MARCH 3, 2025|
Photo – Carbon County Fire Protection District logo – Bigfoot99 file photo
Medicine Bow officials say they will not sign an agreement with the Carbon County Fire Protection District until payment-related questions are addressed.
During the February 10th Medicine Bow town council meeting, Mayor Justin George said the town is currently negotiating with the Fire Protection District on changes to the memorandum of understanding. The MOU outlines how the town will be financially compensated when its volunteer firefighters are called to respond to out-of-town emergencies.
Mayor George said the town has received an amended MOU from the Fire Protection District, although negotiations will continue. The mayor said he is unwilling to sign the agreement until other municipalities finalize their payment contracts with the district.
It is unclear which municipality Mayor George was referring to when he said a town was trying to terminate their signed agreement with the Fire Protection District.
Medicine Bow isn’t the only town unwilling to agree to the terms of the arrangement laid out by Fire District officials. At the January 21st Saratoga town council meeting, Mayor Chuck Davis said he learned that the fire district is not required to track what is owed to Saratoga’s volunteer firefighters when they respond to emergencies in unincorporated areas of the county. Mayor Davis said he was under the impression that the Fire Protection District would directly pay the town’s firefighters. Instead, the District is attempting to place the financial burden on the town.
Mayor Davis did not sign the memorandum of understanding with the Fire Protection District.
At the February 10th Medicine Bow town council meeting, Mayor Justin George said the Medicine Bow Volunteer Fire Department isn’t bound to the same payment issues as Saratoga due to an existing contract. Mayor George, however, said he remains unwilling to sign the MOU with the Fire Protection District until the matter of compensation is settled.
Mayor George asked to table a decision about signing the Carbon County Fire Protection District’s memorandum of understanding until a later date. The council unanimously voted to approve the mayor’s request.
