A public records requests reveals that Leon County Schools (LCS) has not been paying their fire service fees since December 31st 2020. In fact, they don’t even feel the need to have it budgeted anymore. In 2021/2022 school year they stopped allocating it all together. A recorded budget meeting from July 2021, LCS acknowledges the decrease in general budget spending in the amount of the fire service fee.
The City is currently charging LCS a little under $1 million dollars for their fire services. We asked Leon County Schools about the fire service fee and they responded “LCS stop paying fire fees by December 31 2020. We cannot give 2023/24 until after October 1st. Take the first two years out, then take the next three months out of the third year and you got what LCS has not paid.”
While LCS has not been paying the fire service fee, they still receive the benefits of this fire service.
The City has known about this lapse of payment and has not pursued a legal means to receive it. In July we made a Facebook post about this request. After a month of waiting for the request, the city told us contradictory information from LCS. They stated that it has been partially paid. This further adds to local government distrust.
Our neighbor’s power is being shut off during heat advisories. However, the city is failing to collect $3million in unpaid fire service fees from LCS.
As always we are better, louder, and stronger together. Keep the community conversations going so that we can work towards a more transparent, ethical local government.
3 Responses
Reese is a crook. Vote Curtis “tax hike” Richardson OUT OF OFFICE!!
The Fire Services Fee is an unconstitutional tax according to the 5th District Court of Appeals. They ruled on a similar fee levied by the city of Ocala. Ultimately, a class action lawsuit forced Ocala to repay nearly $80 million collected through this illegal means.
Tallahassee should be funding fire services through ad valorem taxes just like every other municipality in Florida.
The school district is correct in refusing to pay the fee which is added to every TALGOV customer’s utility bill improperly.
We read through the case around the fire service fees and here are the key take aways:
-The purpose of taxation is to provide funds for the general welfare and protection of the citizens
– Local governments do possess the authority to impose special assessments and user fees.
– The City (Ocala) did not impose the fee as a special assessment in compliance with sections 197.3632 and 197.3635, Florida Statues.
– Florida Supreme Court has upheld special assessments collected to fund fire services when all property owners received the same benefit.
-“The only requirement is that the fees must be “just” and “equitable,” see section 153.11(1)(c), and “[t]he lack of actual use does not render a fee unjust or inequitable,”
For the district to not pay their fees is inequitable for the rest of our neighbors that do pay their fees.
We are all better together, keep the conversation going