RINGGOLD, Ga. — In another step on the rocky road to creating a countywide fire department, Catoosa County officials will ask Ringgold to pay its share for fire protection service.

“In 2003 our budget (for fire protection) was $1.6 million,” said Carl Henson, Catoosa County finance director. “This year it’s $2.1 million. It has increased $495,000 in five years.”

County commissioners last week approved a formal proposal to Ringgold officials asking the city to turn over its share of the state insurance premium tax revenue to the county.

Ringgold’s share of the tax, which is collected by the state and returned to counties and cities based on the number of policy holders per municipality, is $132,000, according to city officials.

The next step is for Ringgold council members to meet with county commissioners to discuss the proposal, Mr. Henson said.

Ringgold Mayor Joe Barger said he supports the proposal.

“The council has talked about this for some time,” Mr. Barger said Thursday. “We agree that we should pay for services we get. We feel like this is reasonable.”

Some Ringgold City Council members were reluctant to discuss the situation until after tonight’s council meeting.

Council members cited the legal dispute between Fort Oglethorpe and the county over the county’s efforts to end its contract with the city and Post Volunteer Fire and Rescue for fire protection in the unincorporated area of western Catoosa outside Fort Oglethorpe’s city limits.

“It’s a touchy subject,” Ringgold Vice Mayor Tom Clark said.

County officials began last year working on a strategy to create one department to provide fire and rescue services for the entire county.

They hired former Chattanooga Fire Department official Chuck Nichols to head the Catoosa County Fire and Rescue service, and about 30 full-time firefighters were brought on board to work with the 40 or 50 longtime volunteers still on board.

Some of the volunteers and former part-time volunteer Chief Chuck Gass were unhappy with the changes, but Chief Gass and most of the volunteers decided to stay with the service. The paid firefighters staff the six fire stations during the day, and volunteers work at night.

County officials in April gave notice they would end contracts with Fort Oglethorpe and Post Volunteer Fire and Rescue for fire protection and end the $391,000 a year in payments.

The area in question for fire protection includes Hutcheson Medical Center’s facility on Battlefield Parkway, Lake Winnepesaukah, other large buildings and churches and about 8,000 households.

Fort Oglethorpe and POST officials sued the county and won an injunction to keep the contracts in place while they work on an agreement. Court-ordered mediation so far has not paid off.

County officials are reviewing budget figures to determine how much it costs Fort Oglethorpe and Post to provide protection for the unincorporated area.

“The county is committed to providing fire protection to the unincorporated county at this point,” Mr. Henson said. “That was the original plan, but Fort Oglethorpe opted to continue with their own fire service. And Ringgold can opt out, if they choose.”

Fort Oglethorpe acting City Manager Ron Goulart said the county cannot provide the same level of fire service that Fort Oglethorpe and Post provide for the amount of money the county now pays the two agencies.

“We have an ISO rating of 3, and the county has an ISO of 5,” Mr. Goulart said, explaining that the rating is used by the insurance industry to set homeowner insurance rates. The lower the number, the better the rates.

Mr. Goulart said two of the three fire stations that cover the city and the nearby unincorporated area belong to the city. Those stations are needed to provide adequate protection. The county has proposed building a new fire station to serve the area, but that would be a wasteful duplication of services, Mr. Goulart said.

The county must continue to move forward, mainly because it cannot continue to rely on all-volunteer fire departments, county officials said.

“The volunteer program cannot meet the requirements,” Mr. Henson said. “It is getting harder and harder to find volunteers. People have jobs and families, and it is harder on them to participate.”

Chief Nichols said the county still recruits volunteers.

“We are always looking for more volunteers to help,” Chief Nichols said. “We are trying to grow and enhance our service by having volunteers. We are always looking for all the help we can get.”

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