Alachua County Fire Rescue Chief Harold Diaz told the High Springs commission on Aug. 21 that the county's funding formula — a cost‑per‑call methodology used to reimburse municipal departments — is already shifting revenue away from High Springs after the county opened Station 21 earlier this year.

Diaz said the methodology was adopted in 2019 to create a uniform, data-driven payment system after years of year‑to‑year negotiations with municipalities. "The original cost per call was somewhere around $713 per call," Diaz said; "This year, that cost was $8.65 per call," language used in his presentation to describe how the county applies CPI and the cost calculation (see full transcript). He said early post‑opening data indicated about one call per day had migrated to the new county station, reducing what the county pays to the city under the reciprocal cost‑per‑call arrangement.

How the county funds fire services

Diaz described two main county funding streams: fire assessment fees and ambulance/EMS revenue. He said roughly 70 percent of county fire costs are covered by the county fire assessment and roughly 30 percent by sales tax and ambulance transport fees. He explained the county's assessment method is value‑based (he quoted a sample county residential rate of about $132 plus $7.31 per $5,000 of improved value) and said that method was chosen to make the county assessment less regressive than a flat per‑parcel fee.

Why High Springs is affected

Diaz and city staff said when county apparatus are located closer to or inside city limits (Station 21 is in the northwest corridor), response patterns change and the county's cost per call paid to the city declines because more runs are attributed to county units. Diaz said the county settled on a formula to avoid ad hoc annual requests from multiple municipalities and to provide a consistent accounting method.

County and city options

Chief Diaz said the county preferred the city retain its own fire department and offered in‑kind assistance and cooperation as the city considers options. He said a short, negotiated "soft landing" or bridge funding year could be discussed but cautioned county leadership is sensitive to fairness across the unincorporated county population that funds the assessment. "If you were asking the unincorporated resident to pay to contribute more for a High Springs fire department, that I think is what runs into the conflict," Diaz said.

Local reaction

City Manager Jeremy Marshall and city commissioners stressed the community values its local fire service and noted residents and volunteers described non‑emergency services the department provides (CPR classes, bike-helmet checks, outreach). Multiple public commenters argued the municipal department is less expensive for many residents than county assessments and that cutting or eliminating the city department would reduce local control and could lengthen response times for some calls.

Next steps

Chief Diaz said cost‑per‑call settlements are calculated on recent call data and that the county reconciles every few months based on the prior period's call counts. He suggested that city leaders raise the issue with the county commission if they seek a negotiated transition. City staff said they would contact the county commission for additional discussion and asked commissioners to consider bridge or mitigation approaches while a full year of post‑Station 21 data accrues.