City Staff Responds to County Fire Services Proposal

On Wednesday June 11, the city commission will consider a proposal from the Leon County Commission related to the increase in fires services fees. Leon County contracts with the City for fire service to ensure that residents and properties located outside of city limits receive emergency services.

The fire service fund rate study results – which proposed a 22% increase – were presented to the Leon County Board of County Commissioners on May 27, 2025, and the Board voted to provide an alternative level of service to the city commission for consideration.

The city staff responded to the county proposal in the workshop agenda information.

The county’s proposal excludes all positions, equipment, and programmatic costs needed to improve Tallahassee’s ISO rating from 3 to 2. The meeting agenda notes that “excluding these critical needs would only reduce the proposed rate increase for residents by $0.99 to $1.04. The Tallahassee Fire Department has recommended these operational changes as a necessary step to continue its efforts to provide the highest level of fire protection for Tallahassee.” The city commission has identified these operational improvements as a key target in the new Strategic Plan.

The county proposal also states that the city must agree not to seek any future increases to the fire services assessments and fees within the current five-year study period, including increases related to future union negotiations not contemplated in the current study, and codify the adjusted rates in a seventh amendment to the Interlocal Agreement for Fire and Emergency Services.

If the city rejects any aspect of the proposal, the county administrator has been directed to initiate the conflict resolution process outlined in the Interlocal Agreement between the City and County for Fire and Emergency Services.

Should the conflict resolution process be initiated, the Interlocal Agreement defines each step. The process begins with staff negotiation, then moves to mediation, and finally ends in binding arbitration if no agreement is reached in prior steps.

The county has noted that if arbitration results in the city’s favor and notice is not provided by the September 15 public hearing, the County would be responsible for providing funding to the city.