Citrus County commissioners set MSBU cap, weigh phased MSBU hikes to fund fire staffing and stations

Citrus County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to set the maximum allowable Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU) rate at $232 per dwelling unit and debated three staged funding options to shore up the county fire-rescue budget.

The issue: Fire Chief Craig Stevens told the board the department’s adopted 2025 budget runs about $15 million; personnel costs are 73 percent of that total. Stevens said the department’s minimum staffing of two firefighters per engine is below national standards and that aging trucks, a stretched apparatus replacement schedule and stations built during the volunteer era leave the county exposed.

“Increasing minimum staffing to three people per engine will improve operational efficiency and firefighter safety,” Chief Craig Stevens said. He proposed hiring 13 additional firefighters at an annual cost of roughly $1.1 million, raising the apparatus replacement contribution from about…