ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe said she was shocked by the resignation of Orange County Fire Rescue Chief Anthony Rios after questions about new vehicle purchases during a July 15 budget workshop.
The exchange centered on fleet purchases and department priorities. During the meeting, Rios cited fiscal responsibility as one of his primary objectives and described a decrease in spending. Uribe began the line of questioning, asking about new vehicle purchases throughout the department, even asking Rios point-blank if he had a new vehicle, to which he responded, “I do not.”
“I didn’t think that I would be not told the truth when we asked those questions,” Uribe said. “But I didn’t know, and I never expected it to get to this level of a resignation.”
Additionally, she said that while she understands vehicles can be upgraded, she did not see a specific line item in the budget presentation, which caused some concern. Despite requesting the proper documentation for the “fleet” items in the budget, which Rios said during the meeting he would provide, Uribe said she has not received it.
Uribe said she believed vehicle purchases should have taken a back seat to other department business, including back wages owed to firefighters.
“I wanted to ensure that our firefighters, our men and women, were getting their pay and they have not gotten their pay,” Uribe said. “Yet, still to this day, they have still not received their pay, and that should already have been handled.”
Spectrum News reached out to Orange County Fire Rescue for comment, as a new interim chief has already been appointed by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings. Effective July 28, Deputy Chief John Westmoreland will be the acting chief. Department officials declined to comment.
In his resignation, Rios said his answer to Uribe’s question was insufficient, saying “I accept full responsibility for my words.”
“During my recent budget presentation to the Board of County Commissioners, I responded to a question regarding the purchase of a county-assigned vehicle,” Rios said in his resignation letter. “Although the purchase complied with all county procurement policies and procedures, my response did not fully communicate the complete context and, as a result, could only be perceived as inaccurate.”
While Uribe shared concerns about the fleet purchases, she said she believes Rios has done a great job as a firefighter and fire chief — a position Demings appointed him to in April 2025. She said a lot of his leadership is the reason Orange County is as safe as it is, and while she does not agree with his response during the meeting, she was surprised that Rios resigned over the incident.