The City of Tallahassee has responded to the recent decisions by the Leon County Commission related to the controversial increase in the fire services fee. In a letter (provided below) to County Manager Vince Long, City Manage Reese Goad said that the city would move forward with the fire services fee increase for city residents and would postpone construction of two fire stations.
The Leon County Commission recently voted 5-2, with Nick Maddox and Commissioner Carolyn Cummings voting no, to move forward with the same rate as the previous year. The vote came after the county attorney advised that the city did not have the authority to impose the rate hike without the county’s approval.
In the letter, Goad said, “my recommendation to the City Commission will be to exercise its authority and increase the Fire Service Fees & Assessments for properties within the City limits commensurate with the fiscal impact associated with the current collective bargaining agreement and current staffing level of the Tallahassee Fire Department and to postpone the expansion of Station 15 and construction of Station 17 and all related trucks and equipment.”
Goad added that the “necessary 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.”
The recommendation will be included on the City Commission’s budget item scheduled for September 3, 2025.
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City’s Letter Related to Fire Services Fee
Lee, I'm actually fine with the bus service. It is, after all, a service. Services are not supposed to be revenue generators.
Plus, the added mobility of a working class who cannot afford personal transportation keeps extra cars off the roads and out of Tallahassee's poorly-designed choke points creating more congestion and allowing them to work the jobs needed to keep everything going. A properly-run service has many more knock-on effects that do far more good than harm once you start connecting the dots.
I think there's room for improvement, but I do think it's needed.
Not building station 17 and/or expanding station 15 hurts city residents more than it does county.
Let’s cut off our collective noses to spite our faces.
Tax and spend Democrats still rings true. Other people's money - so easy to waste!
How about they shut down the cities bus transportation system and save the city millions of dollars every year. It's been losing money since it started but they keep it going and then ask the taxpayers to give up their money to pay for their other pet projects. This is what happens when your city is run by a bunch of liberal hacks
@August West, The FSU money was given by Blueprint, an intergovernmental agency overseen by both City and County commissioners. Also, the pay increase was a ballot initiative; the voters gave them a 100% raise.
How about stop providing fire protection outside the City limits? That would save enough not to raise the City fees. No?
You won’t like your jacked-up TRIM notices this week, but at least you can enjoy their colorful redesign.
And yes, the illiberal majority of voters who elected these cretins have no one to blame but themselves.
This is unbelievable. Wait for the next property tax increase...You get what you vote for...
Absolutely the TOTAL OPPOSITE decision they should have made.
What are these "leaders" thinking?
What a bumbling bunch of idiots we have in charge.
Seems like the City could really use that 21 million dollars they gave to FSU for their stadium upgrades...
We must have the most shameless group of cretins in Florida running our city...they are always broke; at the same time they literally give our money and property away to their favorite constituents.
Its grotesque.
P.S. Didn't they just vote themselves a 100% raise not too long ago? Now we're going without fire stations. Unbeleivable.