The local government fight over firefighting in Leon County has flared up again.

As the county explores developing its own fire department, City Hall hit the Leon County Commission with a new wrinkle, arguing the county shouldn’t count on city fire stations or equipment.

Last September, the city commission, at Mayor John Dailey’s suggestion, voted to put the county on notice that the city commission would be “terminatingthe relationship” after the fire protection services contract wraps up.

At the time, County Commissioner Christian Caban pointed out that the contract has a provision that states the city has to sell the equipment and fire stations in unincorporated areas to the county at a discounted rate if the agreement is ever terminated.

Caban said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if there was resistance in this turnover of property and resources, and his assumption has proven to ring true.

Letters from the two local governments, which were obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat, show that the city won’t be transferring the county any resources without a fight, arguing that the contract will be expiring and not terminated.

While a provision of the contract “provides for the disposition of assets upon termination of the Interlocal Agreement, it does not address the disposition of those assets at the expiration of the contract,” the city attorney wrote in a letter to the county attorney on June 3. “It is the City’s position that the disposition of Fire Stations 10-15, as well as the equipment located at those stations, is subject to negotiation as part of the necessary wind-down of the Interlocal Agreement upon its expiration.”

The city has used the word terminate plenty during the process. The mayor, who pushed the vote for what one commissioner called a “divorce,” used the term “terminate” before the typical 3-2 vote. The city manger also used the word three times when formally notifying the county of the contract cut-off in a September 2025 memo headlined “Termination of the interlocal agreement regarding the provision of fire and emergency medical services.”

The county attorney informed the commission of the latest position from the city, saying the city, after six months of failing to respond, is “belatedly taking the position” that the city’s vote to terminate the agreement was actually a notice of expiration “in an attempt to avoid complying” with the provision.

Now the county commission has to weigh its options on how to proceed.

County Attorney Chasity O’Steen is recommending that the commission opts to initiate a procedure outlined in the contract that would notify the city of its failure to comply with the contract, giving the county the ability to “proceed with a termination for cause.” The attorney maintains that would invoke the original clause in the contract that mandates the city transfer the equipment and fire stations in the county’s jurisdiction.

Commissioners could also opt to begin the “dispute resolution process” with an arbitrator or go along with the new city and begin to negotiate who gets what.

What led to the ‘divorce’?

The city and county have butted heads over many things related to fire services — which are provided by the city fire department and contracted out to the county — over the last several years, and their disagreements were brought to a point last year when the city voted to raise the fire services fee against the county’s wishes.

City commissioners approved a fire fee increase of roughly $5 a month for the average homeowner, which launched an arbitration process to re-establish peace within the contract. However, the county ditched the conflict resolution process after their attorney determined the city didn’t have the authority to raise the rates without county approval.

The county stood firm on its decision to keep rates the same, and with no compromise in sight, the city followed through on its threats of “divorce,” pulling the plug on their relationship as it pertains to fire services.

The county is now in the process of exploring the development of its own fire department and creating a plan of what that could look like ahead of the contract’s expiration in 2028.

However, with the coming elections, it’s possible new faces at the table and cooler heads will prevail. That could provide an opening for a renewed firefighting deal between the county and city, particularly as many candidates have said they don’t agree with the separation.

This article contains previously reported information. Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County fire ‘divorce’ hits snag over stations, equipment