Rather than pay more, look to the county for fire and police services, say some fee opponents.
By CHASE SQUIRES
Published May 26, 2003
DADE CITY - What began as a quest for new revenue in a cash-strapped city could take a turn Tuesday when city commissioners try to make a final decision on new fees while some in town ask if it's time to overhaul the way the city operates instead.
Land owners questioning the wisdom of proposed new surcharges for fire protection and street lights - things that have been covered in the past by the annual property tax bill - say they also will question the need for a city-run fire department.
The idea for the new fees arose last year. Commissioners hired consultants to look at ways to charge land owners extra for fire protection and street lighting, and later possibly stormwater runoff. As proposed, the fees would be billed to every property, even those traditionally exempt from property taxes, such as schools, government buildings and churches.
The fees due up for consideration Tuesday would be $16 for fire protection for every home or apartment, and an average of $16.47 per home for street lights. The fees would be calculated by a formula for commercial and institutional space.
So far, support from outside the City Commission has been hard to find.
Property owners say the city should be run more efficiently. The School Board is threatening to sue. Pasco County might ignore the bills.
The public hearing and final decision are scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. Tuesday meeting at the American Legion Hall/Charles McIntosh Center on Church Avenue.
"We're kind of looking at it as very short term," said Gregg Lynch, a former commissioner and a downtown businessman opposed to the fees. "It's trying to put a Band-Aid on what's a real long-term problem."
Lynch, representing several land owners who have been meeting on the issue, said many think the city must take a hard look at its costs before it goes after new taxes.
Among the biggest city costs is the Fire Department. Lynch said that with the county retaking control of two special taxing districts outside the city that have been served by the Dade City Fire Department under a paid contract for years, the city's department might need to shrink.
Or, he said, the city might be better off paying Pasco County to serve the city and dissolve its own department to save money.
The city's $9.8-million budget for the current year includes $3-million for police and fire service.
According to county figures, removing the districts from the city's responsibility cuts the city's coverage area from 78 square miles to four square miles, and from more than 27,000 residents to fewer than 6,000.
Police protection also costs city residents more, according to county officials.
A Pasco County Sheriff's Office report says that in 2002, law enforcement costs were $114 per person served for the county, compared with $276 per person for Dade City's force.
Dade City businessman Otto Weitzenkorn said he would speak against the new fees Tuesday and wants the city to at least consider eliminating fire and police departments in favor of contracting service from the county.
"I know everybody likes to protect their kingdom, but when you can't afford it, it doesn't make any sense," he said.
Weitzenkorn, who owns several commercial properties downtown, said his share of the new fees would come to $6,000. He said he will have to eat those costs, because renters won't agree to change a lease halfway through the year. And if the city decides to continue the fees into next year, eventually he would have to add the costs to new leases.
"The city commissioners, they really don't understand the independent merchant," he said. "The only industry in town is the downtown activity. If these merchants are being taxed out of existence . . ."
Assistant County Attorney Dan Johnson said the county stands ready to work with the city and contract fire and perhaps police coverage for a fee. He said either he or someone else from the county would likely attend Tuesday's meeting.
Mike Agnello, a tavern owner and regular at City Commission meetings, said commissioners have lost touch with what it's like to run a business and raise a family. He said it's time for commissioners to resign and bring in new leaders.
"They should work within their budget, and if they don't have the money, they have to cut," he said. "They have failed the voters, and they have failed themselves."
One commissioner who has been skeptical of the new fees is Hutch Brock.
Assesments can have merit, he said, if they are used to spread the cost of government more fairly, asking those who are exempt from city taxes - some due to homestead exemptions - to at least pay something.
But if they are used to pile on new taxes, in addition to property taxes, then the fees become a burden, he said.
Brock said the city should instead look for savings.
"We don't have to revert to assesments to save our Fire Department," he said.
