Fire Service Costs May Increase in Unincorporated Largo

Six areas of unincorporated Pinellas County, including unincorporated Largo, may pay more for fire service next year, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The county does not have its own fire department, so residents in unincorporated Pinellas receive fire service through 12 fire districts. The contracts provide fire service to about 17 percent of the county's 916,719 residents, according to the Times.

In unincorporated Largo, property values have dropped by about 4 percent, so the county may need to increase the fire service rate by about 1.4 percent. Customers could pay $3.56 instead of the current $3.51, according to the Times.

Some nearby unincorporated areas such as Highpoint, Seminole and Pinellas Park may not see an increase. But north of Largo, unincorporated Clearwater's rate could climb 20.7 percent and unincorporated Dunedin's rate could increase 57.4 percent, the newspaper reports.