Salisbury Fire Chief discusses fire service options

On Tuesday evening, Fire Chief Rick Hoppes rehashed the city’s ideas for relieving city taxpayers from paying taxes for county fire services and spoke about a few options for a fire service agreement between Salisbury and Wicomico County.

The first option is a call-based formula county residents would have to pay per call for assistance from the city fire department. Second is an expense-based formula that Hoppes says would cost the county $2.2 million a year. Third, an assessable tax base formula which amounts to a new tax for fire and emergency medical services in the county.

Negotiations have to this point been sluggish and last week Mayor Jim Ireton threatened to prevent city fire trucks from responding outside the city if there’s no deal by July. It’s a move he cannot follow through on without city council’s approval. Chief Hoppes says the city can’t be the only party offering ideas.

Hoppes tells 47 ABC, “We have to meet with representatives of the county and they have to be a solutions leader as well. We also have a duty to the tax payers that pay for our services and pay for the services so it is both a moral and ethical dilemma.”

There’s meeting scheduled between Mayor Ireton’s administration and county Executive Bob Culver’s to try to hammer out a deal. That’s a closed meeting set for next Tuesday the 28th.