Andrew M. Thompson, Director
Financial Services

Rhea Rivera, Budget Manager
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.

Recommended Action : It is recommended that the City Commission adopt final fire assessment rates to fund a portion of the cost of FY 18 Fire Rescue services.

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. These reviews are considered to be valid for a three to five year period and the FY 16 recommendations were based on this study. The study on which the FY 17 rates was based on, is the still the same basis of the FY18 proposed rates. Since 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, 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 18 Annual Fire Assessment Rate Resolution at the public hearing on September 13, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. in City Commission Chambers.

In FY 16, the Commission approved a fire assessment rate study, the results of which was the basis of the rates for FY17. The same rates were presented to the City Commission on July 19, 2017 as preliminary rates for FY18. On such date, the City Commission adopted the Preliminary Rate Resolution (R-2017-076) setting the preliminary residential rate at $199 per dwelling unit and setting corresponding rates for all commercial, industrial / warehouse and institutional properties.

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 September 13, 2017, was published in the Sun-Sentinel on August 20, 2017, as required. At this September 13, 2017 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.