on-duty firefighter positions at named stations and detailed reporting and audit requirements.
Why it matters: the contracts formalize how the county funds volunteer and municipal fire protection, create defined payment and service expectations for rural areas, and authorize county support for 24/7 or partial staffing at specific stations to reduce response times.
Procedure and next steps: motions were made and seconded by members on the floor; county staff will execute mayoral signatures and begin scheduled payments under the contracts. The contracts contain annual review and renewal provisions and require participating departments to comply with state training, NIMS reporting and incident reporting standards.
