Rhea Rivera, CGFM

Director, Financial Services

Issue Statement: The City recovers a portion of the annual cost of providing Fire services through a citywide fire assessment which must be adopted each year.  A preliminary rate schedule, as reflected in the attached Exhibit A, including the $441 per residence (annual residential rate), was approved by City Commission on July 15, 2026.   

Recommended Action: It is recommended that the City Commission hold a public hearing and thereafter adopt a resolution approving the proposed fire assessment rate schedule for FY 2027. 

Background:  The City Commission established a Fire Rescue Assessment Program in FY 02. The ordinance establishing this program requires a preliminary rate resolution and an annual rate resolution be adopted during the budget process each fiscal year. The Government Services Group, Inc. (GSG), and Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson, P.A. (NGN), have worked with the City periodically in implementing this annual Fire Rescue assessment program.

GSG was used in updating the recommended rates for FY 10, FY 17 and again for FY 22.  In all instances after each rate study, the rate structures were adjusted in order to ensure they were assessed according to current usage. By law, a fire assessment can only be used to recover those costs associated with providing fire services to properties and not emergency medical services, therefore, part of the study involves identifying that portion of Fire Rescue expense associated with fire services. These are identified as “assessable cost”.

This agenda item is being submitted to the City Commission for the final hearing of the FY 27 Annual Fire Assessment Rate Resolution at the public hearing on September 14, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in City Commission Chambers.

The most recent fire rate study was performed by Anser Advisor Consulting, LLC, formerly known as Government Services Group, Inc. (GSG).  The results and recommendations of the latest study were presented to the Commission in May 2024, highlighting the fact that the assessable fire suppression costs for FY 2024 have increased by 32% since our last assessment study in 2021. Rates are based on the change in service demand and increased operating, personnel and capital costs, which are projected to continue to grow over the next five years.  A copy of the full assessment rate study is attached in Exhibit B, for reference. A copy of the presentation that accompanied the study is also attached in Exhibit C. 

The FY 27 proposed fire assessment rates were presented to the City Commission on July 15, 2026, as part of the FY 27 budget recommendation.  At this meeting, the City Commission adopted the Preliminary Rate Resolution (R-2026-084), setting the preliminary residential rate at $441 per dwelling unit and setting corresponding rates for all commercial, industrial/warehouse and institutional properties.  

The proposed residential rate for FY 27 is $441, an increase of $59 from the current FY 26 rate of $382. 

The Annual Rate Resolution sets the rates for the fire assessment which partially funds the Fire Rescue department. The Resolution meets all requirements of the assessment program.

All property owners have been notified of the provisions of the Annual Rate Resolution through the “truth-in-millage” (TRIM) notice mailed by the Broward County Property Appraiser. Notice of the public hearing on the Annual Rate Resolution scheduled for today, September 14, 2026, was published in the Sun-Sentinel on August 16, 2026, as required. At this September 14, 2026, public hearing, the City Commission may confirm, modify, or repeal the provisions of the Preliminary Rate Resolution; however, the assessment rates may be increased above the advertised rates only with significant additional effort and expense.

The Annual Rate Resolution:

· Provides for exemptions from the Fire Assessment of governmental and institutional property whose use is fully exempt from ad valorem taxation under Florida Law.

· Maintains the maximum fee cap for commercial, industrial/warehouse and institutional property at 100,000 square feet.

· Establishes the assessment rates as indicated in Section 3. (C) of the resolution.

As part of the rate study, exemptions were presented to Commission that would exempt specific homesteaded residential properties from the fire assessment if they qualified through the Property Appraiser for the additional low-income senior exemption or are receiving a total exemption from property tax due to qualifying disabled veteran/first responder/total disability status.  The implementation of these exemptions was included in the preliminary rate resolution. There are approximately 850 residential properties that would receive the exemption, which would eliminate the fire assessment from their annual tax bills, a savings of $441 for this upcoming fiscal year.

With early payment discounts applied, the proposed preliminary assessment rates will generate approximately $12.6 million, an increase of $1.8 million over FY 26. In the latest fire rate study completed in April 2024, the costs of fire suppression activities reflect an increase in assessable fire suppression costs of $1.75 million, from $13.4 million in FY 26 to $15.2 million in FY 27.

As the cost of providing fire suppression services increases due to increased operational needs and compensation increases, adjustments to the rates are needed to provide sufficient recurring revenue to cover recurring costs.