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 $375,000 to $1.4 million annually and launching a 15-year station improvement plan to bring older stations up to modern, storm-resilient standards.

Why it matters: Stevens said the MSBU and the county’s millage-based Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) together fund roughly half of fire protection; Citrus County’s current MSBU is $79 per residence and, he said, remains the lowest in the region. Growing development, rising vehicle costs (he cited a 57 percent increase over four years) and three-year lead times for apparatus procurement mean the county risks equipment gaps and prolonged replacement cycles without new revenue.

Board debate and direction: Stevens outlined three MSBU options: raise to $100 annually (option 1) to fund the 13 firefighter hires; raise to $125 (option 2) to fund hires plus start a 10-year apparatus replacement plan and a 30-year facility upgrade plan; or raise to $150 (option 3) to fully fund staffing, apparatus and a 15-year facility program. He said the county could also legally set a maximum cap of $232 and adopt a lower initial rate to preserve future flexibility.

Commissioners split over the pace and scale of increases. Commissioner Finnegan said she favored a more gradual increase that first addresses staffing, while Commissioner Barrick and others argued for a higher starting level to address both staffing and facilities. Commissioner Kennard said he would support option 2. After discussion the board signaled consensus to set the legal MSBU cap at $232 so future boards would not have to repeat the study to raise the ceiling, and commissioners expressed preliminary support for pursuing the middle funding approach (option 2) while asking staff to outline implementation timing, exemptions and how growth will affect the tax base.

Details and next steps: Chief Stevens asked the board to consider setting the $232 cap “even if a lower rate is adopted,” to provide flexibility; commissioners agreed to set the cap and directed staff to return with implementation details, impacts on exemptions and options for staging increases. Stevens also asked the board to confirm whether MSBU and MSTU structures should remain in combination or be consolidated for future planning.

The board did not take a formal tax-rate vote at the meeting; commissioners asked for more analysis of development-driven growth, updated impact projections, and regular reporting on how any new revenue would be allocated.

Ending: The department will return with a fiscal plan distilled from the three options, more precise per-household impacts and proposed timing. Commissioners left the meeting with a stated priority of improving firefighter safety and filling key personnel gaps while balancing rate increases with local affordability concerns.