At the Martin County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, March 24th (click here for the agenda), Martin County Fire Chief Chad Cianciulli gave a presentation to the Commissioners specific to the Interlocal Agreement that Martin County Fire Rescue (MCFR) has with the City of Stuart Fire Rescue.
Chief Cianciulli gave some background as to the current iteration of the Interlocal Agreement (ILA) with the City of Stuart and provided some statistical information with a focus on Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital in Stuart, Florida. The reason for the focus on Cleveland Clinic is because last year it closed its labor and delivery services in Martin County, which now requires transport to their facility in Tradition in St. Lucie County for any deliveries.
The decisions being made by Cleveland Clinic are not the cause of the apparent issues with the ILA, though the decisions by Cleveland Clinic are seemingly exacerbating the situation between the County and the City.
So, what is the reason for the ILA and why is the County’s relationship with the City of Stuart different than with any other municipality with whom it has a mutual aid agreement?
How are calls dispatched?
When calls are placed to 911, Dispatch receives the call. The Dispatch operator then reviews the information provided by the caller and determines, based on this information, the severity of the call and the urgency with which someone needs to respond.
There are five levels of calls. They are Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo, with Echo being the most severe level. And it is only Echo calls that prompts Dispatch to send a City unit into the County for an emergency.
For example, if someone’s storage shed is on fire in the County, say in Jensen Beach in Pinecrest Lakes, even though the City has Station 3 right around the corner, Dispatch will theoretically locate and send the closest County unit to tend to the fire. A storage shed fire is typically classified as a Bravo level call. Nobody is living in the shed but it could spread, so it needs to be addressed.
But if someone calls and says “My neighbor is on fire,” then Dispatch will send the units from the City of Stuart – Station 3 as the call is an Echo level call.
What does this have to do with the ILA?
An Interlocal Agreement is an automatic aid agreement, meaning, if a call is sent out, both parties will automatically provide aid. The ILA determines the parameters by which who responds to which calls.
The agreement that existed for years was a fee-free exchange of services where units responded based on proximity.
In 2017, Martin County addressed the situation citing that the services being provided by Fire Rescue were financially unfair to County taxpayers. In the County’s defense, the City’s annexing of land was expanding the area to be covered by existing service providers, like Fire Rescue, and the County’s position was it was responding to a disproportionate number of calls in the City.
Chad Cianciulli became Fire Chief March 9, 2021. It is not uncommon for a new administrator to review existing contracts and agreements to determine if they are providing a return on investment for their department and/or their staff.
On July 6, 2021, Taryn Kryzda, then County Administrator for Martin County sent an email to Deputy Chief, Rodney Robertson, asking “Roughly how many calls a year does dispatch receive: And of those, roughly how many are for the City of Stuart?”
On that same day, Ms. Kryzda sent a letter to then City Manager, Dave Dyess, stating that effective immediately, the County was terminating the existing ILA and asking for an opportunity to negotiate for a new fee structure.
On December 13, 2022, the Martin County Board of County Commissioners passed Resolution 22-12.7 – A RESOLUTION OF MARTIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ADJUSTING THE MARTIN COUNTY / CITY OF STUART AUTOMATIC AND MUTUAL AID FEE SCHEDULE.
It provided a for a new fee schedule and also included a statement that respective Fire Chiefs from the City of Stuart and Martin County are to meet annually to discuss the ILA and the deliverables within it.
The City of Stuart and Martin County entered into a Letter of Understanding on January 1, 2023, based on the County’s resolution.
Then at the February 13, 2023, City Commission meeting, the City Commissioners passed Resolution 12-2023 formally recognizing and adopting the new fee schedule.
The Real Costs from the ILA
As reported previously, the amount paid by the City to the County has decreased year-over-year.
- 2022 – The City provided aid for 148 calls the County with the County providing 297 aid for calls to the City. The City paid $137,275 to the County in reimbursement.
- 2023 – The City provided aid for 133 calls to the County with the County provided aid for 269 calls to the City. The City paid $123,250 to the County in reimbursement.
- 2024 – The City provided aid for 118 calls to the County with the County providing aid for 147 calls to the City. The City paid $41,175 to the County in reimbursement.
- 2025 – The City provided aid for 118 calls to the County with the County providing 116 calls to the City. The City paid $26,937 to the County in reimbursement.
For 2026, the City has budgeted $60,000 to reimburse the County.
The reduction in fees coincides with City of Stuart – Station 3 being opened in January 2024, which has required fewer calls to be answered by County staff.
