SANFORD, Fla. – Sanford officials are considering a proposed fire fee to help cover expenses and fund critical improvements for the city’s fire department.
Mayor Art Woodruff said the current budget is balanced and said the fee is not intended to fix a financial shortfall but to plan for the future.
“The fire department is asking for higher raises; this does not provide additional money for that,” Woodruff said. “If we go to shorter shifts, which the state is pushing, we do not have funding for that. Going forward, this would give us money to do things like that.”
The proposed fee would apply to all property owners citywide. The mayor has said the average homeowner would pay about $95 a year. City officials said the fire department needs to raise about $2.4 million annually to help cover expenses.
“If it passes this year, it will give us some additional revenue,” Woodruff said. “We did not include a couple of things the fire department asked for, including an engine that we put off for a year. If this passes, we’ll be able to fund those things. But we don’t really have a decision for this year on how we would spend that additional funds, but it would be going to the fire department.”
The idea of merging Sanford’s fire services with Seminole County has been discussed in the past, but the mayor said it was more cost-effective for the city to maintain its own fire department.
At a public hearing Monday night, people expressed mixed opinions.
“You need to live in your budget,” said one Sanford resident. “You know, maybe there’s other solutions. For example, maybe Sanford needs to merge with Seminole County. I don’t like it, I think it’s very unpopular because I think we’re very proud of our fire department, as I said, but we have to look at other solutions.”
Another resident voiced support for the fire fee, citing concerns about fire hydrants in disrepair in the historic district.
“I’m actually for the fire assessment fee,” said another Sanford resident. “I live in the historic district, I drive around, I walk around, and I’ve been seeing fire hydrants that are covered and out of order, and that makes me really nervous for, like, my neighbors who live on those streets.”
The Sanford City Commission voted to proceed with the next steps, which include sending letters to property owners detailing how much they would pay if the fee is approved. A final vote is scheduled for early September.