[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by Maker

Somewhere the overhead costs factor in with both parts. Dispatch, radio maintenance, etc.
Wouldn't how those costs are allocated impact all residents?
How are they handled?

Yes, these and several other expenses that are shared costs (vehicle maintenance garage/staffing, 911 center, and several other mandated programs like Baker Act) are funded from the county General Fund. These have been and will remain outside the fire department budgets.

The biggest expense for both fire department budgets that is carried by the general fund budget is the ambulance/EMS readiness cost, about $1.2 million per ambulance. The cost of the ambulance services when the vehicle is in operation/responding (30% of the time) is covered primarily by insurance recovery. The other 70% of the cost is what is known as Readiness - staffing/training/maintenance/etc. while the vehicle is at the station and not on a run and is carried by the county General Fund. It's this latter component, readiness, which has changed the response time for transport services from 2 hours or more in Sumter County to 5-10 min. throughout the county and The Villages.