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11/30/1999FIRE TASK FORCE MEETING CITY OF CLEARWATER November 30, 1999 Present: Bill Horne Chair (non-voting) Fran Briskman Task Force Member Joe Calio Task Force Member Joe Evich Task Force Member Rowland Herald Task Force Member George Krause Task Force Member John Lee Task Force Member Scott Nall Task Force Member – left 4:11 p.m. Bill Schwob Task Force Member William Sherman Task Force Member Jean Stuart Task Force Alternate Duke Tieman Task Force Member Doug Williams Task Force Alternate Absent: Russ Kimball Task Force Member Also Present: Robert Lockwood Administrative Support Manager Wayne Hanson Administrative Support Manager Margie Simmons Finance Director Tina Wilson Budget Director John Carassas Assistant City Attorney Sue Diana Assistant City Clerk Brenda Moses Board Reporter The Chair called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. at City Hall. To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. ITEM 2 – Approval of Minutes of 11/09/99 and 11/16/99 Meetings Member Schwob moved to approve the minutes of November 9, 1999, as corrected. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Member Evich requested the November 16, 1999, minutes on page 3, paragraph 4 be changed to read “… indicated no additional costs in his motion to include…” and on page 1, paragraph 3, read “…budget increase is not 34%, but approximately 60%.” Member Krause moved to approve the minutes as amended. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM 3 – Fire Fee Presentation – Robert Sheets Robert Sheets with Government Services Group, Inc. made a presentation on the Fire Rescue Special Assessment Program. He said fire rescue is one of the most visible services a community provides. Everyone within the community accepts and appreciates the critical nature of that service. People want to make sure when they call “911” they receive service quickly. The Fire Department can ask for ad valorem increases or search for other funding sources. Regulatory and inspection fees are charged by the City but are negligible in regard to the overall fire budget. Transport fees for services jointly done by the City and the County simply offset some costs. Traditionally, costs for fire services has been determined by property values. Mr. Sheets presented scenarios that apply fire service fees according to demand rather than property values. Florida Home Rule allows local governments to find solutions to local issues unless otherwise dictated in the Constitution or Florida Statutes. Case law criteria for special assessments; data components involved in conducting a special assessment; apportionment methodology; proposed rates; 5) revenue scenarios; and 6) issues such as exemptions, nursing homes, initial revenue collection were reviewed. To have a valid non ad valorem assessment in Florida, the City must prove that the service provides a special benefit to property and the assessment must be fairly and reasonably apportioned. It cannot be arbitrary. Assessments have been used for road improvements, sidewalks, solid waste, stormwater, etc. Mr. Sheets said the basic data components in the special assessment study were based on call/incident data for calendar year 1998, the City’s ad valorem tax roll, and the fire rescue budget proposed for FY 1999/00. The cost apportionment method uses the proforma budget and is based on historical demand for fire rescue services. Based on the analysis, Clearwater’s call demand was as follows: residential (50%); commercial (26%); institutional (7%); and nursing homes (15%). The parcel apportionment method uses results of cost apportionment and ad valorem tax roll data to determine unit costs. Categories included residential and non-residential (commercial, industrial/warehouse, institutional and nursing home). Parcel apportionment for residential was based on dwelling unit and non-residential apportionment was determined by using improvement area per building within square footage classifications. A 50,000 square foot cap was applied per non-residential building. Homestead, church, and 501(C) exemptions do not apply to non ad valorem assessments. Mr. Sheets said the assessment budget differed from the fire department budget. It nets out all potential revenue sources from the fire department’s budget, but includes costs to administer the program, the tax collector’s fee for collecting the fee on the tax bill, any contingencies for early payment, etc. The net effect was a $9 million assessment budget. To cover the assessment budget using this concept, every residential homeowner would pay $106 annually and commercial and non-residential properties within the 5,000 and 10,000 square foot classification would pay up to $1,242 annually for a fire fee. Commercial property over 50,000 square feet would pay $12,415. The institutional category includes churches, 501(C)(3)’s that are fully exempt from property tax purposes such as state, city, county, and school systems. Those figures assume no millage rollbacks, exceptions, etc. The City may choose to enact policy to exempt certain categories from paying the assessment or buy down to a general classification. The City would have to make a contribution from the general fund for anyone it chose to exempt. Mr. Sheets said the City of Tallahassee has been charging the state, universities, cities and county for fire/rescue services on utility bills in exchange for lower electric bills. The utility companies have been subsidizing the City of Tallahassee's general fund for years. Because of deregulation, Tallahassee wants utility rates to be competitive in an open market and has reduced its contribution to the general fund by $15 million to pay for fire/rescue, etc. In response