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Like voters in the North Collier Fire District, voters in Immokalee and Ave Maria will decide in August whether to change the funding formula for fire protection.
While on the surface the two proposals are similar, there are differences in the application and circumstances surrounding the two plans.
In North Collier, a main argument forwarded by proponents is that the new system would even out the budgetary peaks and valleys caused by a reliance on property taxes.
Immokalee proponents can make the same claim but add that the very existence of their independent fire district may be at stake.
For the Aug. 28 primary, North Collier fire commissioners approved a ballot measure that would lower the property tax rate to 0.5 mills, or $50 for every $100,000 of property value.
In case you missed it:Here's where you can attend a fire fee town hall meeting
To make up for the lost revenue, an assessment would be charged against homes and other properties. The fee would be $254 for a residence. Businesses and institutions would be assessed the additional fee on a square-footage basis.
In Immokalee, the millage rate would go from 3.75 mills to 1.3 mills. The added flat fee for a residence would be $369. Non-residential buildings would be assessed 40 cents per square foot.
Unlike North Collier, where churches and other institutions that are exempt from property taxes would also be exempt from the fee, Immokalee Fire Chief Michael Choate said just about every property in the district will pay.
“I’ve not heard any talk from my commissioners about exemptions, and I’ve spoken to them 50 times,” he said. "If you crack that window, I don’t think you can ever shut it. That’s my recommendation to the board. We exempt no one."
Not surprisingly, that has led to pushback from the religious community, Choate said.
“We have some pastors that have spoken against it. That’s OK. This is the United States of America,” he said.
Opposition isn’t coming just from the churches, though.
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Businesses also are organizing to oppose the Immokalee fire assessment.
Among their complaints: The fire district didn’t notify property owners of the plan by mail, as they contend Florida law requires. Choate admits mailers weren’t used.
“Do you have any idea how much that would cost?” he asked.
A consulting firm that worked with North Collier also led Immokalee through the process. He is confident legally adequate notification was given through newspapers, websites and even fliers in restaurants.
But the objections go beyond that.
Henry Allen Fish, owner of Allen’s Auto Parts on West Main Street, said the total fire taxes and fees on his building would go from about $1,240 under the current millage to about $6,400 under the new plan.
A group of business owners plans to meet with an attorney Monday to decide how to proceed. He expects the business community will put about $30,000 into the effort.
Coincidentally, that is the same amount a group working against the North Collier fee has raised to date, according to Steve Demidovich, chairman of the No Blank Check Political Action Committee.
“We’re going to fight it. It’s not right,” Fish said of the Immokalee proposal.
Like opponents in North Collier, Fish suspects the property tax will inch back up afterward if the measure passes, wiping out any savings some residents might realize.
In North Collier:North Collier fire district board to vote on fire fee referendum
In North Collier:North Collier Fire proposal would raise fees for many businesses
Aside from the hit his business is taking, Fish said the Immokalee fee will be passed on to those who can least afford it — owners and renters of homes with low property values.
Homesteaded properties with a value less than $50,000 pay no property taxes for fire protection or other government services. A question on the November ballot would raise the tax-exempt value to $75,000.
The prevalence of low-value housing in Immokalee creates a problem for the fire district. Only about 40 percent of residents pay property taxes to the fire department, Choate said.
If the August ballot measure passes, everyone living in Immokalee would pay something, he said. District revenue would go from about $3.3 million per year to about $4.6 million.
The existing revenue model does not bring in enough money to maintain and grow the fire department, Choate said.
The expiration of a federal grant that had funded nine firefighter positions and the possibility that the homestead exemption will go up mean the district will have to continue to use reserves to meet its budget in the coming years.
“That’s not sustainable,” Choate said. “We have no reserves. It’s a simple business decision on our end.”
Ultimately, if the district in unable to survive financially, the county would step in to run the department, he predicted.
If the fee plan passes, the district can keep all its firefighters, modernize and maintain its equipment, harden its buildings to hurricane standards and update communications technology, according to the district’s website.
Without it, the district will lay off staff, close a fire station and face increased maintenance costs for an aging fleet, the website states.
Fish thinks there is waste that can be cut in the district, such as purchasing surplus rather than new equipment and not sending firetrucks on routine medical calls.
“I point-blank asked the chief, ‘Do you need to take a fire engine to a fender bender?’ He said, ‘No,’ ” Fish said.
Some homeowners would benefit under the new plan.
For example, the owner of a home with a taxable value of $200,000 now pays $750 a year in fire taxes. That would drop to $629. Higher-priced homes would see bigger savings.
That might entice residents in Ave Maria, a growing political bloc in the Immokalee district, to vote in favor of it.
The Immokalee Fire District website has a link that allows property owners to see how the referendum would affect their tax bill.
Until the opposition gets organized, Fish said he is using word of mouth to spread the message.
“I’m notifying everyone I can. I’m being a pure pain in the ass in my store,” he said.
Choate, who was fire chief in Hardee County when a similar plan passed there, fully expects opposition to continue. He is conducting as many town hall meetings as he can and using a translator to bring his message to Spanish-language publications and radio in Immokalee.
“When you make a decision, I just want it to be an informed decision,” he said. "That’s the beauty of this. It’s a referendum. You get to show up and vote."
Connect with Brent Batten at brent.batten@naplesnews.com, on Twitter @NDN_BrentBatten and at facebook.com/ndnbrentbatten.
Commentary:Learning more about North Collier fire fee referendum
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