A fire authority allows communities to share resources to provide emergency services and react nimbly to areas that have little or no emergency response capabilities on their own, fire authority leaders around Michigan say. One authority — essentially a new government entity created to manage a service in multiple communities — already exists in Northeast Michigan, in the Rogers City area. And Northeast Michigan could see other partnerships. Alpena and Alpena Township are discussing forming an authority to oversee water and sewer services in those two communities to put an end to a years-long court battle. And those two communities briefly discussed forming a fire authority as the township explores a way to preserve firefighting services in the face of staffing shortages and financial issues.