[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

Let's all understand that what we got was not a bill or even technically a fee notice. We got a "Notice to Property Owners" supposedly required by Florida Statutes. It basically states that the county plan is to charge the Fire Protection Services equally to all county residences. What is wrong with that? They are even having a public hearing on August 22 for public comment. Note there is a Paragraph that states that exceeding this Notice cost "maximum " will require a notice

Costs are costs. The actual budget will be based upon costs of facilities, personnel, and services paid. If they took money from General fund before, and have now proposed separate fund, then we should expect a decrease in general fund.

Should be based upon total assets and services currently approved. If anything new is included, that should be identified.

Please read post #41, there are new services being provided that must be paid for - ambulance transport services. All of this has been fully explained in public records and meeting records for the budget. This we addressed in great detail at a County Commission workshop meeting that was open to the public (recording is also available on county website). Multiple meetings/workshops have been held since the first of the year as we have worked through the budgeting process, these meetings have all been open to the public and open to public comment and input, sadly the most public attendance was 5 people with the normal being only 2 people from the general public at these meetings. Quite honestly, after 7 months of work on the county budget and priorities, the time for public outrage over what has been proposed is now long since passed.

If someone is upset over the proposed increase my questions to them are:
Which fire station shall we close to save money? The one near your house or the one near someone else's house?
What other services shall we cut?
and
Why didn't you attend the budget workshops and express your concerns then?

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but the County has to live in the real world with deadlines, real costs, and priorities for the entire county, the highest of which is public safety. In this case, the public has spoken and demanded a higher level of service, and these are the costs that must be paid. If the cost is too high, then something must be cut.