Leon County Commissioners have thwarted the City of Tallahassee’s efforts to raise fire fees.
The county commission voted at a special meeting Tuesday to reject the proposed 22% fee hike for the next fiscal year. The vote was 5 – 2 with Nick Maddox and Carolyn Cummings opposed.
"For me, this is an idea of making sure rate payers are treated fairly and that the interlocal agreement is being followed entirely," said Commissioner Rick Minor during the meeting.
City and county commissioners must agree on any changes to the fees.
In a Facebook post, Commission Chairman Brian Welch wrote that the vote was about accountability and was not meant to be adversarial.
“As partners in local government, we have an obligation to work together with our colleagues at the City, in good faith, to provide cost effective services to our community,” Welch wrote. “Likewise, as County Commissioners, we have an obligation to our neighbors to ensure that we are collecting and spending tax dollars as responsibly as possible.”
The fire fees help pay for Tallahassee Fire Department services in the city and county. City officials say the fund that covers firefighting services could run out of money.
