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Okeechobee County Chief says fire, EMS budgets balanced at a 50/50 split; Station 4 spending paused pending location review
Summary
County staff and the fire chief told commissioners the Fire Rescue and EMS budgets can be funded under the fiscal 2026 assessment rates using a revised 50/50 split of personnel costs. Commissioners asked staff to hold Station 4 construction funds in reserve while they analyze development plans and response-zone data.
The Fire Chief told the Okeechobee County Commission that, after re-running the CASA assessment report and adjusting revenue assumptions, the county can fund the Fire Rescue and EMS requests using the fiscal year 2026 assessment rates and a revised 50/50 split of shared personnel costs.
The change follows staff work to reconcile assessment calculations and revenue. The Fire Chief said the department re-ran the CASA report and found “sufficient funds to do what we talked about” and that the budget can include equipment and station improvements without moving to the higher 2027 rates.
Commissioners heard the Fire Rescue total request is $6,723,457 — a year-to-year increase staff…
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