Marion County commissioners direct staff to refine fire, EMS and transportation impact‑fee options

Marion County commissioners at a workshop on impact fees on Feb. 1 heard a consultant presentation updating calculations for fire rescue, emergency medical services and transportation and asked staff to return with revised cost estimates and implementation scenarios.

The workshop opened with Tracy Straub, assistant county administrator, introducing the study team and the focus of the session. Consultant Nie Gwenkamp of Banesh Consulting said Marion County is experiencing significant growth and that the technical study updates fee variables, uses localized data and follows state requirements for burden of proof and recency of data. "Impact fees by definition are one‑time capital charge to new development," Gwenkamp said, adding they "cannot be used for maintenance, operations, renovations" and are intended to pay for capacity projects needed to maintain a level of service.

The consultant presented separate methods for fire/EMS and for transportation. For fire and EMS the study inventoried capital assets (32 stations), building and land area, vehicles and equipment and calculated an asset value. The presentation cited an approximate combined asset value of about $149,000,000 for fire rescue (buildings, land, vehicles and equipment) and calculated that value per resident as roughly $510 for fire rescue and about $185 for EMS. The study used population‑per‑station as the level‑of‑service metric (about 10,000 residents per fire station; about 18,000 per EMS station). Gwenkamp said sample fees in the draft schedule produced projected annual revenues, if adopted at 100%, in the range of about $3.5 million to $4.5 million per year for fire/EMS (about $18 million to $22 million over five years).

Commissioners and county staff pressed several operational and cost questions. Marion County Fire Rescue Chief James Fanz said the department uses service‑level triggers rather than permit counts to decide when to add resources: an engine runs more than 2,500 calls per year or an ambulance more than 2,000 calls per year typically indicates need for additional units. On station construction costs, commissioners were told that recent projects came in around $5.1 million for a smaller station and more than $8 million for a larger central station; staff said the study used $5 million estimates but county facilities staff and the chief said current market projections may be closer to $8 million, and the consultant agreed to update the cost basis.

On interim staffing and deployment, staff described the county's use of modular stations to bridge gaps while brick‑and‑mortar stations are designed and built; modular units were described as reusable between projects. Commissioners also asked about the insurance and ISO ratings: County staff said properties within five miles of a fire station and within 1,000 feet of a hydrant typically receive an ISO Class 2; properties beyond five miles can be rated Class 10, which raises homeowners' insurance costs.

For transportation, the consultant explained the study's consumption‑based methodology and noted state law limits placed by recent legislation. Gwenkamp said transportation impact fees were last updated in 2015 and that a 2021 House bill limits how much existing fees may be increased without an extraordinary‑circumstances finding; specifically, existing fees may not be raised by more than 50% without a special process. The draft transportation calculation presented a full, un‑capped fee for a typical single‑family home in the study of about $5,300; the county's existing adopted transportation fee from the 2015 study was described in the presentation as approximately $1,397. Under the statute cited in the presentation, without declaring extraordinary circumstances the most the county could increase the existing adopted fee would be to about $2,095 (a 50% increase over the adopted amount). The consultant estimated transportation revenues, if adopted at the calculated level, at roughly $24 million to $29 million per year (about $117 million to $144 million over five years).

Commissioners directed staff and the consultant to return with updated, near‑term cost data and scenario modeling. Specifically the board asked the consultant to (1) update station construction cost assumptions to reflect current local estimates (consultant said this could be provided in a couple of weeks once the facilities data are supplied), and (2) provide tiered implementation scenarios (50%, 75% and 100% of the calculated fees) and revenue projections so the board can evaluate tradeoffs. Commissioners also asked for a one‑page summary showing the combined effect of the sales tax, impact fees and any planned assessments on developers and residents.

The board did not take any formal votes at the workshop. Commissioners agreed to continue the EMS conversation with the City of Ocala (the only municipality in the county that provides its own fire service) and to schedule follow‑up meetings: the board asked staff to bring updated fire figures to the Feb. 18 board meeting and to continue EMS discussions at a March workshop. Commissioners asked administration to begin conversations with the city manager about EMS fee collection and interlocal arrangements.

Commissioners and staff emphasized options and constraints: the board may adopt fire‑rescue impact fees countywide for unincorporated areas independent of the interlocal EMS discussion, while transportation fee increases are constrained by the statutory cap unless the board pursues the extraordinary‑circumstances process, which would require additional hearings and a supermajority approval.

The consultant and county staff agreed to return with revised numbers and scenarios for the board's next meeting; no ordinance was introduced or adopted at the workshop.