The city of Savannah is trying to collect on an unpaid bill of nearly $400,000 from Chatham County.

The city claims it's owed the money for police expenses dating back to 2006. City finance chief Dick Evans says the funds are for expenses related to fire dispatch calls.

But County Manager Russ Abolt says the law prevents the county from paying the invoices. He says a fee that's collected on cellphone bills can't be used to cover the city's fire dispatch costs.

Savannah city spokesman Bret Bell says the county is correct about the spending restriction. But he says an agreement still requires the county to share in the costs of dispatching fire calls.

Tags: Savannah, dispatch, Chatham County, fire dispatch costs