WAKULLA COUNTY, FL — Wakulla County fire service fees could be going up, and a new EMS special assessment fee may be added for all property owners.
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The county hired Accenture Infrastructure and Capital Projects LLC to review fire service fees and examine what it would cost to add a new EMS special assessment. The study found a new EMS fee could cost property owners an average of $115 a year on top of existing fire service fees, which are also proposed to increase.
Depending on the fiscal year, the combined additional cost could range between $102 and $130 a year per property owner.
The current residential fire service rate is about $260 per home, according to County Administrator David Edwards. The study proposes increasing that rate to $280 for the 2026-27 fiscal year, rising to $352 by the 2030-31 fiscal year.
Edwards said if the county enacts the new EMS assessment, it would be offset by a reduction in property taxes.
"What we would do is we would, we would recommend to the board that if it costs $3 million for our EMS facility, that we would drop millage by that amount, so it'd be an equal offset. So that's, that's how we would come up with that, with that offset," Edwards said.
The proposed increases are driven by rising costs.
In the 2021-22 fiscal year, the combined fire and EMS services budget was $5,076,361. For the 2025-26 budget, that figure has grown to $8,528,121 and is expected to continue rising.
Richard Lewis, assistant chief of personnel and operations for Wakulla County Fire Rescue, explained how the existing fire service fee is used.
"That money goes towards everything with the fire department, which is operations of fire trucks, our equipment, and personnel, and this is what gives us the ability to provide fire suppression throughout the county," Lewis said.
The presentation was part of a public workshop to share the study's findings. No formal vote has taken place to enact any of the proposed changes.
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