ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — After years of paying millions in taxpayer money to the City of Jacksonville for fire rescue services through the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department, the City of Atlantic Beach is asking whether it should be paying at all.
The conversation came up in an Atlantic Beach City Commission meeting on April 28th, when Mayor Curtis Ford brought up his concerns with continuing the city’s contract with JFRD.
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“Fire services are a county service and, therefore, should be paid by the county,” Ford said during the meeting.
City commissioners said Atlantic Beach pays more than $1 million every year to the City of Jacksonville for fire rescue services. The money is used for staffing, equipment, and fire engines inside of Atlantic Beach’s fire station, which the city owns. But since Atlantic Beach leaders pointed out Neptune Beach doesn’t pay a cent for fire services from the City of Jacksonville, it doesn’t believe it should have to do so, either.
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“We shouldn’t have paid last year, that was my thinking, and I don’t think we should pay another penny after this year,” said Commissioner Jessica Ring during the April meeting.
The contract for fire services between Atlantic Beach and the City of Jacksonville recently expired. Atlantic Beach leaders initially had a plan to slowly stop paying Jacksonville for fire services over the next three years. But Mayor Ford called the plan generous, saying he doesn’t believe another dollar should be paid.
“I’m very concerned about this, and this is the time to take action,” said Ford.
The City of Jacksonville could not provide an interview with Action News Jax, but did provide a statement:
“Over the past year, the City of Jacksonville and City of Atlantic Beach have been reviewing the interlocal agreement between the two cities. These discussions are ongoing. No decision has been made yet about fire services. Mayors Deegan and Ford will be meeting soon to discuss further.”
We asked the city of Atlantic Beach how fires would be managed in the city if it were to cut its contract with JFRD. The city told us it is working on arranging an interview with us to help answer this question. The City of Jacksonville tells us the mayors of the two cities are expected to meet next week to discuss fire services.
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