Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
CHASE SQUIRESThe district says that if Dade City bills it for fire and street light service, the district will fight.
DADE CITY - With a public hearing and final decision looming next week on a proposed set of new fees for city property owners, the Pasco County School Board is girding for a fight to block the city from billing the district.
School Board attorney Dennis Alfonso said Wednesday the district is convinced the city has no authority to bill schools for proposed fire protection and street light fees, and won't pay unless ordered by a judge.
City commissioners plan to meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday for a public hearing and final vote on imposing surcharges for fire protection and street lights. The fees, as advertised, would cover only the period of April 1 to Sept. 30 of this year and would be a one-time fire assessment of $16 for homeowners and an average of $16.50 per property for street lights. The fees would be adjusted for non-residential properties and based on formulas created by consultants.
The fees, as proposed, would be charged to every property. That includes government buildings, churches, schools and homes that are valued below the $25,000 homestead exemption and do not have to pay property taxes.
"Our attorneys are pretty adamant that they can assess it, but we have no obligation to pay it at all," schools superintendent John Long said Wednesday.
Alfonso said he was preparing to notify the city of the district's intentions Wednesday. Should the city on Tuesday approve the new fees and attempt to bill the district, Alfonso said he would sue and ask a circuit judge to rule on whether the fees are legal.
Alfonso said state law exempts the district from local ordinances.
Chapter 1013 of the Florida Statutes exempts schools from building codes as well as municipal impact fees and "service availability fees."
County Attorney Bob Sumner said Wednesday he has not been given instructions from the County Commission regarding the proposed city fees that might be charged to county buildings, but he said under state law, the city has no way of collecting fees charged to the county.
And if the city wants to charge extra for fire protection for county buildings, the county could provide its own protection with its own trucks, Sumner said.
Mayor Scott Black on Wednesday said he couldn't comment on the district's actions until he saw the letter Alfonso was preparing. As to whether the fees would be approved Tuesday, he said, "We'll wait and see."
City Commissioner Hutch Brock, who has picked at the proposed fees at city meetings and suggested the fees had outgrown their original purpose, said he was worried about the direction the fees are heading.
"It's becoming a much larger animal than was originally proposed," he said.
Brock said he hoped to hear from as many people as possible Tuesday.
He also said he was surprised by the school district's aggressive stance.
"I guess it's an indication they feel that it's a precedent that can be established and would have a far-reaching effect," Brock said.
Long said that's exactly how it is.
As proposed, the bill would be $11,000, Long said. And that wouldn't be the worst of it.
"Our concern is that the other cities out there are watching Dade City," Long said. "Though $11,000 may not sound like a lot, if you replicate that by all the other cities for all the other services, it could really hurt."
- Chase Squires covers news about Dade City. He can be reached at (352) 521-5757, ext. 27 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6108. then 27. His e-mail address is squires@sptimes.com