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Tag: WMFR assessment rate

Fire district plans rate hike

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, West Manatee Fire Rescue.

MANATEE COUNTY – Property owners in West Manatee Fire Rescue’s district will notice a change on their tax bills this fall if commissioners vote to pass a proposed rate increase.

At an April 16 budget workshop, district staff recommended a 7.4% increase for the coming fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1. If approved, the rate increase would bring in an estimated $740,236 in revenue for the district.

WMFR uses a non-ad valorem rate system based on the size of a building on a property or a flat rate if the land is vacant. Currently, the base rate for a residential property is $219.94 with an additional charge of $0.1297 per square foot above 1,000 square feet. For a 2,000-square-foot home, the total rate for the 2023-24 tax year was $349.64. With the proposed rate increase, the residential base rate would be $236.22 with a per-square-foot rate of $0.1393 for buildings over 1,000 square feet. The total proposed rate for a 2,000-square-foot home would be $375.51 with the rate increase, a difference of $25.87.

The commercial base rate for 2023-24 was $546.61 with a per-square-foot rate of $0.2367 over 1,000 square feet, bringing the total for a 2,000-square-foot building to $783.31. With a 7.4% increase, the base rate would increase to $587.06 with a $0.2542 per-square-foot increase, bringing the total to $841.27 for a 2,000-square-foot building, a difference of $57.96.

A new change coming this fiscal year is that transient public lodging establishments in the district, known as short-term vacation rentals, will be charged as commercial properties instead of residential ones to help cover the cost of the fire safety inspection program instituted this year. District staff estimates that the increase in revenue from this change will bring in $613,686.

WMFR staff predicts that total assessment revenue for the 2024-25 fiscal year will come in around $11,357,114, a difference of $1,353,922 over the 2023-24 year’s $10,003,191.

If approved by commissioners, the increase in assessment rates would be used to cover increases in firefighter compensation, necessary replacements of vehicles and equipment and the fire safety inspection program.

Fire district to reallocate taxpayer funds

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, West Manatee Fire Rescue.

MANATEE COUNTY – Property owners who are confused by a six-page letter arriving from West Manatee Fire Rescue District staff are not alone.

The letter, legally required to be mailed to every property owner in the district, covers two separate topics – that the district’s staff is reallocating some taxpayer funds to cover non-transport advanced life support service and that the district’s non-ad valorem assessment will increase for the 2022-23 tax year beginning Oct. 1.

The non-transport ALS service is not new to WMFR or the people it serves in the district, and the assessment rate increase isn’t happening because of the increase in service. In fact, WMFR’s non-transport ALS service has been ongoing for the last few years. Now that it’s fully launched at all three fire stations and the majority of the district’s first responders have been fully trained as paramedics, attorney Maggie Mooney said it’s time for staff to send out a letter informing taxpayers that some of the funds the district receives are being spent to provide the service.

With the non-transport ALS service, WMFR firefighters provide the same critical care service that EMS provides except that they cannot transport patients to the hospital. And the cost of the enhanced service has been factored into the district’s budget for more than three years, meaning that the increase in the assessment rate isn’t directly related to the increase in service.

Reasons for the assessment rate increase include a jump in the personal income growth number used to determine how much a special district like WMFR can increase rates each year, rising costs due to insurance and a new contract with the firefighters’ union, and an attempt to build reserve funds for future large purchases, such as replacement fire engines.

Assessment rates are planned to increase 4% for the new fiscal year over the current rates. For a residential property owner with a home of 2,000 square feet, the rate will increase to $336.22, a $12.94 increase over the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Commercial property owners also will see a 4% increase with the rate increasing to $753.19 for a 2,000-square-foot property, an increase of $28.96.

Anyone who has questions about the non-transport ALS service and how it affects the assessment rate or who wishes to dispute the assessment rate increase
is invited to attend a public hearing on Tuesday, July 19 at 6 p.m. at the district’s administration building at 701 63rd St. W. in Bradenton.

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WMFR board may raise 2021-22 assessment rates

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, West Manatee Fire Rescue.

