Sarasota County’s emergency responders say the calls keep coming, but the budget has not kept pace. This week, the county’s Emergency Services Department told commissioners it is “playing catch-up on growth” and is asking for roughly a 9.5 percent budget increase and about 17 million dollars to close service gaps in the south county.
Department leaders warned that rapid population growth and shifting service territories have stretched crews thin and led to missed response-time targets in 2025. The fix, they say, will not be cheap or easy, involving new staffing, equipment and a patchwork of short-term station locations that could be both costly and disruptive.
The proposal would push the department’s total operating budget to nearly 200 million dollars. It includes 4,370,000 dollars for new equipment and expanded facilities, according to YourSun. Emergency Services is also requesting about 3,000,000 dollars to staff fire engines with three people and 9,300,000 dollars for employee compensation.
At the same time, the department reported it lost 40,000 dollars after general fund cuts and that about 97 percent of its revenue comes from special-revenue sources, which limits flexibility. Officials told commissioners they estimate about 17,000,000 dollars is needed to fully address service gaps across south county.
“We’re playing catch-up on growth,” Emergency Services Director Rich Collins said in the presentation. He told commissioners that 2025 response times missed targets by at least two minutes and reminded them that “that’s a long response time when you consider brain death in four to six minutes,” according to the department’s figures.
Collins and his staff noted that about a year ago the department absorbed a large portion of the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department’s territory, which added to the workload. To improve coverage, they proposed relocating Station 26 into unincorporated county land and building a new Station 27 in the Venice area.
They also flagged a possible North Port annexation of roughly 3,146 acres that could affect the shared use of Station 26. Looking east of Interstate 75, staff said the county plans to avoid building multi-million-dollar permanent stations by relying on temporary stations that are expected to last 15 to 20 years, as reported by YourSun.
Department Role And Constraints
The Emergency Services Department is responsible for fire suppression, emergency medical services, lifeguard operations and the county’s 911 center, which means every staffing decision ripples across multiple critical functions.
Rich Collins has led the department since 2014, and county officials frequently point to its accreditation and long-term planning efforts as signs that the agency is trying to keep up with the region’s rapid growth. Sarasota County Government highlights the department’s accreditation status and ongoing improvement work in public materials.
What This Would Mean For Residents
If commissioners sign off on key parts of the request, residents could see more personnel on fire engines and temporary fire stations popping up in fast-growing corridors. Those changes, however, would come with long-term costs and tradeoffs.
County leaders describe the temporary stations as a stopgap that can deliver coverage more quickly than waiting for full permanent construction. Three-person engine staffing is pitched as a way to shave precious time off responses and improve safety for both crews and patients once they arrive on scene.
In short, the department is framing the decision as a choice between getting more coverage on the street now with temporary solutions or holding out for permanent stations that come with a higher price tag and a longer build time.
What’s Next
County Administrator Jonathan Lewis told commissioners the county will need to dig deeper into the numbers as staff and elected officials move through the budget process. Commissioners are expected to review the proposal in upcoming budget workshops and public hearings.
Residents can track the latest documents, agendas and meeting schedules on the county website at Sarasota County Government. Officials did not announce a final adoption date for the Emergency Services budget request during the presentation.
