North Collier fire district board to vote on fire fee referendum

The North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to put a controversial fire fee on the ballot in August.

The district's board put off a final decision at its May 10 meeting — and has since held a series of town hall meetings to share information about the proposal, which would raise costs for some residents and businesses and lower them for others within its 264-square-mile service area.

The district has 10 fire stations and it serves a year-round population of more than 110,000. It's responsible for two service areas: North Naples and Big Corkscrew Island.

Fee could raise $3.5M a year

The idea behind the fee is to create a more sustainable funding method, which fire district officials say is needed to keep up with growth, cover replacement and maintenance costs and provide adequate reserves.

The fire district would continue to assess and collect property taxes to support its operations.

The proposed fee would increase the district's funding by about $3.5 million annually.

Reaction to the fire fee proposal has been mixed, with some residents and businesses vehemently opposed to it. 

The district has held four publicly advertised town halls on the proposal and its leaders have met with community groups and organizations about it including various homeowners' associations. 

"We've had a lot of positive feedback from HOAs we've been talking to and even from some of the residents who will be paying more money. Once we explain it to them and tell them what they are paying for they are like, 'Thank you for your services and keep doing what you have been doing,'" said Sal D'Angelo, the fire district's executive director. 

More:North Collier Fire proposal would raise fees for many businesses

How the fee would work

At its meeting Thursday, the district's board will be asked to decide whether to call for the referendum, which if approved would be on the ballot for the primary election Aug. 28. If the board moves ahead with the referendum, it will also vote Thursday on the final language for the ballot question.

Here's how the annual fire fee would work: Owners of residential property would pay a flat rate of $254 per dwelling and owners of vacant land would pay $90 per parcel — but other property owners would be charged a fee based on square footage and uses.

Commercial property would pay 25 cents per square foot, while owners of industrial and warehouse properties would pay 4 cents per square foot. That means the larger the property, the higher the fee, an idea that has rubbed some area business owners and executives the wrong way.

'It seems backwards,' one opponent said

One of the more vocal opponents is Ed Staros, managing director for The Ritz-Carlton Resorts of Naples, who argues the proposal "doesn't make sense."

"I'm not against the rate going up," he said. "I'm against the rate going up based on square footage." 

Under the proposal one of the Ritz resorts would pay more for fire services and the other would be charged less. Resort employees who live in the fire district could also pay 200 to 300 percent more for fire protection, with those living in the most modest homes seeing the biggest increase.

Under the proposal owners of a $200,000 home would pay the same annual fee as owners of a $2 million home, which doesn't sit right with Staros and other opponents. 

"It seems backwards," Staros said. "The person that has the $10 million house should pay more."

If the district needs more money, Staros said he'd "rather the millage rate go up." 

If the fire fee is approved, fire commissioners have discussed lowering the current tax rates that are charged on property to .5 mill in both its North Naples and Big Corkscrew Island service areas. A half mill is equal to 50 cents per $1,000 in taxable value.

In the North Naples service area, the tax is now at 1 mill, while in Big Corkscrew it's at 3.5, a rate set before the two districts merged in 2015 to create the larger North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District.

More:Here's where you can attend a fire fee town hall meeting

Bentley Village residents plan to fight fee

Janet Vasey, a retiree who lives in Bentley Village, has blasted the fire fee proposal at town hall meetings.

She has studied county and fire district budget for 20 years. She said she doesn't see a need for the fee — and also thinks it would be an unfair assessment.

Currently, Bentley Village pays about $86,000 a year to the fire district, but with the proposed tax plan, that could skyrocket to $675,000 — and that's just one example of how it would affect some property owners much more than others, Vasey said.

"We do know the costs are going up," she said. "We know it has a big impact, but we don't know how individually."

She expects the added costs to be passed on to residents through their monthly fees. 

One of Vasey's other big criticisms of the fire fee proposal is that if it comes with a millage rate decrease to .5 mill in both service areas, the Big Corkscrew Island service area would pay $2 million less in property taxes, shifting more of the cost burden to North Naples. 

"That's against  what they promised us when they merged and that's what's happening now," Vasey said. 

At a meeting with fire district officials Wednesday, Bentley Village's residents brought up a host of concerns and questioned the need for the fire fee. Some argued the district has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, and needs to cut costs. 

"Their pay is out of line," Vasey said. 

Dozens of residents of Bentley Village signed up to travel by bus to the district meeting Thursday to fight the proposal. 

Naples accountant files elections complaint

Richard Hoffman, a Naples accountant and former North Collier Fire commissioner, said he's filed a complaint with the Florida Elections Commission over the way the fire district has handled the public campaign for the referendum. He's opposed to the fee.

In his complaint, Hoffman said he's alleged the district wrongly spent $100,000 in "public funds for a political communication." Communication must be limited to factual information and he argues it hasn't because it has included "estimates as if they were facts," as well as promises and approximations.

"As provided in Florida Statutes, they cannot 'advocate' for a referendum issue they proposed," Hoffman said. 

Donna Malphurs, a clerk for the Florida Elections Commission, said she could neither confirm nor deny the complaint. Complaints are exempt from the public records and open meetings laws until the commission determines whether there is probable cause or no probable cause that a violation occurred, which could take months.

The commission may impose a civil fine if it finds that a violation has occurred, but it has no authority to unwind the results of a referendum.

Asked about the complaint, D'Angelo said he wasn't aware of it.

"If there is a complaint against the fire district, it's hard to comment on something none of us have seen," he said.

The district has done nothing wrong in the way it has handled its informational campaign about the fire fee, D'Angelo said. The district, he said, is making every effort to educate the community about the proposal and to answer any questions the community has about it.

"Our job is to educate on the facts and then the voters will make up their own minds at the ballot box," D'Angelo said.

IF YOU GO

What: Meeting of the North Collier Fire Control & Rescue District

When: June 21, 9-11 a.m.

Location: Station 45 Training/Board Room, 1885 Veterans Park Dr.