By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch
The Times-Picayune
ST. TAMMY’S PARISH, La. — St. Tammany Parish’s 12th Fire Protection District has sued the city of Covington in an ongoing dispute over the fate of tax revenue from properties annexed by the city.
The fire department claims a recent annexation violates the state statute requiring the district and city to come to an agreement for fire protection services before such annexation can occur.
Despite the fire district’s objections, the Covington City Council last month annexed 1884 Collins Blvd., a property within the 12th Fire District.
The council approved the annexation on June 16, and the suit was filed in state court on June 25.
The annexation will be put on hold until a judge hears the case. It has been assigned to state Judge August J. “A.J.” Hand, but no date has been set for an initial hearing.
The suit asks for an agreement regarding fire services before that annexation becomes official, and that the district be awarded damages, including lost revenue, resulting from any annexation.
The lack of an agreement that delineates responsibility for fire protection and emergency services “increases the danger to public safety,” the suit claims. The annexations are depriving the 12th Fire District revenue needed to maintain operations and pay bond indebtedness, district officials said.
While the suit encompasses only that specific parcel on Collins, fire district officials say that this is not the city’s first illegal annexation.
“The city of Covington continues to annex property within FD12’s boundaries without authorization or negotiation of any agreement with FD12,” said Joe Mitternight, chairman of the district’s appointed governing board. “Voters have approved millages in FD12 and the city continues to take away tax revenue that funds fire protection in an area that is, by law, our responsibility.”
The 12th Fire District was created in 1984 to serve the unincorporated areas of the parish’s 3rd Ward around the city. And while the district’s boundaries have not changed, as Covington has annexed businesses and properties into the city, the assessor’s office has dropped them from the district’s tax rolls.
Mayor Candace Watkins had not yet read the suit Tuesday, but she said that she found Mitternight’s statements “offensive and misleading.”
“That’s very consistent with the attitude that we have received from FD12 officials every time we have tried to negotiate an agreement,” Watkins said.
She added that the city has been in hours of mediation with the district, but “they simply do not want to negotiate.”
The “offensive and misleading” statements she referred to are Mitternight’s critique of the Covington Fire Department.
“City leaders dupe voters into believing they are better off with municipal fire protection,” Mitternight said. “In fact, the City Fire Department is understaffed and underfunded, resulting in higher insurance rates for residents.”
The suit states that an agreement between the city and the fire district should ensure that “residents, property owners, and businesses of the annexed area will receive the best and most efficient fire protection and emergency response services following annexation.”
Covington Fire Department officials Tuesday referred all questions to Watkins, who said that while she did not know whose insurance rates are higher, “our fire department has the same rating as their department.”
She also added a stab of her own, saying the district at times doesn’t even have enough water to fight fires, while Covington, unlike the outlying district, has its own water system.
Copyright 2009 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company