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Ocoee city officials Tuesday asked the city commission to approve a preliminary plan to levy fire fees to fund up to 70 percent of the Ocoee Fire Department’s budget for the next five years. This plan, city officials said, takes into consideration a new union contract and the possibility that the proposed tax reform amendment will pass in November. It also gives the city flexibility to adjust future assessments without undergoing a rate adoption process every year.
Presenting the plan to commissioners, Assistant City Manager Mike Rumer said that the process was similar to weighing millage rate increases during budgeting season.
“We’re going to set [the fee], knowing we can’t go above [that amount], but that we can go below,” Rumer said.
Under the new plan, all single family homes would pay the same annual flat rate, regardless of size. And city officials made clear that while they had requested the maximum assessment rate, the 2027 rate would not be that high. The rate for 2027 would be $383.90 per household, expected to generate $4,561,637 to replace the $150,000 homestead exemption. In 2028, the city would increase the fire assessment fee to $571.57 per household, raising $8,989,891 to offset the $250,000 homestead exemption.
“This is the fairest way to do it in a very unfair situation,” said City Manager Craig Shadrix.
The preliminary plan was approved unanimously. Property owners will receive letters from the city with their new proposed fire assessment fees within a few days.
A public hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18 at Ocoee City Hall.
Currently the city’s fire fee is based on square footage; more than 90 percent of single family homes pay between $205 and $342 annually. The city raised its fire protection assessment rate last year with a promise to come back to residents this year with a fairer, more transparent method of assessing fire fees. The flat-rate plan, which shifts more of the rate burden to businesses and apartment complexes, is the result.
The fees cover fire suppression services, training, gear and equipment, personnel and capital costs associated with building or improving fire stations.
The current fee structure covers 36 percent of the fire department’s budget with the remainder coming from the city’s general fund. The new plan, Rumer said, would cover 45 percent of the fire department's budget in 2027 and 67 percent of the department's budget in 2028. He added the plan offsets the ad valorem taxes anticipated to be lost if the ballot amendment passes but does not address the ongoing rising costs of personnel and equipment.
“All of our costs have gone up well above what we collect in revenue,” Shadrix said.
And what if the property tax amendment doesn’t pass? Shadrix said he’d come back before the commission to request a budget amendment. But like Edna Mode from The Incredibles, he urged commissioners to be prepared with “preemptive measures.”
“This best positions you for the eventuality that this ballot initiative passes,” he said.
