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Our call: Capacity-demand PDF Print E-mail
Opinions
Thursday, 25 March 2010 00:12
We prefer the capacity-demand method of assessing fire fees recently recommended to the Osceola County Commission by a fire fee task force but, like many in the community, we think some tweaking is needed.
The commission now has three options: use the recommended method, which is based on a building’s square footage and what resources would be required to fight a fire in that building; continue the current flat rate system; or use a system based on property taxes in which churches, for example, were exempt.
We commend the task force and Osceola County Fire Rescue for their efforts in presenting to the Commission a fee structure that would be comparable to other counties in the region and one in which all those that might use fire services would have to pay their share, including ranchers, nonprofits and churches.
We don’t believe a fire fee based on property taxes – called the “minority report” by some task force members, would be useful, given that some property would be exempt from any fee.
Like County Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr., we too are concerned with certain jumps in the fee for some businesses, such as small industrial warehouses and restaurants, which would see dramatic increases. Such high fees could dampen economic development. We also are concerned about dramatic drops in the fee for some businesses, such as large resorts and large warehouses.
Commissioner Ken Smith also suggested a closer look at the county’s $23.9 million fire rescue budget and its operating procedures. That might be a good idea, given reduced revenue available to support current spending.
The task force also recommended that fee credits should not be extended to businesses for having sprinkler systems, since such devices are required by building codes anyway. We agree.
In addition, the county in the next fiscal year will be hard-pressed to buy down fees for smaller businesses to lessen the impact, as it did last year, given the looming $27 million to $34 million budget shortfall. The county last year spent $4.1 million on a buy-down of these fees and our county manager recently recommended this not be done again. We agree with that recommendation.
 

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