BRADENTON – Rates may be increasing for residents and business owners in the West Manatee Fire Rescue District, but if they do increase, it will only be by 4% for the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Commissioners held their annual mid-year budget workshop on April 20 prior to the start of their monthly meeting. During the meeting, they reviewed where the district currently sits with its 2020-21 budget six months into the fiscal year and where staff sees the district going financially during the next fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

At the mid-year point, staff reported that the district is right on target with 51.44% of expenses accounted for and 86.15% of total income collected. WMFR’s total break-even budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year includes $9,410,362 in expenses. Those expenses take into account $1.631 million in capital expenses largely attributed to the construction of WMFR’s new administration building.

The proposed 2021-22 fiscal year budget is projected to break even at $8,238,154, a difference of -$1,172,208 from the current year. That number includes a 4% assessment increase proposed by Chief Ben Rigney to help cover the costs of a new three-year employment contract currently wrapping up in negotiations between the district and the firefighters’ union.

WMFR’s assessments are non-ad valorem, meaning that the amount of the assessment is tied to the size of a structure on a lot, or a flat fee if the lot is vacant, and whether the use is residential or commercial.

A 4% increase in rates would bring the district’s projected assessment rate revenue up to $7,820,586.80, an estimated increase of $300,791.80 over the current fiscal year’s projected assessment revenue of $7,519,795. Rigney projects $365,967.67 in increased costs for the 2021-22 fiscal year but says what the district doesn’t make up for in rate increases can be achieved through lowered costs in other areas.

If commissioners vote during their May meeting to increase the district’s rates by 4%, the residential base rate will increase by $7.82 to $203.35 with a residential per square foot increase from $0.1153 to $0.1199 for every square foot of a building over 1,000 square feet. For a 2,000-square-foot home, the rate would increase from the current $310.85 to $323.28; a 3,000-square-foot home would increase from $426.17 to $443.22 and a 4,000-square-foot home would increase from $541.50 to $563.16.

With a 4% increase, the commercial base rate would go from $485.94 to $505.38, an increase of $19.41. The commercial per square foot rate would go from $0.2104 to $0.2188 for the amount of square feet over 1,000. For a 2,000-square-foot commercial space, the rate would increase to $724.23. At 3,000 square feet, the rate would be $943.08 and at 4,000 square feet, the rate would increase to $1,161.92 for a commercial building.

For residential properties, Rigney said the average increase would be $12.50 with a $28 increase for commercial properties.

WMFR’s assessment rate is noted on the TRIM notices mailed out in the fall and collected as a part of the owner’s property tax bill.

Assessment rates are allowed to be increased by the fire district each year according to the personal income growth number, or PIG, determined by the U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. This year’s PIG is 6.8% for the state of Florida, though the maximum increase considered and dismissed by WMFR commissioners was 5.64%.

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WMFR hosts first budget hearing

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, West Manatee Fire Rescue.

BRADENTON – The budget for West Manatee Fire Rescue’s 2020-21 fiscal year is one step closer to approval.

Commissioners held a first public hearing for the new budget during an Aug. 25 meeting held via Zoom. No members of the public offered comment on the budget, though they’ll have a second chance when commissioners hold a final budget hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

Chief Ben Rigney said that the budget process began in January with a mid-year update and budget conference for commissioners in late April. Commissioners opted to go with a 2.6% increase, well below the allowable 5.46% increase limit. The amount the district can raise rates is based on a rolling five-year personal income growth number used to estimate increases in taxpayer income. WMFR collects fees from property owners in the district using a non-ad valorem assessment rate which is tied to the size of a property, not its value. A base rate is assessed and then an additional rate per square foot over 1,000 square feet, with different rates for residential and commercial properties.

The 2.6% increase is the break-even point for the district. Rigney said that he estimates $7,519,795 will be brought in from assessments. At the end of the 2020-21 fiscal year, Rigney said he estimates that about $500,000 will be left in the district’s unassigned fund after planned expenditures, including the construction of new administrative offices.

Few changes were made to the budget from the preliminary budget presented in the spring, he said. Some of the changes include a $20,000 increase in personnel services due to increases in worker’s compensation insurance. Due to more firefighters electing to pursue additional training, Rigney said about $2,000 was added to the training budget. With the prospective construction of a new administration building, $25,000 also was added to the special services budget for contract services.

Including planned capital expenses, the district’s total operating expenses are planned to end the year at $9,410,362, including the spending of $180,000 in impact fees and $1,451,000 in saved unassigned funds to help build the new administrative offices.

The 2020-21 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

To join the Sept. 8 budget hearing, visit the district online for instructions.

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