High Springs officials seek a delay on proposed county fire funding cut

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. (WCJB) - High Springs officials are asking Alachua County for more time before a proposed 33% cut to the city’s mutual aid funding for fire services takes effect.

County officials say the reduction comes after the opening of a new fire station in the City of Alachua, which has decreased the number of calls requiring the High Springs Fire Department’s response in unincorporated parts of the county.

“We just need a little more time to prepare for that,” said Katherine Weitz, a High Springs city commissioner.

Weitz says the city hopes to delay the cut for one year to gather more data.

“We need a little bit more data, so my hope is that we can get a year’s grace in that cut and then be able to assess it based on a full year’s worth of data,” Weitz said.

The city recentl