Kissimmee commissioners direct staff to pursue 24/72 firefighter schedule, prepare fire-assessment proposal

Kissimmee commissioners signaled consensus at an April workshop to pursue a 24/72 firefighter work schedule and directed staff to prepare a fire-assessment proposal and timeline for public hearings to fund the change.

The proposal, presented by Fire Chief Jim Walls and Finance Director Tavia Ritchie, would reduce firefighter weekly hours from 56 to roughly 42 by moving to a schedule that has firefighters work a single 24-hour shift followed by 72 hours off. Chief Jim Walls said the change would give crews “the ability to emotionally and physically recover” from intense incidents and, he said, would improve recruitment and retention.

The commission was asked to decide whether to adopt the staffing schedule if funding is secured and which funding approach to pursue. Ritchie presented three options: (1) a full millage increase, (2) a citywide fire assessment using two tiers (a variable charge per $1,000 of relative improvement value and a fixed per-parcel fee), or (3) a hybrid that raises millage partway and fills the remainder with an assessment. Ritchie said full implementation would require roughly $6,000,000 and 49 new positions, including 29 firefighters, several operations lieutenants and engineers, and additional administrative and EMS/training leadership positions.

Ritchie described the fire-assessment design she presented as two tiers: a variable tier set at about $0.56 per $1,000 of relative improvement value and a fixed tier at $105 per parcel to raise an estimated $6,000,000. She gave examples from that model: a single-family home with $150,000 relative improvement value would pay about $189 annually; a $250,000 example would be about $245 annually; a small retail shop about $257; and a capped large apartment complex about $5,700 annually. Under the hybrid scenario Ritchie outlined, raising millage to about 5.0753 would generate approximately $2,680,000 and an assessment for the remaining $3,300,000 would look like $35.35 per $1,000 of relative improvement value with a $49.50 per-parcel charge. Ritchie also said the full-millage option presented would raise the city millage to more than 5.6253 and increase the sample $250,000 tax bill by about $250 annually.

Chief Walls said the recommendation to move to 24/72 came from a third-party validation by Emergency Services Consulting International, which he said balanced operational efficiency, cost and firefighter health. Walls said several Florida departments have adopted 24/72 or are negotiating for it; he cited Boca Raton as an agency that has run the schedule for more than two decades. “The 24 72 schedule is becoming the gold standard in the fire service,” Walls said. He noted a recent local surge of high-acuity incidents that he said illustrate recovery needs between shifts and tied the schedule to recruiting the staff needed to place a fifth engine and other units back into service.

Commissioners broadly voiced support for moving to the 24/72 schedule if funding is identified. Several commissioners described public safety as their top priority and favored the fire-assessment route because, as Commissioner (name not specified), put it, an assessment “separates that pocketbook” and legally ties revenues to fire services. Ritchie said assessments have no exemptions and provide a traceable funding source that, unlike an increased millage, is less likely to be affected by current state-level proposals that could limit utility transfers or change property-tax rules.

Commission discussion covered timing and process. Ritchie and staff said implementing a fire assessment requires a sequence of steps including a city resolution to set an assessment amount, notifications to the property appraiser and tax collector, and a public hearing (staff proposed a public hearing in June with a directing resolution at the April 15 meeting). The commission also discussed the calendar and notice requirements tied to millage (separate Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices and multiple hearings) and noted statutory requirements for public hearings on tax increases.

The commission addressed related operational questions: county contract coverage of unincorporated areas (Station 14 contract area), potential station relocations, and how call volumes cross municipal boundaries. Staff said the county currently pays for coverage of portions of unincorporated areas and that future county decisions about contract areas could change city coverage demands and station siting.

Action and next steps: commissioners asked staff to return with a resolution launching the assessment process and the schedule of hearings so the city can align the assessment work with the budget calendar. No formal roll-call vote was taken at the workshop; staff characterized the outcome as a commission consensus to pursue the 24/72 schedule if funded and to initiate the assessment process for consideration by the full commission.

The workshop concluded with staff and commissioners agreeing to return the item for formal action following the legally required notices and hearings.