Fire Protection Assessment
 

Hi, I just received a notification from Sumter County that my fire protection assessment will be increased from $125 to $360. Is this real? 3 times of the current assessment? They said I have to attend the meeting to appeal. Is this one of the scams that only attending people get to stay with the current rate and snowbirds will be assessed 3 times higher rate? Please advise.. SC

More homes require more fire stations. I don't like unnecessary taxes any more than the other person but to me a tax for fire protection is a necessary tax I can live with. You will pay for it one way or the other, through an assessment or higher property taxes. Nothing is free that I have found so far.

:ohdear: Not what my notice said. :read:

What it states is they are increasing the maximum allowable assessment which has not been changed for 12 or 13 years. When the time comes to actually increase your assessment there isn't much you can do about it, meeting or no meeting. A bigger deal in my opinion is the 3.8 million dollar surplus in Wildwood tax revenue. What are they doing with it and will they lower our property taxes? They will find somewhere to spend it and will most likely to lower our taxes.

I agree that more houses would require more fire stations. But, why would that result in a higher individual assessment if there are more homeowners to pay for the fire stations? I don't see a lot of houses burning down in The Villages. Who determines how many fire stations we really need?

Of all the price increases I object to, fire fighters aren’t one of them. They do a lot more than just put out fires. Last year I ate something and I was chocking on it. I dialed for help, couldn’t even talk, but firemen were at my home within minutes. By then I was able to breathe and open the door for them. I will always be thankful that they came to help. It reminded me of my aunt who at a young age chocked to death on a chicken bone she accidentally swallowed.

Salaries, Insurance, equipment purchase and maintenance, Building maintenance are a few of the things whose costs increase each year. I believe the fire stations are built and staffed based on the number of houses so the allocations should be the same regardless.

I think they should be built and staffed based on the number of fires, not on the number of houses. It seems to me that there aren't very many house fires occurring in The Villages.

Don’t more homes mean more households will be paying for fire protection? Why do existing residents rates need to potentially go up 3X to cover the increased needs?

The notice says there will be a hearing for public comment. This is required by law. It doesn't say our assessment is going up - it says they want to raise the ceiling in the event their future budgets require the extra money, and to do that, they must hold a public hearing. I believe there are formulas that outline parameters for recommended fire protection based on area and density; whether these are followed in TV when they decide to put up a new station or not, I'm not sure - it would be a good question to ask the commissioners!

I have an ex-brother-in-law who is a Libertarian. He believes that the fire departments should be privatized. People could decide whether or not they want to pay for fire protection. If they want it, they would pay a yearly fee, rather like insurance, say $350 a year. This would pay the costs of running the fire department, including salaries, supplies, and equipment. If there was a fire in the homes of those people, the fire department would come put it out. No further charge. Essentially, all the subscribers chip in to cover the costs.

However, those who didn’t want to pay the $350 a year could opt out and pay nothing. But if there was a fire, the fire department would show up and keep the homes of the neighbors safe. If the homeowner without coverage refused to sign the paperwork, the burning house would burn to the ground. If the homeowner did sign, the home would be saved if possible, but the homeowner would receive a fair bill from the fire department that includes all costs for putting out the fire, for training, for insurance, for hospital costs, etc. Say a minimum of $10,000, and easily ten times that amount.

He also believes that police protection should be for those who pay for it. There’s a burglary at your house? If you haven’t paid for police insurance and want help, you get billed for, say, the detectives, the court case, etc. I don’t agree with him.

Fire Assessment Fees
 

Why almost 300% ? Yes, costs go up. And Yes we want good fireman, but let's be reasonable and not emotional.

"Not many house fires in The Villages" - TRUE.

Open to opinion - Do they really need to send a fire engine (sometimes with Emergency truck) to EVERY fender-bender on the roads ? This constitutes the majority of "runs" for the fire trucks. That catch-all term "With an abundance of caution" does not set well with me.

See how far the fire house and hydrants are from your home. If they are very close, your home owners insurance should be decreased which might offset the tax increase.

Good Point - 86% of FD runs are for medical issues, However your impact fees & monthly fees should be well on the way of paying for them.

What a ridiculous idea. Communities need fire protection. If you are not willing to pay for it, you can move.

The more homes and businesses you have the greater the tax base. Taxes and fire assessments should go down not up.

I think they want to ‘streamline’ tax hikes up to $360 - in the future w/out going thru the process of presenting to the public why they are asking for it and what they intend to exactly do with it. If we need tax increases - ok - but - we need to have the right to know - in advance - exactly where and how the money will be spent and be able to voice our opinions.

