FRANKLIN — The Franklin Fire Department and St. Mary Parish Government are still working through a dispute over fire protection services in District 5, Franklin Fire Department said on Tuesday.

Franklin Fire Chief Chuck Bourgeois met with St. Mary Parish officials on Tuesday to talk through concerns tied to a longstanding fire protection agreement. The department previously announced it could pull fire protection services from District 5 if a resolution could not be reached.

No agreement came out of the meeting, department officials said, but talks between both parties are now underway and several possible options have been put on the table.

At the center of the dispute is a fire protection agreement the department says St. Mary Parish Government has not honored over the years. At a parish council meeting in March, the Franklin Fire Department requested the council update the contract between the two entities and initially set an April deadline for the contract to be updated.

“The fire protection agreement dates back to 1987, and the St. Mary Parish Government has not fully honored the financial terms of that agreement,” Franklin Fire Department officials wrote. “Based on the figures …, the City of Franklin has gone without more than $1.5 million in funding over the past 39 years.”

Department officials said they are not requesting an increase in the fee per structure or per citizen—they are asking for the number of protected structures and citizens to be updated.

Fire officials say adequate funding is necessary for the department to provide the level of fire protection expected under the agreement. The department officials emphasized that withdrawing fire protection services from District 5 is not a decision being taken lightly and said Chief Bourgeois and City of Franklin officials remain committed to talks until a resolution with the parish government can be reached.

Discussions are expected to continue and the department said it will provide updates as negotiations move forward.