At a heated meeting on May 1, the Escambia County Commission debated significant increases to the Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU) fees used to fund fire protection services. The discussion revealed deep divisions over equity, fiscal responsibility, and the burden on different parts of the community.
Legal Requirements and Timeline
The commissioners were presented one option for Pensacola and another for the Mainland:
Increase the Pensacola Beach MSBU ($1.98 million), where the fire protection has much more than the MSBU revenues:
- Residential from $201.38 to $454.95
- Commercial from $0.0726 to $0.8372
- Unimproved from $63.84 to $203.29
Mainland: $15M increase, eliminate General Fund subsidy
- Residential from $125.33 to $226.78
- Commercial from $.0526 to $0.0985
- Unimproved from $15.03 to $39.47
A third option would be to have the same rate for areas – $35.5 million.
- Residential $223.15
- Commercial $0.1123
- Unimproved $54.94
County Attorney Alison Rogers said, “In my opinion, if we’re doing anything that involves any MSTU, you absolutely would need to have that finalized before July.”
She outlined the current approach: “The way it is currently being thought of is that we would be adjusting the two rate resolutions, and I would recommend that you schedule public hearing to address each of those two rate resolutions.”
- MSBU only covers areas outside the City of Pensacola, which has its own fire service.
On the crucial question of charging different rates to different areas, Rogers emphasized the legal nexus requirement: “There must be a direct nexus between the benefit to the real estate and the amount that particular property owner is being charged.”
She explained that differential rates are possible: “So based on that, it is possible that you have a formula where things are different. And in fact, they currently are different on the beach than the mainland, as I understand it. So I mean, in fact, the mainland MSBU was amended in like 2016. The beach MSBU hasn’t been amended since 2003.”
The Financial Issue
Chair Mike Kohler opened the discussion by laying out the financial realities facing the county’s fire services. “With your current MSBU, you bring in, let’s just say a million dollars, maybe a little bit more. The beach operation costs $2.3 million out there.”
These numbers reveal a systemic funding gap that commissioners agree cannot continue indefinitely. “We cannot continue to run millions of dollars deficit in the fire assessment across Escambia County. We just can’t do it,” Kohler emphasized.
Commercial Impact
The commission’s proposal would see steep increases, particularly for commercial properties. Commissioner Steven Barry highlighted the commercial sector’s concerns: “Going from 7 cents to 83 cents a square foot is obviously a substantial increase. And that is, it’s a difficult dynamic to budget, and I certainly do understand that, and I think that’s the primary pause.”
- Commercial property owners would see a more than 11-fold increase that many businesses characterized as potentially devastating, according to Barry
The Equity Debate
Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger questioned the premise of higher service levels justifying higher fees: “So I would like someone to explain to this group what service that they’re receiving that people who live within a five-mile radius of a fire department on the mainland are not receiving.”
Kohler described additional medical services offered on Pensacola Beach: “The beach has a paramedic. If you have respiratory failure, if you have anaphylactic shock, if you have any of those things that require intubation immediately, there are very few firehouses in the county that have a paramedic.”
- Hofberger, whose district includes Pensacola Beach, warned of legal consequences: “A few of us campaigned on reducing the number of lawsuits for the county. So with that, I want to really make sure that if you guys are considering moving forward with an uneven MSBU, you really look at what benefits you believe the beach is getting over the mainland because no one has provided those.”
She continued, “So I want to put that out there. I want to make sure everybody’s aware. I do foresee that being an issue. I’ve had several people tell me that already.”
The Push for Alternatives
Commissioner Steve Stroberger proposed an alternative funding mechanism through taxing beach hotels. “I think we can put some of this burden on hotel stays, and talking to Mike (SRIA director Mike Burns), he thinks that we could probably get the board at the Santa Rosa Island Authority to approve something like this, $2 or $3 more a night.”
Stroberger suggested, noting that with average stays at $375-800 per night, “I don’t think someone who’s willing to spend that kind of money to stay at the beach to enjoy being at Pensacola Beach probably is not going to say, I’m going to stay in Crestview. Instead, they’ll pay the extra $2 or $3.”
Broader Equity Concerns
Commissioner Lumon May warned against hasty decisions and highlighted broader equity issues: “I think this needs to be thought out. We can’t rush into it. We got to hear from all parties concerned.”
- He pointed to residents who face multiple tax burdens: “Some people, when their taxes go up, they lose their home. And so that’s why it’s important to think this out.”
May championed town halls: “Would it be against the law or against protocol if there were different town hall meetings in which we would Stephan (Budget Director Stephan Hall) and staff and the commissioner could go out and explain the options to the citizens before we come to another meeting.”
- Rogers supported this approach while emphasizing the practical timing constraints: “You certainly have the right, I just think you have a practical issue if you’re trying to do it for this upcoming fiscal year.”
The Path Forward
The commission ultimately decided to postpone any action pending discussions with the Santa Rosa Island Authority (SRIA) on May 14.
- Budget Director Stephan Hall confirmed that alternative funding mechanisms are being explored: “We are looking at some other options to provide some additional funding to basically subsidize or pay down the increase of the MSB for the beach residences. It looks very promising at this time.”
The board agreed to revisit the issue on May 15, using the date as a “placeholder” to assess SRIA’s response to requests for additional funding support.
Conclusion
As the debate concluded without a resolution, all commissioners agreed that the current funding model is unsustainable.
The challenge remains finding a solution that fairly distributes the burden while maintaining essential fire protection services across the county.
- The May 15 meeting will likely determine whether the Santa Rosa Island Authority’s proposals can bridge the gap between fiscal necessity and community concerns about equity and affordability.