I think our firefighters are great. It is not fair to them or us - if we must pre-commit to up to 3x what we are paying now - with no say on how it is spent.

Think of it this way - you have a college kid wanting to go to college - you tell them - ok - “I will agree to give you $40k to get your degree - here is the check - I trust you, no questions asked.” After the first semester - your kid comes home and says - “I need more for my college degree - I went to an Ivy League school and $40k only paid for the first semester - oh, and by the way - I failed all my classes:”.

Writing a check for an amount up to 3x more - with absolutely no governance in place - In my opinion, can easily result in even higher taxes.

Assessment Overview
 

The comments are partially correct. It's not an increase, its a proposal to raise the ceiling of increases without notice. The fundamental problem is the Commission has not conducted an economic study to precede the proposal. The ceiling amount is arbitrary. I think nearly everyone supports firefighters. But, I would want to know if we're going to reach the new ceiling this year or in ten years. That question can only be answered by a proper forecast of revenues/expenses factoring growth and increase in revenue due to growth.

You are incorrect!!!!!!! Open your eyes!!!

Fire protection assessment
 

We may not have many fires in TV, but our firemen are also EMTs and they get called many times for health emergencies. Not a day goes by when I don’t see or hear several ambulances go by. My only question about the hike is where did our 25% tax increase go? Wildwood, it’s my understanding, has a substantial surplus so.........??????

Only get service if you pay and let crime run rampant and your house burn down if you dont? Ridiculous.

Most of their work is as paramedics. Don’t think of it as the number of fires, but how often you hear their sirens.

You need to learn more about what the fire Dept does. Home fires, although significantly important, is only a part of their Service to us. When you have a hart attach or other medical issue, the are at your home in 4 minutes, with life saving equipment and training. The assist the elderly in maintaining smoke alarms, the respond to accidents of bikes, cars, or carts......virtually every 911 call in TV. They also assist in neighbor to neighbor response team set ups so that your medical issue is handled within 2 minutes (before TVFD arrives) and CPR training. TV Fire department response is one of the best in the nation and is being modeled by many other communities.

It is a cap NOT a new assessment charge.

Your correct nothing is free unless your not from this county 🤫

I agree with you. Base it on the history of calls not on number of houses.

This is a drop in the bucket in comparison to the increase in our property values over the last several years and with the high cost of building supplies the values will continue to increase. Also having a well funded top notch fire department is a plus when selling your home which eventually all of us will be doing.

I seem to recall this was tried a long time ago in our early history.........didn’t work then either.

Fire fees
 

It is real , and another thing that should have been covered by the developers impact fees instead of charging the residents of TV! We are paying for the building of the additional firehouses, buying of trucks and equipment, hiring of more firefighters, etc. This should have been factored in in the impact fees to the developer! Yet they still pay under $1000. Stand up and be heard

Looks like protection money paid to the mob.

I would be interested to know how the paramedic work they do interfaces with Medicare and other health insurance. Does the Fire Department and their paramedics get reimbursement from health insurance? Medicare covers emergency ambulance services. Just asking.

Sounds like he’s a pretty dumb. The fire department will always put out fires that’s what they do !!

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Communities do need fire protection. If you read and thought about the statements made, you would see that was never never never a point of contention. So are you really saying, ........ We need fire protection, and if the powers-that-be decide to raise the cost 300%, we should just pay and not debate it?

What did you get? No increase in maximum assessment? I don't mind paying for fire protection but $125 to $360 does not sound reasonable increase..

Shouldn't the new homes bear this burden?

Throughout history it has always been the same. Everyone wants, but wants someone else to pay for it. It will not happen but wouldn't it be great if, we had a computer program
where they said Mr. Dave, I see you think we need, more teachers? more Police? More spraying? More xxxxx? Your increased cost for ........... will be ..............

We all tend not to think about OUR cost.

I am amazed that some people don't read their local news. In Wildwood the city lost and 82 million dollar judgment. They have to make it up somewhere. Also you may not realize it, but generally speaking when somebody calls 911 with a medical emergency not only do the ambulances magically appear but the first people on the scene are usually the first aid providers from the fire stations. So it's certainly doesn't hurt they have more stations and more money to pay people that are medically qualified.

Stupidest idea I’ve heard in a long time, I know you stated you don’t agree, thankfully.

We usually get partial information on all of these posts. Most fees, TAXES, have limit to how much they can increase. This increase is almost 3x in one year. I expect something
is missing.

As far as our fire service, they also do EMS service. They do a great job.

I seem to recall a thread a while ago where villagers thought they should be paid more.
People, all of us, think someone else, NOT US, should pay for it-whatever it is.

there it is !! Well said. Nothing else needs to be said.