PACE — Voters passed the Pace Fire Rescue District referendum. Now, actually establishing the special legislative district should take 18 to 24 months.
Of 18,208 Pace voters, 68.93 percent wanted an independent Pace Fire Rescue District. The Santa Rosa County Commission currently decides how much the Pace district receives among nine fire districts funded by Municipal Services Benefits Units. MSBUs are fees assessed to residents for community services.
Other fire districts under this MSBU are Allentown, Bagdad, Berrydale, East Milton, Harold, Jay, Munson and Skyline.
Pace Fire Rescue District Chief Robbie Whitfield said Pace's population increase was the catalyst to seek becoming an independent, tax-levying district.
"In 1989, when the MSBU was created, to 2007, there was no (fee) increase to allow departments to grow while the community grew,” he said.
He said that, in 2007, the Santa Rosa County Commission increased the MSBU residential house rate from $35 to $85, "and that's a shock to (the) homeowner."
However, he said from 2007 to 2016 the rate remained the same.
Santa Rosa County Commissioner Don Salter said, "We've always tried to be fair with all the fire departments in the county, the ones that fall under county control …
“Back in 2007 the Board of County Commissioners, we realized we needed additional funding for all of the county-controlled fire departments, and that's when we approved the MSTU, the municipal service taxing unit, where every resident in Santa Rosa County and every commercial entity would all pay the same thing through the MSTU and from there we created the Santa Rosa County Fire Chief Association, who would meet on an ongoing basis and identify their geographical needs and then divide up the MSTU money to meet those needs."
Salter said this decision helped rural fire departments, which needed equipment updates and funding for training.
An independent fire district would help solve another problem in the area, according to Whitfield: response time. An unmanned station is one for which volunteer firefighters stay on call at home. The only manned station is station one at 4773 Pace Patriot Blvd.
"The Pea Ridge station is unmanned. Over six months last year we received 495 calls out of that one station,” Whitfield said, adding the station needs staff and renovation.
Four firefighters at the Pace Boulevard station can respond to a call from that unmanned station faster, but they are not always closest to the fire.
Salter said the Pace Fire Rescue District had not come to the board for help in staffing unmanned stations but said he supports what voters decide.
Whitfield has not determined how much more money an independent district could generate, but he said, "I don't want to spend any more of the people’s money than I have to."
Whitfield estimated 18 to 24 months until the process is complete. The next step for the independent district’s creation is gaining the state legislature's approval. Whitfield said the Pace Fire Rescue District board of directors would meet with Florida House District 3 Rep. Jayer Williamson next week.
Williamson said somebody would have to present a bill to the legislature. Committees will then examine it before it goes to the Florida State House of Representatives and Senate for final approval.
Santa Rosa County's adopted budget for fiscal-year 2017 includes Municipal Service Benefit Unit expenditures for each fire department within the MSBU.
They are:
Pace Fire Department — $1,091,353
Navarre Beach Fire Department — $664,556
Skyline Fire Department — $497,792
East Milton Fire Department — $357,255
Bagdad Fire Department — $173,499
Jay Fire Department — $157,530
Allentown Fire Department — $108,662
Munson Fire Department — $100,630
Berrydale Fire Department — $93,232
Harold Fire Department — $80,059
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Going solo