Anew fire station in Plant City could be fully built and furnished by January 2018.
Plant City Commissioners approved the final budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year, which includes funds for the fire station, at the Monday, Sept. 26, meeting.
The total budget is $72,685,271, an increase of over $6 million from the previous fiscal year.
The budget includes an allotment of $1.89 million for the construction of a 7,000-square-foot fire station, which will be located on the city-owned Mike E. Sansone Park on Park Road. The park is located off of Interstate 4. Design work for the station began in May.
“A third fire station will be constructed during the upcoming fiscal year, providing improved response times regarding fire and EMS calls,” City Manager Mike Herr said. “In the area of fire and EMS, our budget contains $5.1 million to provide excellent fire suppression and EMS services which are vital to a city.”
Plant City’s existing fire stations are located on opposite ends of Alexander Street. The third fire station is being constructed to reduce Plant City Fire Rescue response times and will cater to development planned for north of I-4, including Varrea and North Park Isles.
The construction of the new station would increase Plant City Fire Rescue staff by six employees, each with a salary of $38,780. The total costs for the water, sewer, electric and insurance to run the new fire station are estimated at an additional $40,000 annually.
Funding for the station comes out of an internal 10-year loan of $1,340,000. The loan will be paid back at $140,000 annually. The loan is used from the existing solid waste funds to provide a loan at a lower interest rate. The remaining $550,000 for the construction of the third fire station are taken out of the fire impact fees from the
reserve fund.
“I think we really have a good budget that’s going to help our city this year,” Mayor Rick Lott said. “We are making really great strides in progressing our city and moving forward.”
City Commissioners and staff began budget hearings in July before the final budget was approved Monday, Sept. 26.
Additional highlights from the 2016-17 budget include $150,000 to the Plant City Economic Development Corp.; $50,000 to Plant City Main Street; and $1.6 million allocated to adjust employee salaries to market levels.
The 2016-17 fiscal year begins Saturday, Oct. 1.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
*CORRECTION Friday, Sept. 30, 2016: An earlier version of this story included the incorrect percentages for the City's General Expenditures department. The percentages were incorrectly calculated. The story now depicts the correct percentages. We regret the error.