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Fire fee plan's fairness queried
By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN, Times Staff Writer Much of the talk about a new method to charge for fire service has drawn heat over what it means to owners of low-valued homes. But another group that stands to win or lose in a big way from this proposed change is business owners. And the biggest losers appear to be businesses with a low property value and a medium-to-large store or building. The issue is scheduled to come up before the County Commission during its weekly meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. today at the historic Pasco County Courthouse in Dade City. No rate is final until the budget session this fall, but the commission could kill the entire idea today. Under the proposal pushed so far, the method would switch from a strict property tax to a split between a property tax and a flat fee. On commercial or industrial property, that fee would be based on a building's square footage. Commissioner Pat Mulieri, an opponent of the proposed hybrid method, has said she wants to scratch the idea, partly because businesses have no idea what's facing them. "I don't think there has been enough back and forth for businesses to see the impact of this," Mulieri said. "We haven't explored this decision." She worries some of the biggest losers could be banks, which have a lot of square footage and stable property values. County budget chief Mike Nurrenbrock said some of the biggest winners might be those with high property values because half their charge is being replaced by a flat fee. "If you have a piece of property that paid a lot for real estate, they would like this system," he said. "Conversely, if you have somebody that has a building sitting where the land is valued very, very low, that may work as a disadvantage to them." Also those who own one large building or warehouse could gain, too, because the flat fee tops out, charging no more than about $5,300 for commercial property and $7,800 for industrial property for anything bigger than 50,000 square feet. But property such as Ridge Plaza would not benefit from the cap, Nurrenbrock showed. Instead, the square footage of each parcel in the plaza, dominated by Winn-Dixie at Little and Ridge roads, is considered separately and tallied. The owner, Benderson Development of Buffalo, N.Y., would be facing a bill of $19,382 under the hybrid system compared with a bill of $12,781 with a straight property tax -- an increase of $6,601. The company's Jacksonville representative could not be reached Monday for comment. Another difference under the proposed system stems from the type of business. "If you were building, say, an office for a radiology doctor, I'm sure the cost of construction per square foot would be a lot more than the cost of construction for a real estate office," Nurrenbrock said. Yet, if the buildings are the same size, the owners would pay the same flat fee. The owner of the less valuable property, the real estate office, likely would end up paying more than under the straight property tax. The doctor's office would owe less. That possibility worries Joe Alpine, president of the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce. "It doesn't seem like there's an equitable assessment that's going to come out of this," Alpine said, adding he thinks the commission should study the matter more. "It's difficult enough now with small business owners with the issues they have to deal with," Alpine said. "I think it's getting a little harder and harder for the small businesses to be profitable. . . . It has to be fair so that they stand a chance of making a decent living and being successful in their business, whether that's a bakery or a lawn service or a camera shop." -- Saundra Amrhein covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is amrhein@sptimes.com.
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