Hi, I find your concept interesting simply because from the 18th and early 19th centuries that is just how fire insurance worked. Each homeowner would sign up with a particular "mutual fund" and pay a premium for fire protection. There would be a large metal tag on the house indicating the fire protection the homeowner had purchased and from which fund. When the fire brigade arrived, if they saw their tag on the house, they would put the fire out. If the tag was not there, or it was not their tag they would leave and let the house burn. Benjamin Franklin was among the first to set up a "mutual" fund of what he called a "Contributionship." His fund was so successful that by the 1780s more mutual fund companies began to be formed and the modern concept of Property/Casualty insurance began.

What about economy of scale?

Are they doing a shell game with the budget and moving the Fire Department line item to an ASSESSMENT ? If so ,,',,why ? AND, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE FD LINE ITEM MONEY. COULD ???,, It be used as an offset to a tax decrease. Oh,,, Let’s hope not a shell game.

That’s a very rude reply. Costs don’t triple overnight, and no one should have a blank check, regardless of the service.

My original comment was to the person who said they should pay it or move out, only put more rudely.

Which "he" are you referring to? There are so many.......

Yes, it's amazing how many people are wiling to write a blank check for a service and criticize those who question how much the service is really worth.

HEY.....we prefer you don't talk to others that way on this post....ty

Totally agree. I am not questioning that I need to pay for fire protection. But my current assessment is $124 which is $1 less than maximum assessment limit. Am I wrong to assume that when they have $360 limit, I might be charged for $359?

BTW, am I the only one received this notice? Has everyone received similar notice? Were they all for 3X increase?

Fire Protection
 

Being a retired Firefighter, EMT, Public Safety Officer . I find this quite funny.... Everyone wants us (only) when they need us. Most of us do these jobs because we love it. Most of us hold down second jobs. Due to t hff at first job will not feed our families pay a mortgage. When I started 30 years ago I made $1.42 an hour ! Fire protection is NOT calculated by how many fires are in one area is by population. The national average for EMS truck roll at of their station is 5 minutes. The average for a Fire Apparatus 2 minutes . We not only handle Fires, entrapment, car accident, medical calls, kids needing help with projects, people falling. How dare you say it is a waste. The average fire engine Carries 750 maybe 1000 gallons of water. That is 5 to 7 1/2 minutes to fire a fire. Still want to cut the taxes... You put on that 50lbs of gear and step up to the plate and do our job.

You were not the only one to receive the notice. Yes, it was for the same amount

Considering that the starting pay is $13.04/hr with max of about $20/hr, the increase doesn’t appear to be going where it needs to.

The proposed increase is ridiculous. The addition of all those thousands of new houses should cover any needed fire stations. When was the last audit? And done by whom?

They also come out and change the batteries in your fire/smoke detectors for free (you supply the batteries). 2X+ a year from current $150/year is a small amount compared to the amount of $$ spent on golf, drinks and dining in a year.

Please reread the proposal. From my understanding it is raising the "cap" on the public safety assessment. That allows the commissioners to increase the annual assessment up to $360. That is not likely to be done in one adjustment. I suspect that they will use the authority to increase the assessment from time to time to meet increased costs. Hopefully it will take several years to max out the increases. Many are viewing this as they did the "25%" property tax increase, it was really not 25% of your taxes but a much lesser amount based on just the local tax. Much ado about little. Compared to where most of us came from we are doing very well.

Let's not talk about what we can and can't afford. If SUBWAY increase sandwich price 3X, would you still go there? If Chevy increase the cheapest car price 3X, would you still buy it? I have not heard anything like 3X increase other than Shkreli increasing diabetes medicine for 1200% or 5500%. I am just asking TV's wise people whether this is acceptable to you or there is a reasonable explanation that I have not heard yet here.
As of yet, I have no reason to believe the next bill ( as soon as it passes ) will be less than $359.

Why do people visit TV, love what they see and experience, and check the cost and low taxes, then buy & move here, then complain and want to change things? TV has gained its growth and reputation over 40 years because of the way things are run here and the way the developers organized things. TV is like no other community in USA, for that reason. You found things here good enough for purchase & moving, so don’t try to change things, otherwise TV will become messed up like where you came from.

tax increase
 

more homes require more coverage, yes, but more homes also represent increased revenues!! a 300% increase from everyone seems a bit over the top.
I think we are being taken advantage of, for certain.

When the Developer pays a fire impact fee of zero, who do people think is going to pay for all the new fire stations and equipment necessitated by the massive expansion of The Villages?

A serious incident agree, but how in the world does that tie to a 300% raise in fire taxes ?Wouldn't any fire fighter do the same in any city, it would have nothing to do with tax base. Isn't the villages growing and growing and bringing in MORE money to be spent on fire protection ? Again, the logic is not there: ANY city anywhere that is growing at a good pace does not need to triple the tax rate, don't "they" understand that the growth will support a new station and employees as needed ?

I continue winder if “they” understand anything.:shrug:

You see those new apartment buildings in Brownwood, they need ladder trucks to cover these buildings. They are owned by the developer, but they do not want to pay for anything, so the homeowners have to divvy up. Just like the impact fees.

