Tallahassee commission accepts update on city takeover of fire services, seeks budget details

The Tallahassee City Commission on Nov. 19 accepted an update from city management and Fire Chief Gene Sanders on plans to transition fire protection to city-only operations over the next three years.

City Manager said the city is preparing for the change and will reassign personnel currently staffing five county-run stations; Chief Sanders told the commission that all employees assigned to county stations would be realigned to city stations and that staffing levels will not be reduced. Sanders said the department has hired 51 firefighters since November — the largest single-year hiring surge in more than 30 years — and described operational changes, including a dedicated manpower unit and a redesign of Station 17 (Old Lake Bradford) to improve response times in that area.

Commissioners pressed staff for more precise budget analysis. Commissioner Matlow asked when the commission would see the fiscal impacts of bringing roughly 45 county positions into the city payroll; City Manager said detailed budget work is pending and will be developed in future budget cycles. Commissioner Porter asked whether the city could afford the commitment; staff said the net financial effect has not been finalized and that current city residents subsidize service to county residents under the existing arrangement.

Public speaker Stanley Sims, who lives in the county and has a son who is a firefighter, said he hopes "cooler heads would prevail" and warned of potential taxpayer cost increases. Commissioners reiterated that the transition is several years away and that staff will return with more detailed cost, facility and operational plans. The commission voted to accept the update as presented, 5–0.

What happens next: staff will produce detailed budget scenarios, a Station 17 redesign plan and a timetable for implementation for commission review in future budget cycles.