County considers raising fire rescue assessment rates

Marion County Fire Rescue training. Photo Courtesy James Lucas/MCFR

Marion County is considering an increase in the fire rescue assessment fee to account for population growth and additional need for service.

Marion County Fire Rescue Chief James Banta presented data to the County Commission at a workshop on Feb. 27, giving options for a one-time rate increase or a gradual rate increase over the next five years.

Assessment rates are only charged to residents living outside city borders. The city of Ocala has its own fire assessment rate, which is $364.15 for a single-family home with a square footage between 1,601 and 2,500.

Fire rescue assessment rates are different from impact fees and the penny sales tax, as the revenue can be used for regular department costs and operations. Impact fees and penny sales tax revenue can only be used for capital projects and infrastructure.

The current fire rescue assessment rate for a single-family residential home is $199.91. If the county approves raising the rate, residents will see an average increase of $84.06 over the next five years.

If commissioners choose to gradually increase the rate at 100% over the next five years, the rate would increase to $237.22 in 2025-26, $250.11 in 2026-27, $290.10 in 2027-28, $307.82 in 2028-29 and $325.43 in 2029-30.

The proposed rates will be on the agenda for discussion in the second week of April, with an initial resolution on the agenda in May and the final approval slated for September when the budget is finalized and approved for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The current rates were adopted by resolution on Sept. 10, 2019, and the proposed new residential combined rate, based on a five-year average, would reflect an increase of $84.06.

“We did a lot of work and future projecting over the last five years, and my opinion is that the 100% rate is the appropriate rate,” Banta said.

“If I thought that we could do it at a lower rate, I would, but we spent a lot of time ensuring that the next five years were being fiscally responsible and that we’re presenting you what we really think we can accomplish over the next five years,” Banta said.

The rates were calculated by considering growth projections, including an annual increase in wages and salaries of 5% a year.

“So that accounts for additional personnel, that accounts for additional wages and that accounts for a new union contract that’s going to happen during this five-year period,” Banta said.

The proposed rates would bring in net revenue of $67.7 million in 2025-26, $71.4 million in 2026-27, $82.7 million in 2027-28, $87.7 million in 2028-29 and $92.6 million in 2029-30.

Rates would be collected from commercial, industrial, warehouse, institutional and miscellaneous properties—and in 2025-26 at rates of 15 cents or less per square foot, in comparison to the residential rate of about $64 per square foot.

Land property also is accounted for in rates, for $3.30 per acre in 2025-25.

The county is also considering reinstating impact fees for fire rescue, adding a new impact fee for emergency medical services and raising the impact fee for transportation. Impact fees are one-time payments made by developers to offset the cost of growth.

The move follows the school district, which reinstated impact fees to generate revenue for school construction last year after a 13-year hiatus.

The county also levies the penny sales tax, which generates funds for transportation and public safety.

Marion County has an estimated population of 419,000 people, with a projected annual growth rate of 9%. Marion is ranked 17th out of Florida’s 67 counties and its residential permit growth rate is ranked 15^th.