By Jason Kuiper
Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Neb. — After a year's worth of wrangling, the Pottawattamie County Board signed a contract Wednesday to continue emergency response by the City of Council Bluffs to hazardous materials spills.

The board approved the contract by a 3-2 vote just before a city-imposed deadline of Feb. 1. The city had said that otherwise it would have stopped sending the Bluffs Fire Department to such incidents outside city limits.

For years, Council Bluffs has offered its firefighters to outlying areas to help contain spills of harmful substances. Sometimes the city has been stuck with some of the response costs because there had been no formal agreement spelling out who is responsible for certain expenses.

Wednesday's vote came after much debate and discussion. The contract calls for the county to pay the city $22,434.50 for 2008 and then pay $44,869 in both 2009 and 2010. The base charge for the fourth year of the contract will be determined in 2010. The contract has a 90-day termination provision that can be enacted at any time, said Maggie Popp Reyes, an assistant Pottawattamie County attorney.

One question the county and city debated was whether Bluffs residents would be taxed twice for the service, since they already are taxed by the city.

The amount owed to the city in the contract comes out to about 25 cents per county resident for the first year and 50 cents for the next two years, based on approximately 90,000 residents in the county.

"I don't see why we have to raise our budget so they can lower theirs," said board member Lynn Leaders.

Bluffs City Attorney Dick Wade said money the city gets from the county for hazardous materials equipment means the city won't have to generate as much through the city levy.

Wade said that when the two entities work together to fund projects it's almost impossible to prevent city residents from having to pay for both the city and county share.

Matt Walsh, a Bluffs City Council member, said having the whole county pay into a service the whole county is using will help offset the cost to maintain a hazardous materials program rather than having Bluffs residents pay the entire amount.

The City Council will take up the contract again at its next meeting.

Copyright 2008 Omaha World-Herald