The city of Decatur has announced it will no longer be the primary provider of emergency services to parts of unincorporated Limestone County, but Limestone County District 3 Commissioner Jason Black says the announcement’s bark is worse than its bite.

“It won’t make any difference anyway,” Black said. “They weren’t supposed to be served at that point because the contract they entered with Limestone County was never a legal document.”

The contract to which he refers was an unofficial agreement made in the mid-1990s between fire departments in Decatur and Limestone County for coverage of the area south of Airport Road and west of Interstate 65 in the county. In 2018, the city decided it was time to do away with the agreement.

A Dec. 27 release says the city “determined that it does not have the authority, under the present circumstances, to continue to serve as the primary provider of fire, emergency medical services and law enforcement” for properties within that area of unincorporated Limestone County. The announcement says Decatur would cease to provide those services Feb. 1.

Black hoped they would wait until March 1 so residents could be fully informed before the announcement went into effect. He estimated fewer than 10 residents will be affected.

“The letter that went out sounded like it was going to be a big area, but let’s be honest, the houses that are running down U.S. 31 just below Calhoun — half of those houses are covered because they went into Decatur when it annexed,” Black said.

He said services from Decatur could still be provided as assistance. All that changes, he said, is residents will be served first by departments in Limestone County, not from the next county over — something that for the most part was already happening.

“Residents will still be served by Athens-Limestone EMS,” he said. “The (Limestone County) Sheriff’s Department responds to every call. Fire will be just like everyone else.”

There are a few spots that could be tricky, such as Calvary Assembly of God, which is located on Alabama 20.

“The city of Decatur covers (the emergency) if there’s an accident on Highway 20, but that church is not covered,” Black said. “That’s one of the drawbacks to annexation, that some of the services fall by the wayside.”

Despite all of this, he doubts there would ever be a situation in which a first responder hesitated at the scene of an emergency because they weren’t sure if it was in their jurisdiction or not. Black said it’s possible another branch or station of a volunteer fire department would be built to further accommodate the shift in services.