Morgan City mayor wants out of parish fire protection pact

Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna wants to opt out of the city’s parishwide cooperative endeavor agreement among fire departments for mutual aid, and replace it with individual agreements between the city and these agencies.
Dragna sent a letter to various fire departments and the parish stating his intention to opt out of the agreement, as per the required 90-day notice, without first informing the council.
However, on Tuesday, Dragna agreed during the City Council meeting that, after negative feedback, that meeting with the parish fire association before moving forward is the best course.
The item wasn’t on the meeting agenda but sparked a lengthy discussion about a letter that Dragna sent to local fire departments and the parish proposing an end to the current cooperative endeavor agreement. Dragna described the email as intentionally vague because he didn’t want to discuss individual cities publicly, at least not without their representative present.
The discussion centered on fire departments in Berwick and Amelia.
Dragna said it costs the city $2.1 million a year to help other agencies, but the city has seldom received mutual aid from other agencies since the 1994 fire that devastated Shannon Hardware in downtown Morgan City.
He said it is “physically hurting” Morgan City, with Berwick being able to use Morgan City’s aid without providing any reimbursement.
“So people who are building houses in Berwick, they don’t have $2.1 million or even $1.1 million to open two fire stations instead of four … so they’re basically getting the fire protection for free,” Dragna argued.
Dragna said Berwick does not have to increase taxes to pay for fire protection that Morgan City provides them, but they get help with their fire rating with Morgan City being nearby.
“So why would the citizens of Morgan City want to foot the bill, so Berwick and other entities can profit and hurt the growth of Morgan City?” Dragna asked.
While he said the move prompted community concern that Morgan City would not help a neighboring fire department after the 90-day opt out period, Dragna said that was false.
“We would never leave our fellow firemen at risk and not go cover our neighbors,” Dragna said.
Councilman Tim Hymel asked how many calls the city responded to for mutual aid in the last year, and Dragna said he thought it was about 14.
Fire Chief Alvin Cockerham said he didn’t know how many off hand, but it was several each in various areas that could include Berwick, Amelia, Bayou Vista and Patterson.
Stephens, who retired from the city’s fire department five years ago, said 14 would be an “anomaly” and said it was about five calls that Morgan City assisted with when he worked for the department.
He estimated that only a small amount of the fire department’s budget, about $10,000, would be used for this overtime.
Dragna said it’s more than overtime, though, using Amelia as an example. He said that there is likely a 20% chance when Morgan City responds to a fire in Amelia that it is in an industrial area, and Morgan City often handles the more challenging portions of the firefight because they have the training.
The funding for training, certification and equipment all factor into the $2.1 million, Dragna said.
The parish fire association, of which Morgan City is a member, is the place Parish President David Hanagriff and Stephens said should have been used in addressing the concerns.
Hanagriff said the association was planning a meeting to discuss the Morgan City move, and after agreeing to rescind the letter, Dragna said he wants to be part of that meeting to explain the city’s case.
Hanagriff also defended outside entities, including the parish. He said the parish gives Morgan City $11,543 in money from its 3/10th sales tax fund, $5,000 from the parish’s gaming fund and every 11 years, the city receives $100,000 from a combination of the 3/10th sales tax fund and the gaming fund.
“To insinuate that Berwick and Amelia should be paying more for Morgan City’s Fire Department, even though they use it occasionally, and Morgan City uses them occasionally, I think is just wrong, and it sends the wrong message going forward,” Hanagriff told Dragna.
Before Dragna agreed to rescind the letter, Councilman Lou Tamporello asked if the city still would have access to mutual aid from other agencies. Hanagriff said they would.
Jean Paul Bourg, a Third Street resident who spoke at the meeting, said his house and a neighbor’s house burned when he was younger. A second neighbor’s house almost burned, too. He said mutual aid was required then and could be needed now if old structures burned downtown due to their close proximity.
“So I just think it’s reckless to just take this stuff lightly and send out this letter with no explanation,” he said earlier in the discussion. “It puts the whole city at risk.”
Dragna apologized to the council for not notifying them of his intent before sending the letter.
“I didn’t think anything of it, because it was 90 days out,” he said.