The Brighton City Council met in regular session on Monday. While the general consensus from the parties involved in the fire dispute is that they are moving in the right direction, action was tabled for their next meeting.

On Wednesday, January 25, Brighton Mayor, Melvin Rich, met with a representative from each township, a member of the Brighton Volunteer Fire Department, as well as one city council member. As Rich told the council on Monday, “We had a two hour meeting. [I] thought we made some headway.”

In that January meeting, the group furthered discussions on establishing a Fire Advisory Board, as well as a memorandum of understanding between the city and the Brighton Volunteer Fire Department. As written in the memorandum, its purpose would be “to enhance and improve the communication, transparency, and trust between the Fire Fighters and Mayor and City Council Members”.

No action has yet been taken on an advisory board, the memorandum, or the proposed 28E agreement, which lays out the details of fire protection and emergency services in the City of Brighton, and the townships served by the fire department. Mayor Rich expressed his desire to meet once more with the small group before the council decides whether or not to move forward at their next meeting on Tuesday, February 21.