DeBARY, Fla. – The fire department in DeBary is expanding, but to pay for it, the city council is looking to raise its millage rate and will debate the issue at its Wednesday night meeting.
Fire Chief Ronnie Long told News 6 they are significantly understaffed compared to how much the city has grown and his department faces major obstacles to get to emergencies.
Right now, the city’s fire station off of U.S. 17 is the only station in the city with about 12 people covering all 22 square miles. Long said the biggest problem is the train tracks and getting to the west side of the city for emergencies, especially now that SunRail has expanded.
“Luckily, the SunRail goes through very fast, but if we get the commuter trains that come in in the early mornings and middle of the night, those are very long trains and those can impact the response times,” Long said.
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He said if a train comes through, it can take them several more minutes to get to emergencies.
In two weeks though, the city will be breaking ground on a second fire station on the west side of the railroad tracks on Fort Florida Road.
“It’ll reduce all response times to the west side of the city,” Long said. “We’re adding a whole additional fire station, so we’re going to have to provide personnel for that, so we’re basically doubling the fire department.”
In order to pay for the extended fire services with all of the new staffing and equipment, the city said it’s going to need more money in the long run, which is why the city council is going to be discussing raising the millage rate.
“We have the lowest mileage rate in Volusia County at 2.92 mills and we’re going to 3.5, which is still lower than any other city in Volusia County,” said city manager Carmen Rosamonda.
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Rosamonda said the new station will be ready in September 2025, before the new DeBary Mainstreet is completed and other new developments.
He said the city already has grants and the cash to build the new station, but they’re looking at the future.
“Where the ad valorem rate comes in and where the increase comes in is the personnel. We’re going from 12 firefighters to over 20,” he said.
The city council will first discuss the issue Wednesday night. Rosamonda said if it moves on, a first vote would be on Sept. 4 and a final vote would be on Sept. 18.
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