ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. \u2014 Atlantic Beach city commissioners approved a plan to cut what they pay Jacksonville for fire rescue services in half. <\/p>\n
Under the new agreement, Atlantic Beach will pay $750,000 to Jacksonville to provide fire and rescue services through May 31st, 2026. <\/p>\n
But that didn\u2019t come without some concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m being double taxed. I pay taxes to the county and I pay taxes to the City of Atlantic Beach,\u201d said Atlantic Beach resident Brinkley Harrell.<\/p>\n
Harrell says it\u2019s not fair that Atlantic Beach neighbors have to pay as much as they do for Jacksonville Fire and Rescue services. He\u2019s happy that city commissioners approved a plan to cut the payment to the city down to $750 thousand dollars, but says the payment should be zero. <\/p>\n
He says county tax money funds the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, but an agreement for the last 25 years had Atlantic Beach paying $1.5 million to Jacksonville for emergency response services. Compare that to Neptune Beach, where the city doesn\u2019t have to pay anything. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am basically against any further payments to COJ (City of Jacksonville) because we\u2019re already being double taxed for fire protection,\u201d Harrell said. <\/p>\n
[DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n That\u2019s one reason why Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and Atlantic Beach Mayor Curtis Ford agreed to cut the payments in half.<\/p>\n That contract, however, ends on May 31st, 2026. After that, the future is uncertain. <\/p>\n \u201cMy only concern about this short-term agreement is what happens next year,\u201d said Former Atlantic Beach Mayor Mitch Reeves. <\/p>\n The city could keep paying for JFRD services or see if Jacksonville will agree to get rid of the payment. They say the most important thing is to keep services going for people in Atlantic Beach.<\/p>\n Reeves tells Action News Jax he commends both mayors for coming together and creating an offer, but believes there is still more to be done. <\/p>\n \u201cWe still have the elephant in the room,\u201d said Reeves. \u201cIs the fire department a county service?\u201d<\/p>\n