Davis questioned why a fire truck should be purchased now. Did not the county fire consultant recommend waiting until an ISO (Insurance Services Office) report is received in the fall? Beverly asked.

ISO also recommended waiting, Davis interjected.

Mays, who participated in the meeting via a conference call from Florida, said she does not trust Thomasville Fire/Rescue to respond with a ladder truck to fires in unincorporated areas.

“This is not about the city,” Rehberg responded. He added that he thinks a city ladder truck would respond, and city firefighters would help fight a county blaze.

Hickey said he thinks Bryan Croft, the city fire chief, has the community’s best interest at heart.

“If they are so interested in the county, why no automatic-aid agreement?” Mays asked.

Gross, commission vice chairman, told commissioners the city agency said it would not respond when county officials began talking about expanding the county fire department and ending a long-time city-county fire protection contract.

People expect service and it is commissioners’ responsibility to provide it, Gross told fellow commissioners.

Hickey, who presided at the Friday meeting, said he supports the county fire department, but he is considering money.

Some $1,615 is paid in impact fees on each new residence built in unincorporated Thomas County. Of that amount, $770.48 is earmarked for fire protection.

On Friday, $90,325.71 had been set aside from impact fees for fire protection.

Rehberg said it is estimated $150,000 in fire-related impact fees will be available at the end of the year, resulting in financing a new fire truck for three years instead of 10.

Noting the status of the U.S. economy, Hickey said construction might “shut down.”

Commission Chairman Josh Herring, contacted by phone on the West Coast Friday, said, “I’m against it. I’ve let everyone know.”

Herring said he had brought to the commission’s attention that ISO suggested postponing the ladder truck purchase, because it might not be needed.