VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Four Volusia County fire stations are on the chopping block and fire officials say in order to keep them open they'll need to raise property taxes.
Tuesday night was the last of the public meetings in the county to discuss the possible changes.
The county fire stations are funded 100 percent by property taxes from homes in unincorporated areas in Volusia County. But since 2010, Volusia County Fire Rescue services has been dipping into the reserve to balance the budget.
To solve the problem, the county is proposing to raise the property taxes 45 cents per $1,000 in property values. That is on average about $50 more per homeowner annually.
Volusia County Fire Chief Jeff Smith spoke to 20 people in DeLeon Springs. He told the crowd that he's already cut the daily staff by 25 percent, closed several stations in the past, and made changes in transport and technology to try to save money.
Smith said his firefighters cover 980 square miles and that closing the four stations would stretch a reduced staff even further.
Volusia County fire officials will compile all the public comments and concerns from all the meetings and give a presentation to the County council April 16.