Demorest council contracts fire coverage to Habersham County, then sells and leases its equipment

In July 2025 the Demorest City Council took up options for the fire department's future. Commissioners removed a proposed fire-service agreement with the City of Cornelia from the agenda, citing Cornelia's own growth and inability to take on additional responsibilities, and discussed other paths including in-house staffing and budget increases, a millage rate increase, and a fire fee.

The fire chief presented a budget and 2026 funding requests on July 17, with further discussion pushed to August. On August 5 the council tabled the matter, saying it had not yet received documents from the county. On September 4, council member Mitchell recommended tabling a related fire department employment request until the council settled on its options, and the council voted 4-0 to table both the employment request and the broader options discussion.

On October 7, 2025, the council approved, 3-1 with Davis dissenting, an intergovernmental agreement with Habersham County for fire services, authorizing the mayor to execute it with discussed payment modifications.

By March 3, 2026, the council was disposing of city fire equipment under that arrangement. It voted 4-0 to sell fire equipment to Habersham County Fire Department for a total of $75,000, to be credited against the agreement over four years starting January 1, 2027, and 4-0 to enter a five-year agreement leasing a 2022 Spartan Pumper (E-One) truck to the county for $90,000 in annual lease consideration. The council also voted 4-0 to sell 13 Scott SCBA frames and 23 cylinders to the City of Gainesville Fire Department for $24,500.