Holley-Navarre firefighters show support for Midway's Jan. 29 proposal
BY PAM BRANNON Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Holley-Navarre Fire Chief Les Slocum told the standing-room-only crowd at the last Midway Fire meeting that if mutual aid has to be eliminated in the Midway Fire District, Holley- Navarre's firefighters will still respond when Midway needs them. "We will be here for you, don't worry about that. But the simple fact is we will have to turn around and send Midway a bill for the help we give them. That is what we have to do if they are not in our mutual aid agreement," Slocum said.

Slocum was at the meeting, he said, to show support for Midway Fire District's upcoming fire assessment proposal on the Jan. 29 ballot. He told the fire commissioners and the residents in attendance at the meeting that he wanted all the press at the meeting and the public to know he was supporting Midway's efforts to fund their department through an assessment instead of using ad valorem taxes.

Holley-Navarre Fire Commissioner Lauretta Aiken also took the microphone during the public comment period of the Midway Fire meeting to tell the commissioners that she was there to show support for their efforts in obtaining a fire assessment for funding their department, too. Aiken said times are different these days than they used to be, and it is virtually impossible to operate a fire department in areas as large as Midway and Holley-Navarre as a volunteer department. She said the growth has come so quickly to the area that the fire and medical calls have been growing quickly too.

Midway Fire Commission Chair Jaque Gorris said, "Holley-Navarre Fire District just last week became a paid full time fire district. They have about 3,000 more people than Midway does to protect, and we have our hands full with our own 25,000 - 30,000 residents. We want to keep working with them with the great cooperation we have enjoyed for a long time. Holley-Navarre does not fund its fire department on ad valorem taxes, but uses a per square foot flat fee, but that does not allow for any inflation or rising fire costs for the future, so we are trying to find a better way to get away from ad valorem taxes."

Several people at the meeting took time at the microphone, with every one of them showing support for the upcoming ballot proposal by Midway Fire asking for a fire assessment. Many of the public comments came from Midway firefighters.