Residents speak out against fire assessment fee - News - Gainesville Sun
Commissioner Mike Byerly said though it is too late in the process for the 2018 fiscal year to find an alternative to the assessment, it is important that the county look at alternatives for the following fiscal year.
Citizens from around Alachua County voiced their opinions about the fire assessment fee passed by the Alachua County Commission a few months ago.
Dozens of property owners let commissioners know how they feel about the new fee at a public hearing Tuesday night at the County Administration Building in downtown Gainesville.
The commission at the end of the meeting voted unanimously to have county officials gather information about alternatives to the assessment fee for fiscal year 2019.
Commissioner Mike Byerly said though it is too late in the budgeting process for the 2018 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 to find an alternative to the assessment, it is important that the county look at alternatives for the following fiscal year.
Byerly said he was angry at himself for not thoroughly exploring all of the options open to the commission besides the assessment earlier in the process to decide how the county will pay for fire services in the upcoming fiscal year.
Property owners who spoke during the meeting were overwhelmingly opposed to the fire assessment. However, there were a few who said the assessment is needed to pay for fire services.
Jim DuBois, of Waldo, said more property owners should have been paying attention to the issue prior to receiving letters in the mail in late June from the county informing them about the proposed assessment.
"One of the things we have been doing for years is kicking the can down the road," DuBois said. "The only other alternative is to raise everybody’s ad valorem taxes."
Mckenzie Peil, a teacher at Williston Middle/High School, bought a home in Alachua County late last year. She told the commission her property taxes without the assessment would have increased by $60, but with the proposed assessment, they will increase by at least $300.
She said the assessment, coupled with other assessments and taxes, discourage young, first-time homebuyers who want to make Alachua County their home.
"This assessment is a step in the wrong direction," Peil said.
The county will hold another meeting Sept. 5 to adopt the proposed assessment rates.
The assessment is projected to raise more than $13 million to pay for fire services in Alachua County. Besides property owners in unincorporated Alachua County, the assessment will be paid by property owners in Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne and Waldo, because those cities don’t have their own fire rescue services.
The commission voted 3-2 in late May to adopt the ordinance as a way to pay for fire services instead of using the traditional municipal services taxing unit (MSTU) method because a majority of the commissioners believes the assessment is a more equitable way for property owners to pay for fire services.
Under the assessment, property owners in unincorporated Alachua County will pay for fire services according to the value of the structures on their land.
The new formula includes a standard annual fee that applies to all land parcels: $83.34. On top of that, there is a fee for any building on that parcel — a business, house or apartment complex — based on its replacement value. The formula is $7.63 for every $5,000 of appraised value of those structures. But it does not allow any homestead exemption.
Byerly and Commissioner Chuck Chestnut voted against the assessment in May.
Correction: A part of the formula for the proposed Alachua County fire assessment is $7.63 for every $5,000 of appraised value of structures on taxable property. It was reported otherwise in an earlier version of this article.
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