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High Springs residents urge preserving local fire department as county outlines costs to assume service
Summary
After a county briefing on how Alachua County Fire Rescue would price and staff services, dozens of residents and volunteer firefighters urged the city to keep its local department; the boards voted to receive an informational county presentation on what assuming fire service would look like.
High Springs residents packed the joint meeting to press elected officials to preserve the city’s local fire department even as county staff laid out a preliminary estimate of what it would cost the county to operate a 3‑person station.
Alachua County fire leadership said its two‑tier assessment methodology would generate roughly $1,360,000 if the county’s current model were applied inside High Springs city limits, and estimated recurring county operating costs to run a three‑person station at about $1,700,000. County staff also noted a proposed two‑year contract approach and a modest program‑level increase in assessment methodology under review.
“Right now our fire assessment is about 70% of our fire budget,” said Harold Diaz, identified in the meeting as the county fire chief, describing how assessment revenues, sales taxes and ambulance fees fit into the funding picture. County staff explained exemptions that can be built into an assessment (financial hardship, 501(c)(3), disabled veterans) and described the county’s valuation‑based formula for tier 2 of its assessment.
Residents described personal emergency experiences and appealed for local continuity. “This local fire department is not just a service. It has been the heartbeat of this town,” Jessica Ford told commissioners, recounting family reliance on quick local response; other speakers described life‑saving responses and urged keeping the local department intact.
City and county leaders said the presentation was informational and that no immediate takeover or appropriation was approved. The joint meeting recorded a motion to allow the county to present a formal informational briefing about how county provision would work; that presentation was scheduled as requested.
Why it matters: The conversation exposed the tradeoffs for a small city weighing its budgets: a county takeover could provide staffing and fiscal steadiness for some services but may raise assessment fees or shift local control. Residents and some city commissioners asked staff to explore alternatives — including impact‑fee studies, revising the city’s budget and potential targeted revenue measures — before making any decision about the department’s future.