to a question, Mr. Sheets said hospitals’ fees depend upon the hospital’s ownership. He said in every city where fire rescue special assessment studies were conducted, nursing homes proved to be a high consumer of these fire/rescue services because of the nature of their business. They do not hesitate to call 911 and use the local fire/rescue services as their hospital and doctor resource. A concern was expressed that as a cost of doing business, every business incurring these fees will pass them on to consumers. It was remarked that tourists also would pay those fees. Concern was expressed that fire and EMS call data was not separated in the assessment study since industrial calls tend to be more hazardous and require different services. Mr. Sheets said it is possible to separate that data. He said very few EMS calls are received from industrial/warehouse properties. Fire suppression is generally dealt with by building code standards and fire suppression mechanisms. Mr. Sheets said under Florida Statute 197.323, the City must send a Notice of Intent to the County Property Appraiser by January 1 of the year in which the City wishes to use the tax bill collection method. A resolution must be passed at a public hearing by the Commission prior to January 1 and advertised for 4 consecutive weeks prior to that meeting. Otherwise, the City can devise a separate billing system for the fees. Discussion ensued in regard to the timeframe and it was indicated the City could request the County, prior to January 1, to extend the deadline to March 1. It was remarked that property owners couldn’t take advantage of tax deductions for non ad valorem assessments. Mr. Sheets said a non ad valorem fire/rescue assessment is a fee for a readiness to respond. He said once a dedicated funding source is in place, it can never be used for anything other than fire/rescue services. Fire Chief Rowland Herald said the City has the authority to regulate public safety but is confined primarily to nonresidential structures. Residential property owners do not always have the measures in place to ensure public safety. Mr. Sheets was unsure of the percentage of residential properties not currently paying ad valorem taxes. Discussion ensued in regard to the ISO rating and Mr. Sheets indicated going from a Level 3 to a Level 2 rating would not result in significant savings to residents. He said the ISO rating was a criteria used by insurance companies to rate premiums. Fire Department costs for personnel and benefits are more significant than for capital items. It was remarked the fire assessment approach was to have everyone pay his or her fair share. Concern was expressed opposition has been shown in sharing the burden. Mr. Sheets said the City needs to decide if it is prudent to expend significant funds to collect minimal assessments. The meeting recessed from 4:11 to 4:18 p.m. Member Nall left the meeting. ITEM 4 – Discuss Alternate Funding Sources for Fire Department Five Year Plan Concern was expressed the window of opportunity has passed to submit a Notice of Intent to the County if the City wishes to use the uniform tax bill collection method for a fire fee. Mr. Herald said last year, when the initial fire fee proposal was made, the City would have had to bill residents the first year at its own cost. It was noted it is still possible to use the uniform collection method. It was felt the public hearing process and Commission approval could be accomplished if the County granted the extension to March 1. Concern was expressed in the task force proceeding with the uniform collection process before it made its recommendations regarding funding options . An opinion was expressed the City should have already sent the notice and informed the task force the procedure was available. Member Lee moved to direct the City Manager to send a letter to the County requesting an extension to March 1, 2000 to use the uniform tax bill collection method. The motion was duly seconded. Concern was expressed in asking the County to extend the deadline before the task force presented its recommendation. An opinion was expressed the City Commission should be responsible for requesting the extension. Assistant City Attorney John Carassas noted the Commission will meet in December. The City Manager can ask them at that time if they wish to preserve the right to use the uniform collection method. Member Lee rescinded his motion. The seconder concurred. In response to a question, Finance Administrator Margie Simmons said the following fees are currently being levied on City property owners: 1) stormwater; 2) water; 3) sewer; 4) reclaimed water; 5) solid waste; 6) recycling; and 7) gas. Concern was expressed the fire fee has been the only funding source presented to the task force. It was remarked that this is the first discussion that the task force has had on alternative funding sources. It was noted in doing the apportionment, Mr. Sheets did not use the weighted call method, but considered a call “a call” regardless of the number of units and/or equipment used to respond. In response to a question, Chair Horne noted the task force has been provided updated numbers for the five-year plan which include associated engineering costs. Some undetermined land acquisition costs are not included. In response to a question, Chief Herald said the City could achieve an ISO Level 2 rating by adding one additional fire station with accompanying apparatus. Member Briskman indicated she had prepared a list of questions and would be submitting the list. Task Force members were encouraged to submit questions prior to the next meeting to give staff the opportunity to prepare responses. ITEM 5 – Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 5:01 p.m.