VOLUME 7 ISSUE 21
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FAFO’s Symphony Under the Stars Page B1
May 15-21 2026
Marion County Firefighters bargaining
Lawmakers open special session to resolve budget stalemate
Proposed $20K raises, 42-hour work week geared to boost staffing.
By Jennifer Hunt jennifer@ocalagazette.com
F
or months, negotiations between Marion County Fire Rescue (MCFR) and the Professional Firefighters of Marion County (IAFF Local 3169) seemed hopelessly stalled by financial realities. Just weeks ago, county officials warned that an $8 million general fund deficit meant the county could not afford to improve firefighters’ 56-houra-week work schedules while simultaneously offering the pay raises needed to fill vacancies. But during a pivotal bargaining session on May 7, which continued on May 12, the county reversed course and unveiled a $60 million proposal that delivers on both fronts. In a surprising breakthrough, the county presented a short-term “bridge” contract that provides an immediate $20,000 base pay increase for all current employees upon ratification. This will be
Rolin Boyd, president of the Professional Firefighters of Marion County (IAFF Local 3169) speaks during a collective bargaining agreement meeting with Marion County government in Ocala on May 12, 2026. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2026
followed by a three-year contract that officially commits the department to transitioning to a 42-hour workweek (24 hours on, 72 hours off) by September 2029. “This is more than a contract proposal. It’s a commitment,” Fire Chief James Banta told union negotiators that morning. “A commitment fully supportive of our county commission, county administration, to invest in the people that serve this community… It also represents a reset, one that strengthens our workforce, stabilizes this organization and positions Marion County Fire Rescue for long-term success,” Banta said.
THE REVERSAL ON REST AND PAY
Marion County Fire Rescue Chief James Banta, left, speaks as MCFR Deputy Chief Robert Graff listens during the meeting. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2026.
The sweeping proposal marks a dramatic shift from the county’s posture earlier this spring. During an EMS Advisory Board meeting earlier this year,
MCFR Deputy Chief Robert Graff expressed skepticism about reducing the 56-hour workweek, questioning whether firefighters would actually use the extra time off for recovery and stating, “There’s not enough data yet to show whether it’s a 42-hour week or 48-hour week.” By the March 11 bargaining session, Assistant County Administrator Amanda Tart walked back the county’s initial willingness to implement a schedule reduction. Facing a severe budget deficit, Tart suggested the county might have to abandon the schedule change to focus limited funds on raising base pay. “I don’t want to take and spend all of our efforts on a schedule change and all of our financial resources toward the schedule change, and one, not be able to recruit for those positions because we can’t afford to do the schedule change and the money,” Tart explained in March. The new May 7 proposal acknowledges that both are necessary to stop the bleeding. As previously reported, Marion County was investing more than $50,000 for every firefighter recruit in payroll for the 10 months’ worth of training. Although those recruits signed contracts to stay a minimum of three years for the county’s investment, the union reported that in the last three years the department has lost more than 368 firefighters, which is significant considering the department firefighter roster is approximately 500. Banta confirmed there are currently 53 vacancies in the department and it needs to fill those vacancies in addition to another 245 personnel for a new shift.
By Gray Rohrer and Jim Turner The News Service of Florida
L
See Bargaining, page A8
awmakers convened a special session on May 12 to resolve a $1.4 billion difference between the preferred spending plans of the House and Senate. The gap between the Senate’s $115 billion budget and the House’s $113.6 billion plan is 1.2 percent of the current budget, but House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, were unable to reach a deal during the regular session that ended March 13. Major differences on education, health care and environmental spending exist, but for Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, it hasn’t been substantive disagreements that produced the budget stalemate. “Candidly, I think the problems with respect to the budget have not been about serious and impossibleto-bridge differences between the House and the Senate,” Gaetz told reporters. “Until now it’s been personality, it’s been old grudges and that sort of thing that’s kept us apart. But I think those days are gone. I think there’s a view that we’re going to all lay our swords down and we’re going to get a budget done, get the people’s business done.” The House and Senate passed a slate of bills to set up formal negotiations between the chambers, to take place throughout the rest of the week. The bills were identical to the legislation passed by each chamber during the regular session, so there was no debate, but House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa wanted more discussion on the floor. “I would contend that the underlying assumptions for the budget in the bills are not necessarily the same,” Driskell said. “There have been conversations that have been going on for weeks that we haven’t been privy to. And perhaps it would behoove not only this chamber, but also the public, for us to have an opportunity for us to have questions and debate, which is what we would do with any other bill.” See Lawmakers, page A3
Ocala teen earns high level recognition Christina Hernandez helped save her grandfather’s life and was awarded the Girl Scout National Lifesaving Medal of Honor. By Harriet Daniels Special to the Gazette
Christina Hernandez visits her grandfather, Alfred Montemayor, in a hospital after she made a 9-1-1 call that helped save his life. [Photo courtesy Debra Hernandez]
I
n December 2024, Christina Hernandez was excited to see her beloved grandfather on a family trip to California. However, several hours after
arriving, it would be Christina who recognized that her grandpa, who is diabetic, was having a medical emergency and called 9-1-1. The effort saved his life. Paramedics on the scene discovered his blood glucose level was beyond what their instruments
could measure and he was about to go into a diabetic coma had it not been for Christina’s presence of mind that something was wrong. The teen recalls her grandfather’s face began to droop slightly on one side and his hand was holding his cards oddly. “I thought he might have been
having a stroke,” Christina said. “We were playing cards and he was trying to talk to us, but it was coming out funny. And then he wanted to go lie down, but I would not let him.” See Christina Hernandez, page A2
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