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Council reviews five funding options to shore up Demorest fire services and address ISO
Summary
City Manager Mark Musselwhite presented five options to address ISO ratings and fund the Demorest Fire Department, including full and reduced internal budgets, a millage-rate increase example requiring 22.08 mills, contracting with the City of Cornelia at $228,000 per year, a $308-per-property fire fee, and maintaining current operations; council agreed to revisit the issue after Habersham County provides numbers.
City Manager Mark Musselwhite presented five options to the Demorest City Council on July 1 to address Insurance Service Office (ISO) concerns and the operational needs of the Demorest Fire Department.
Option A revisited the department's full budget request for 2025 at $2,105,081, alongside a previously proposed reduced budget of $1,092,564 and the final approved 2025 budget of $792,064 (the 2024 budget was $594,469). Option B presented a scenario of increasing the millage rate, showing increments of $500,000, $750,000 and $1,000,000 and noting that a 22.08 millage rate with a $1,000,000 increase would be required to cover the funds needed plus an existing $475,000. Option C outlined an agreement with the City of Cornelia for fire protection services at a cost of $228,000 per year and projected annual budget savings of about $564,000 (70%). Option D proposed a fire-fee revenue model of $308 per property annually, totaling approximately $508,100, and noted that similar fees in other jurisdictions have faced lawsuits; Mr. Mitchell discussed those legal challenges. Option E described maintaining current operations, with continued attention to ISO standards, staffing, equipment procurement, and vehicle needs.
Councilman Jimmy Davis urged action, stating, "we need to fund the fire department." The manager, mayor, council members and public asked questions and made comments during a lengthy discussion. After deliberation the council decided to revisit the topic after Habersham County provides the requested numbers; no vote to adopt any option was recorded in the work session minutes.
The discussion laid out trade-offs among direct municipal funding, user fees, regional contracting, and potential millage increases; it also flagged legal risk associated with a fire-fee approach. Staff indicated the matter will return for further consideration once county data is available.
