TALLAHASSEE, FL — In a letter written to County Administrator Vince Long, City Manager Reese Goad is calling for commissioners to exercise their authority and increase the Fire Service Fees & Assessments following last week's vote. Last Tuesday, commissioners held a special meeting where they voted not to increase the fire service rate by 22%.
Goad said that by the commissioners voting against the increase, they rejected the 2025 Fire Service Fee Rate study that was conducted. The study looked to identify three things:
- Fire Services Costs based on a review of the budget, allowable expenditures, and cost drivers that could not have been anticipated in the 2023 study.
- Determining Fire Protection Revenue Requirements
- Calculating Proforma Schedule of Rates
Goad said the County Commission also directed the County Attorney to withdraw its demand for arbitration regarding increases in the Fire Service Fees & Assessments based on her change in guidance that the issue is not arbitrable. He claims that for the last three weeks, thousands of dollars have been used by the City and County for the arbitration process, with no results. He says the commission has chosen to ignore the rate study, reject the results, and leave the Fire Service Fees & Assessments for properties in unincorporated Leon County unchanged.
The letter goes on to mention the agreement between the fire union and the City Commission following the 2023 rate study. He said the actual wages are significantly higher than the projected wages in the study. The agreement provides funding to hire firefighters for Stations 15 and 17. While these stations are being worked on, the firefighters who have been hired will help staff other stations within the city to be in accordance with National Fire Protection Association standards
Goad says do to this commitment, he's recommending that the Fire Service Fees and Assessments be increased, that the expansion of Station 15 and 17 be postponed, and all related trucks and equipment. He says the cost for firefighter personnel expenses and reduced expenses relating to postponing Station 15 and 17 will be based on the underlying budget information also used by the rate study.
Goad plans to include this recommendation on the City Commission's budget item for their September 3rd meeting.
READ FULL LETTER BELOW:
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