I'll try and provide a little insight into this discussion. In regard to where fire stations should be located the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard is withing 1.5 miles for engine companies and 2.5 miles for aerial ladders. This standard also states that 90% of the time a fire company should arrive within 8 or less minutes from when the caller first requests assistance (911). Staffing: NFPA standards state that an engine (or truck) company should have a staffing of 4 persons. Each person has a specific job (Officer: Determine tactics and oversee their company; Driver operates the pump and provides water to the hoses. Firefighter 1 attacks the fire and is backed up by either the Officer or Firefighter 2. Firefighter 2 connects the supply lines to the hydrant and then joins the attack team. Having less than this number of firefighters would be dangerous...and firefighting is a dangerous job.

Minimum staffing at the scene of a structure fire requiring use of hoses, per NFPA Standards, is 16 firefighters (18 if an aerial ladder is used).

Is a fire engine needed for a "fender bender"? That can only be determined when the unit arrives at the scene. Would it be better to wait and let the victim be trapped in a hazardous atmosphere or respond immediately. I'm would want fast assistance.

There are very few "subscription" fire departments in the United States. However, in those areas serviced by subscription fire departments there are times when the house burns down. It is a simple matter of economics. If no one subscribed there would be no fire department.

Cost: A new fire engine is around $750,000. A new aerial ladder is around $1,300,000. You may argue that this is a lot of money and I agree it is. However if you were risking your life using one of these vehicles, would you want something that was safe and reliable or a used one? (NFPA standards require annual evaluation of these devices (not inexpensive) and the total anticipated service time for these vehicles does not exceed 20 years. Replacement depends on how intensive the use is (i.e. few emergencies the apparatus lasts longer, lots of emergencies the apparatus needs replaced more often).

Auditing. This will depend on state law, but typically each fire department or municipality is audited on an annual basis.

The Villages Fire Department is a separate agency, but works together with neighboring fire departments (Sumter County and other municipal fire departments to provide quality to services).

Consider stopping by a fire station and talking with the firefighters. The firefighters are well trained and are happy to show you the equipment that they utilize. They respond to not only fires, but hazardous materials emergencies, water emergencies, medical emergencies. Remember: When YOU have an emergency who do you call?

Also, property tax is assessed to the owner of each building, be it a single family dwelling, an apartment building, or any other building. So yes, the developer pays their fair share for apartments. It is no different than the owner of a home renting the home....they still pay taxes on the value of the building.

$1 a day (if the maximum amount were requested) seems like a bargain to me...

The real estate broker before you buy will never tell you about these special assessments. Thank you for tell us about these assessments this is one of the many things that they can do after you buy at the villages. NOT VERY GOOD FOR BUYERS.

You are using the wrong agents. I would suggest Beth Pope if you want to know everything regarding costs, assessments, possible noise, etc. Assessments can be attached to any home anywhere, not just in The Villages. Over the years I have been assessed for storm sewers, sanitary sewers, road widening, putting in truck turning lanes, etc., tens of thousands of dollars.

There Is Statistics On The Reason For Increase
 

There will be increases, probably every year. If you go to the County website and look for the agendas to the meetings, you will find the numbers that were used to come up with $360. I believe it was a meeting in February. Browse each agenda until you find the proper one.

If you are unable to attend any of the public Board meetings, you can easily find out what was discussed and all the documents that are used to make the decisions that are made at these Board meetings. You can also listen to an audio of each and every meeting going back many years. All too often, people post to these threads and really are unaware of the circumstances that created whatever cause you are wondering about. If you care about the way our County is run, you should at least listen to the audio of the Board meetings if you cannot be in attendance. That way you can make comments based on facts, rather than what you might read in the local paper.

My understanding was this was an increase in the maximum which was set at $160 years ago. It took years to reach the max. There is nothing mentioned about next years rate being set at the new max of $360

Thanks for the detailed explanation. Still does not explain anything about 3X increase.
Refer my previous post. It's not about how much I can/should pay. Why 3X?

In our property tax I think we pay fire tax also.

It's a limit increase, not a fee increase.
The current limit has been in place for over 10 years.

You know this blog is a great place for information but when you have something like this, your county or state representatives are the places to go to for the true information. I have always found at least in my county of lake for them to be nice and knowledgeable, and in fact when I had issues, they've actually knocked on my door and sat down for a cup of coffee

Oh. I didnt realize that because theres not alot of fires, we therefore dont need more fire stations. I guess we’ll wait until a few things burn down and then add a fire station

Of course your brother seems to forget and if you don't sign the paperwork for the fire department, then your insurance costs also will go up. I have found in life you always pay somewhere and I guarantee you 99.999% of the properties have insurance

I applaud you for your courage and conviction. The trouble with most people on here is that they simply don't understand revenue and budgets. Further they're willing to complain behind the privacy of a screen but not get off their backsides to attend a meeting or to write a letter to their representatives. I have always found in the central Florida that our politicians are very responsive to our questions and comments. They may not agree or have other objectives but they certainly do want to talk to us and be on our good side when they can now withstanding a certain infrastructure tax we have problems with

Maybe we should buy a fire truck for every house, in case it catches fire. The point is that, if the risk is reduced, the fire protection should also be reduced.

I have one right on my property. There is no offsetting of taxes.

You missed the point of the post. :)

We don't have a "city" budget. We don't need any audits - right? We don't need to be questioning a 300% increase. We just need to get our checks out and pay it. I have never seen so many people who just seem to want to pay a 300% tax!

For years i was responsible for piblic safety budgets. Including police and fire. This increase has questionable optics.

Some retirees could “ die by a thousand cuts”. Just saying,,,,, know what your doing !

You have heard of, due diligence, right?

Brilliant

Firefighters work for the county, ambulances are contracted out and that is the problem.