The reduction in fees can also be attributed to the City adding a fourth Rescue, which means the County ran fewer medical calls for emergencies in the City.
The only fee that is non-negotiable as part of the ILA is the fee for First Due at a rate of $6,000 per year. First Due is the system used by dispatch to process the calls they receive.
Does Martin County bill other municipalities?
Martin County has mutual aid agreements with St. Lucie County, Okeechobee County, and Palm Beach County, but no money is requested, required, or exchanged.
For example, Palm Beach Fire Rescue, because of their proximity, typically responds to motor vehicle crashes, regardless of the severity of the crash, for any calls that are on I-95 or the Turnpike south of Hobe Sound but above the county line.
For reference, here is a list of calls Martin County Fire Rescue serviced in Palm Beach County.
Martin County does not bill Palm Beach Fire Rescue for the aid they provide. Nor does Palm Beach bill Martin County for the aid they provide.
Okeechobee Fire Rescue typically responds to motor vehicle crashes on portions of State Road 710 and State Road 714 as well as to brush fires.
Like Palm Beach, Okeechobee Fire Rescue does not bill Martin County, nor does Martin County bill Okeechobee.
What about consolidation?
Commissioner Edi Ciampi said at the Commission Meeting 3/24 that perhaps the County and the City, “Maybe you say you’re gonna stay separate. Maybe you say next year, or in 2027, 2028, we’re going to work a path towards merging…” suggesting the County would possibly support a merger while stating that conversation should be between the Fire Chiefs but with their respective counsel present.
But is a merger fair and equitable to the taxpayers?
As previously reported on March 1 in article posted on Martin County Press, monies used to support Martin County are not derived in the same manner as the monies used to support the City of Stuart.
Martin County bills an MSTU (Municipal Service Taxing Unit) of 2.6376 millage rate on each County only tax bill. Yet there have been transfers from the General Fund to presumably offset the expenses not covered by the MSTU.
In 2025, Fire Rescue transferred $8,735,185 from the General Fund to balance their budget. In 2026, they are projecting to transfer $9,195,641.
It should be noted a public records request was submitted to Martin County on February 12, 2026, asking for all revenue sources for Martin County Fire Rescue including the monies from the ILA, Emergency Medical Services billing, other municipalities like the Village of Indiantown or Jupiter Island, fire alarms, inspections, transfers from the general fund, and any other items that could contribute to the budget for Martin County Fire Rescue. At the time of this article, a response had not been received.
For the City of Stuart, the costs to run Fire Rescue is included in the millage paid by City of Stuart residents as part of their taxes. They also generate revenue from sources including:
- $785,953 – Contract with Sewall’s Point to provide services
- $2,200,000 – Ambulance Fees
- $100,000 – Inspection Fees
- $12,000 – False Alarm Fees
Is there a solution?
The meetings for the ILA have traditionally been held without public input and without the public being able to watch the meetings.
However, the majority of the City of Stuart Commission has stated clearly that they believe the discussions specific to the ILA should be available for the public to at least listen, even if public comment is not permitted, as its tax dollars being used to support the ILA.
It was also suggested their Fire Chief to not attend any meetings until this as well as some other housekeeping items are addressed.
Is there another solution than the ILA or consolidation?
Other communities have created an independent fire district.
An independent fire district is a specialized, autonomous unit of local government created to provide fire protection, suppression, and emergency services, operating independently of municipal or county governments. An independent fire district has its own board which is elected by residents.
It would derive its revenue to operate by assessing taxes, like an MSTU, but it would not be under the purview exclusively of county officials.
There are many examples in Florida and elsewhere of these independent fire districts.
They aren’t a perfect solution. Obviously, there are benefits and drawbacks.
The question is, is something like an independent fire district a more fair solution to taxpayers – as well as to fire rescue employees – than a consolidation or merger to leave everything under an existing entity?
Or is the best solution to leave the municipalities separate with their respective employees in their roles to serve the communities they serve as they do now?
What is really in taxpayers’ and residents’ best interest and what is best for everyone’s safety?
To have a discussion about who is providing services at a better cost to taxpayers, the claim made repeatedly by some affiliated with Martin County Fire Rescue which has reinvigorated the conversation about consolidation, requires a full disclosure of all revenues and expenses for each municipality so a fair comparison of revenue versus expenses so a true assessment can be made.
But the most important thing is maintaining a level of service provided to residents, regardless of their address and regardless of who is “supposed” to answer a call for assistance.
Thankfully, the employees of both Martin County Fire Rescue and City of Stuart Fire Rescue seem intent on doing that regardless of the political structure, and for that we are all grateful.