A report from Citizens for Better Government

On Monday County Commissioners voted 3-2 to increase payments by 73% for Fire Protection from Mount Pleasant

The decision increases funding from Titus County to the City of Mount Pleasant for assistance with fire protection in the county. It was not however a good deal for tax payers and will cost double the best deal that was offered.

The City Manager Mike Ahrens started out negotiations last August trying to get the County to pay for 12 more fire fighters phased in over the next five years.

In a surprising move part way into the meeting Mount Pleasant Fire Larry Chief McRae made a much more reasonable proposal - if the County would fund three more firefighters this year, for a cost of $180,00, that would be sufficient for the City to contract to provide a full four man engine crew plus a Shift Supervisor, to respond to structure fires out in the County.

A four man crew is required before anyone is supposed to enter a burning building to fight the fire. Previously the City had been contractually obligated to respond with a minimum of two trucks and two firefighters, but most of the time sent more.

Amazing what a little public pressure and resistance from some of the Commissioners can do.

Commissioner Al Riddle made a motion to accept funding the additional three firefighters for $180,000 but the only other Commissioner to vote with him was Dana Applewhite.

Next Commissioner Jimmy Parker made a motion (at County Judge Brian Lee's suggestion) for the County to pay for three more firefighters this year and another three more in 2018 for a total of six at a cost of $360,000.

Parker and Lee voted for this and persuaded Mike Fieldd to do so as well. This increases the County payment to the City for fire protection from $490,000 to $850,000, a 73% increase!

Commissioners Riddle and Applewhite voted against this waste of taxpayers money.

So Brian Lee - aided by Jimmy Parker and Mike Fields - decided that the county would pay the City twice what their revised proposal was. Please remember this next year when all three of them are up for re-election.