Developing Story: Porter, Inman-Johnson Campaigns Support Major Increase in Fire Service Spending

Tallahassee City Commission candidates Jack Porter and Dot Inman-Johnson are proposing $60,000 starting salaries for firefighters, which – if implemented – would result in a major increase in the fire service fund budget and a possible increase in the fire service fee.

All Tallahassee residents pay a fire service fee via the City of Tallahassee utility bill.

Current estimates indicate the proposal could cost over $4 million in recurring annual costs. However, Porter and Inman-Johnson have not revealed how the new cost would be funded.

Ironically, both Porter and Inman-Johnson are campaigning against a 2023 property tax increase which addressed public safety by hiring more police officers and investing in crime fighting technology.

The Proposal

Porter says she believes their annual salary should start at $60,000, which is more than what the union has requested. “I think that is what we should do if we want to pay them a fair wage and undo some of the damage that we’ve done to our department by putting them through this ordeal.”

Inman-Johnson is part of group called Friends of Tallahassee Firefighters which is calling for $60,000 to be the starting point for any fireman and an escalated scale of 8% for every category of fire worker to be paid in that three-year contract.

During the recent political forums, Porter & Inman Johnson have advocated for increase spending but have not proposed how the new benefits for firefighters would be funded.