Tagged: Fire fees

Carthage will raise the fees it charges for fire response calls outside the city limits.

The city currently charges $450 per hour for the first hour and $400 for each additional hour.

The new fee will be a straight $600 per hour.

Mayor Jim Nightingale calls the increase “justifiable” and will help the city pay for upkeep on the fire department's vehicles.

He said, “The problem is they (trucks) set. They don't run them a lot and we have to keep them up.” He called that cost “unbelievable.”

The city will spend $58,000 to refurbish one truck.

Carthage might have to raise what it charges for fire calls outside the city limits.

Fire Chief Gary Smith said the department doesn't cover a fire district. It is a city department that provides a service within a designated area. Since people in the area don't pay a tax for fire protection, they get a bill when the fire department responds to a call.

He said, ”With the rising fuel costs, diesel costs a lot. Equipment costs a lot. We take around a half-million dollars worth of equipment and between that and the fuel cost we can spend more than we bring in.”