Fears Of Cuts To Fire Departments And Emergency Services Plague Florida Property Tax Proposals

By: Liv Caputo

Fears of decimated fire departments dominated Tuesday’s Florida House committee hearing on proposals to slash property taxes.

Democrats in the House State Affairs Committee joined pro-local groups and a small-town fire chief in raising concern that House Republicans’ four proposed resolutions to amend the state Constitution would starve fire departments and emergency management services.

Because each of the resolutions would ban cutting the property taxes that fund schools or law enforcement, that would leave fire and EMS without much of the money they’ve come to rely on, the opponents claimed.

“How many firefighters are dispensable? That’s the question,” said Rep. Ashley Gantt, a Miami Democrat. “This bill is premature. There is no data, there is no research, and, quite frankly it’s insulting to the men and women who serve us everyday who aren’t law enforcement.”

“The financial impact [these bills] will have on our fire and EMS services could be devastating,” Williston Fire Chief Lamar Stegall agreed. Thirty percent of his county’s EMS budget comes from property taxes, he continued, adding, “If our fire departments go down, what happens then?”

The Florida Association of Counties, Florida League of Cities, and officials from Jacksonville Beach, Orange County, and South Pasadena echoed these fears, claiming that slashing property taxes without proposing alternative revenue is a “fiscal crisis by design.”

A total of seven proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution and one bill have been filed by House Republicans ahead of the 2026 session. This came — somewhat ironically — because Gov. Ron DeSantis last year demanded the Legislature find a way to slash or eliminate property taxes, which have drastically risen in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic.

But DeSantis has spurned the proposals, calling them “milquetoast” and scoffing at the lower chamber’s willingness to put all the measures on the ballot for voters.

His public uninterest has been part of a broader feud between DeSantis and House Speaker Danny Perez, who declared that the Florida House would become more independent of the governor than it had been as DeSantis geared up for his failed presidential bid in 2023.

‘Nothing restricts cities from funding fire.’

Only four of the eight measures were taken up Tuesday in the second of three scheduled committee hearings. The other four will likely be scheduled for next week’s State Affairs hearing.

And despite hours of backlash, the four proposals passed along party lines. The Republicans pushed back on predictions of harm to fire and EMS services, noting that they could attempt to smooth problems if voters approve their proposals, or that fire departments could start pulling from a separate taxing fund through higher fees.

“Firefighters have the ability to … have a fee there,” said Rep. Monique Miller, a Palm Bay Republican co-sponsoring one of the measures. “There are a multitude of ways that you can fund law enforcement and firefighters.”

Some county fire departments pull from a Municipal Services Taxing Unit, she said. This is a special revenue fund fueled by charges for services, permits, fees, and special assessments.

Co-sponsor Rep. Kevin Steele claimed that in his county, Pasco, local firefighters rely on such an entity as a partial alternative funding source to property taxes.

“Instead of there being ad valorem taxes, there’s an MSTU separated from that, and there’s an ability for them to do that,” said Steele, who’s running to serve as the state’s Chief Financial Officer in 2026. That duty entails serving as the state’s chief fire marshal.

Roughly 30%, or $56 million, of Pasco fire funding comes from property taxes. About 60% comes from the MSTU.

Although none of the public testimony supported the property tax measures, other Republicans did. This included Rep. Fabian Basabe, representing Miami Beach.

“These bills don’t touch fire millage,” he said, accusing the Democrats of “gaslighting” and using “spin” to allegedly turn the measures into something they’re not. “Nothing restricts cities from funding fire.”