City looks to renegotiate agreement on fire service in Rural Fire District 1

The city of Havre is canceling. effective June, its agreement to provide fire services to Rural Fire District 1, a ring-shaped space around the boundaries of Havre, so a new agreement can be put in place, Havre Mayor Tim Solomon said.

Solomon said the 30-year-old agreement for Havre to provide fire services to Rural Fire 1 has nothing in it about enforcing fire codes in the area, and the city wants a new agreement that includes that.

Solomon said such agreements are common.

“In Hill County, there are other Rural 1’s out there, numerous ones, this is just the one surrounding Havre,” Solomon said. “It was just easier for them to contract with Havre Fire Department than create their own fire department.”

He said the existing agreement needs to be canceled at the end of the fiscal year, June 30, so a new agreement can take force at the start of the next fiscal year. Officially notifying the district six months in advance gives them time to renegotiate a new contract, and that’s what they expect to happen, Solomon said.

Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said the county is talking to the city about negotiating a new agreement.

Peterson said he has some questions about the district he wants explored as the discussions proceed.