Currently the 20-million dollars it takes to run Alachua County Fire Rescue comes from property owners based on the assessed value of their property. So non-profits and government agencies don't pay for fire services because they don't pay property taxes.

Some county leaders say a flat fire assessment fee would be more fair.

"You can determine that 50% of your total fire responses are to residential property," says Alachua County Fire Rescue Emergency Services Director Will May. "Well you can have a mechanism to make sure you generate 50% of the revenue from residential properties."

But that doesn't mean that all homeowners will see a smaller bill for fire services. May says smaller than average homes could pay more with a flat fee. Even though it's early, he says the most single family home might pay is about 185 dollars a year.