**Above is the letter that Mayor Houston said was hand-delivered to residents only in the police jurisdiction, as residents within city limits will not be impacted.**

BY SARAH STEPHENS

ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS

Coosada Mayor James Houston, along with town council members, and the Coosada Fire and Police Chiefs, met with residents of the current police and fire jurisdiction Monday night, to try and answer questions about concerns for future fire and police protection.

Any possible changes only impact residents who are NOT already in official town limits. The police jurisdiction covers areas 1.5 miles outside of official town limits.

This is the second meeting held by the town, after they received notification that they failed to report information concerning their police jurisdiction by the March 21, deadline. Coosada is just one of almost 130 communities that are in the same boat, due to legislation passed in 2021. Mayor Houston said letters announcing the informational meetings were hand-delivered to residents in the police jurisdiction only.

All of the communities listed on the lengthy list have lost the ability to receive funding from those police jurisdictions, which means the towns and cities have the option to quit covering those areas outside of city limits. For Coosada, this means that the police and fire departments could offer coverage only in city limits.

However, there may be a reprieve, as legislation known as Alabama House Bill 351 has been presented and is under review. That bill, if passed, would give those towns and cities on the list a reprieve for one year to get their reports in order. You can read the entire proposed bill here – https://www.legislature.state.al.us/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2023RS/HB351-int.pdf

According to Mayor Houston, so far, the bill has not received much traction, and there is no guarantee it will pass. If it fails to pass, he said the town is preparing to offer residents in the police jurisdiction two options. They can annex their property into the town, or contract with the town for fire and police service.

As far as a contract with jurisdiction residents, it is still in the planning stages, and an exact cost of what it would be is under discussion.

Coosada is a Municipal Fire Department, meaning the town collected the $50 fire fee from residents within their police jurisdiction. As the required report for Coosada was not turned in on time, that means the town loses the ability to collect fire fees in the jurisdiction, and officials said it would not be able to fund fire and police service in the police jurisdiction without those fire fees.

“The date (to report) was missed. It has been put in since then. I take full responsibility,” Mayor Houston told the large crowd, as to why the report was not turned in on time. “It falls under me, it is my fault. I cannot do anything about it now, I cannot feel any worse than I already do.”

Coosada Police Chief Leon Smith also explained the two options to those in the police jurisdiction, saying it isn’t fair for residents in the city limits to fund fire and police protection for those in the police jurisdiction and continue service.

But for now, the fire and police service will continue for those in the current police jurisdiction, both Mayor Houston and Chief Smith said. This is to give time to see if the bill passes for a reprieve, for residents to annex into Coosada, and or come up with a plan on a contract for services if that becomes necessary.

Residents voiced concerns, more so with the fire service than the police service. One resident said if the Coosada Police Department quits responding to calls in the PJ, they can still fall back on the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office. However, without the Coosada Fire Department, they asked who would respond to fires and medical services?

Chief Smith said that it would be “illegal” for other fire departments to come into Coosada’s current police jurisdiction without permission from the Coosada fire chief.

“We are not giving up our jurisdiction. We are going to come up with a fee on a contract to still service on the fire side,” Chief Smith said.

Smith then continued, “The public safety department is going to continue operating as normal until we get these contracts together to see who wants to be annexed in or pay the dues fee. The homeowner will have the opportunity to annex into the town. If they choose not to annex into the town, we can present them with a contract. If they choose not to sign the contract to receive our services, then you will not be receiving the fire service, or maybe not the police service. That is something the council has to discuss as a whole.

“We are not receiving a lot of money from the police jurisdiction anyway. There are a lot of stories out there that the town doesn’t have any money. That is not true. There are stories out there that we are going to be taken over by Millbrook and go into this district. That is not true. If you read the laws under the municipality book, there is no other fire department agency that can come into Coosada without the authorization of the fire chief. That is law. We are not giving up jurisdiction. Only thing we are doing is right now the citizens in the town of Coosada is paying for the people in the police jurisdiction to receive services. It is not fair to the people in the town limits. So, if you are not in the town limits, we still want to service you. However, we need to get compensated for your service instead of taking the people inside the town limit’s money.”

Officials we spoke to said Coosada must notify officials when and if they plan to drop the police jurisdiction from their fire protection area. Once that occurs the map for the fire district will be redrawn, and those residents could be serviced by other fire departments that can respond to the fire district. There is also mutual aid, meaning that Coosada Fire can request assistance from nearby departments such as Millbrook or Elmore Fire Departments.

For specifics on that act, view this link for the full information and reference sections 7 and 8 for the law. file:///C:/Users/13343/Downloads/FEE%20Bill%20law.pdf

Section 7 reads, “Municipalities may establish their own districts at the discretion of the governing body of each municipality. Municipal districts will include the corporate limits and police jurisdiction unless the governing body of the municipality elects not to provide fire protection services in the police jurisdiction and notifies the association, in writing, for purposes of collection and distribution of the fire protection fees.

Section 8 reads “The association may, with the consent of the affected district or districts and approval by a two-thirds majority vote of a member departments in good standing, alter the boundaries of any district. The alteration may include, but not be limited to, consolidation of territory of one or more districts, creation of a new district from one or more existing districts, or exclusion of territory from a district. No alteration shall be used to relieve any department of any financial obligations incurred or made prior to the change. Municipalities may alter their districts to include or exclude the police jurisdiction, at the discretion of the governing body of each municipality, and shall notify the association, in writing, for purposes of collection and distribution of the fire protection fee.”

So, for now, both fire and police service will remain in the current Coosada police jurisdiction as officials wait on the outcome of the bill to grant a reprieve. We will continue to cover this story and learn more information about what the future holds.