NATCHEZ &045; In a special meeting Tuesday, Natchez aldermen voted to accept the $452,251 Adams County supervisors offered to pay the city for fire protection &045; an amount the city had already included in its 2003-2004 budget.

&uot;The bottom line is, what’s best for the citizens Š is to accept&uot; the county’s offer, Alderman Ricky Gray said in making his motion at the meeting, which was also attended by county officials.

The motion came after Alderman and Mayor Pro Tem David Massey stated that in five months, when the city normally revises its budget, city and county officials should meet to see whether the county could increase its contribution.

The current interlocal agreement on fire protection ends today. Last week, aldermen voted that if an agreement could not be reached by Wednesday, the county would be given 30 days’ notice that the city’s fire trucks would no longer respond to out-of-city calls.

Mayor F.L. &uot;Hank&uot; Smith said he first wrote supervisors in April to request that aldermen and supervisors hold a retreat to discuss the interlocal agreement but was told county officials would not meet with the city.

A letter sent from Smith to supervisors President Lynwood Easterling April 30 states the amounts the county paid the city for the current fiscal year &045; $443,382.83 &045; and the cost to the city for 16 additional firefighters &045; $563,677.

Actually, according to figures from City Clerk Donnie Holloway, the amount the city pays for the 16 firefighters is $613,413 for just one year.

&uot;We have never requested a certain amount,&uot; Smith said, adding city officials are frustrated the county did not agree to meet with them sooner on the issue.

Instead, he said, the city informed the county of what it costs the city to provide out-of-city fire protection in hopes &uot;that providing the information in April would give us ample time to work out a compromise.&uot;

Supervisors Vice President Darryl Grennell said the county budgeted what it could afford &045; the current amount plus a consumer price index increase.

&uot;That’s all we have,&uot; Grennell said. &uot;As you know, the budget’s tight, and I don’t think we have any room to (appropriate) additional monies.&uot;

He noted aldermen could have easily attended a supervisors meeting before this time to discuss the issue in person. &uot;Our door is also open,&uot; Grennell said.

&uot;I assume, sir, that the mail is delivered through that open door also,&uot; Smith said.

County officials questioned how the city arrived at the $613,413 amount.

When the agreement was first drawn up seven years ago, the city set a figure for the county to contribute, said supervisors attorney Marion Smith. &uot;Now you’re asking for a one-third increase,&uot; he said.

The $613,413 includes the cost of salaries, overtime, retirement, Medicare, insurance, worker’s compensation, training, uniforms and turnout gear for 16 firefighters, according to Holloway’s figures.

City officials said they added those 16 positions to be able to respond to calls outside the city. County officials noted that Adams County also contributed one fire truck as part of the agreement.

Supervisor Sammy Cauthen said he is not aware of another city that charges its county for fire protection outside the city.

Aldermen pointed out county residents use city facilities and infrastructure they don’t pay for. &uot;By the same token, why does the county provide public schools for the city?&uot; Cauthen said.

&uot;People in the city do pay for schools. They pay their fair share,&uot; Massey said.

&uot;And county residents also pay sales taxes they don’t benefit from,&uot; Cauthen said.

Another sticking point was figures about the number of county calls to which the Natchez Fire Department responds. The latest figures from that department show about 40 percent of its calls are outside the city, Smith said.

That figure is closer to 22 to 25 percent, Supervisor Virginia Salmon said.

But Fire Chief Paul Johnson said those figures, which county officials got from E-911 officials, do not include Foster Mound and many Liberty Road area calls. That, he said, was due to a computer error that has been fixed in the last two to three days.

Nothing from Tuesday’s meeting should be misconstrued to imply city and county officials have a bad working relationship, Grennell and Gray both said.

Grennell pointed out the city and county have worked on a number of joint projects in recent years and continue to do so, from the federal courthouse project to Government Fleet Road improvements.