The Gilchrist County Board of County Commissioners voted to move forward with a 1 percent fire surtax.
The surtax would go toward fire and EMS services.
The county will have to undergo an operational audit by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.
Once OPPAGA concludes its audit, the surtax will go on the ballot as a referendum. It requires a 60 percent vote to pass and be applied.
The county would have to reduce the tax money it receives from the fire assessment and EMS MSTU by the amount it expects to generate through the surtax.
In 2025, the surtax would have generated $2.145 million throughout the county. The county would receive $1.9 million with the remainder going to Trenton and Fanning Springs because they offer fire and/or EMS services. Bell would not receive money because it does not offer fire services.
The vote was 5-0 to move forward.
Monday night at midnight, the county took back control of Otter Springs. County Administrator Bobby Crosby said he hopes to have the park open again in the next 45 days.
The county has tentatively budgeted $573,900 for the park, and it expects the park to generate that money.
Crosby said those projections were based on Hart Springs’ numbers and adjusted for the shorter period of time in which Otter Springs would be open through the end of the fiscal year.
Crosby said the revenue estimates were conservative.
The board voted to change the speed limit on SE 30th Street between County Road 337 and SE 80th Avenue.
The speed limit will be set at 35 miles per hour. It was originally 55 miles per hour as an unmarked rural road.
The board voted unanimously for the change.