In a new agreement between Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and Atlantic Beach Mayor Curtis Ford, the City of Atlantic Beach will pay the City of Jacksonville half the amount it normally provides every year in exchange for emergency response services.
City of Atlantic Beach fire agreement by kiley.mikail on Scribd
Action News Jax told you back in May when Atlantic Beach city leaders considered cutting its contract with the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department altogether, arguing that, since the City of Neptune Beach doesn’t pay for its fire rescue services from JFRD, the City of Atlantic Beach shouldn’t have to either.
But last month, the two mayors met and agreed that Jacksonville would get $750,000 from Atlantic Beach in exchange for JFRD services through May 31, 2026. A letter was exchanged between the mayors after the deal had been reached.
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The City of Atlantic Beach says it has been paying Jacksonville around $1.5 million for fire rescue services every year for more than 25 years. In an email sent to Action News Jax, the Atlantic Beach city manager’s office said the city will still get the same level of emergency response services despite paying only half the usual amount.
Atlantic Beach tells Action News Jax the agreement is being made so it can continue negotiating the terms of its long-term agreement with the City of Jacksonville for fire rescue services. Atlantic Beach hasn’t yet said what would happen if it ends up deciding to cut its contract with the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department or how much, if at all, it hopes to pay for fire rescue services, instead of the roughly $1.5 million it has been paying.
The agreement still needs to be approved by the Atlantic Beach City Commission before it takes effect. It’s going before the commission next Monday, July 14th, during its regular meeting starting at 6:00 PM at Atlantic Beach City Hall.
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