Quincy, Fire District 3 still disagree

QUINCY - The City of Quincy rejected Grant County Fire District No. 3's latest contract offer for protection services.

The two sides have been negotiating a contract for fire protection services after the year 2015. The City of Quincy is currently pursuing plans to build and open their own fire department.

The city's proposed new fire department may be built north of the railroad tracks in Quincy.

With the new facility, the city wants to improve emergency response times for businesses and residents located north of the railroad tracks, the city's fire negotiations committee said in a statement.

The satellite facility would be used by the city, district and possibly, an emergency medical services provider.

The city proposed an annual increase of $10,000 a year for five years of fire protection services. The district offered a seven-year contract with the annual increase based on inflation with a two percent minimum and four percent maximum increase per year.

The city rejected this offer from the district.

"The committee feels our original proposal provides both the city and district finite numbers with which to build annual and long term budgets and as such stand firm on our proposal," the city committee members said in a statement.

The district was disappointed in the city's rejection of their latest offer, and sent out a request to the city asking for them to agree to a mediated process to resolve the differences between the two.

The fire district invited the city to join them in hiring a mediator to help negotiate a long-term contract for fire services.

"It is our hope that a neutral third party will remove tension and help negotiate a multi-year agreement for fire protection service that is sustainable to both organizations," the district said in an a statement to the city.

The district urged the city to respond to their proposed neutral third party mediator by today, and are expecting a statement from the city by today.

Microsoft showed support for the district and the city coming to an agreement, as the company relies heavily on protection services from the district.

"As you know, Microsoft has hundreds of valuable people on-site weekly, and many hundreds of millions of dollars worth of complex systems and long-lead-time equipment installed and operated here. We rely on the excellent level of fire protection and life safety services historically provided by the City of Quincy via Grant County Fire District No. 3," Microsoft said in an email sent to the city.

Microsoft asked city officials to keep them informed if they move ahead with their plans to start their own fire department.