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Escambia Looks At $40 Higher Fire Fee, But Lower Property Tax To Fund Fire Services
June 10, 2022
Escambia County property owners may see a $40 increase in a fire fee, but see their property tax rate decrease at the same time.
It’s the latest solution being considered as a way to increase funding by $6 million to meet the county’s fire services next year.
Chairman Jeff Bergosh pitched the “tax swap” during a Thursday workshop meeting of the Escambia County Commission. That, he said, “leaves the Escambia County tax paying property owner without a property tax increase…even though he will pay more if his property (value) went up.”
The $40 increase will raise the fire MSBU from $125 to $165 per year.
Ultimately, Bergh said he believes a sales tax increase is the way to fund Escambia County Fire Rescue, but the timetable to place the plan on the ballot means it can’t happen until 2024.
Bergosh also proposed cutting 125 jobs from a pool of 400 positions that are currently vacant to save millions more.
Commissioner Doug Underhill took the idea a big step further, recommending that 200 vacant positions be eliminated.
“We are clearly able to conduct government business without them,” Underhill said. “We are clearly able to run this government with 400 fewer people than what we’ve got on the books.”
“Keep in mind, none of this discussion means going to somebody in any of our offices and saying, ‘you’ve got to go home’. This simple means eliminating the billets that are clearly not needed….because the staff we’ve got is doing the same job,” Underhill continued.
Commissioner Steven Barry said little during the board’s discussion, stating ““put this on the agenda next week, we’ll solve the problem” when pressed for comment by Bergosh.
“I agree with our chairman about it being a good day for the taxpayers of Escambia County,” Barry told NorthEscambia.com following the meeting. “I support, and expect based on the conversations we have had at board meetings, that there will not be any type of rate increase of any kind recommended by board, whether MSBU or ad valorem. Also, I do believe Commissioner Bergosh’s long term idea of funding fire services through a sales tax voted on by the taxpayers and removing the MSBU altogether seems to make a lot of sense.”
Comments
20 Responses to “Escambia Looks At $40 Higher Fire Fee, But Lower Property Tax To Fund Fire Services”
Scott Trotter said; “Lowering property taxes while increasing the flat fee is a massive shift from the wealthy to the working poor.”
Are you assuming all property owners are wealthy? Are all non-property owners the working poor?
I’ve been a homeowner here for over twenty years. Although I could probably sell my house for one and a half times what we bought it for, my pay hasn’t gone up that much in those twenty-plus years. Besides, many of us homeowners sacrificed just as much as the working poor, to afford buying our homes. What makes one group less worthy of tax relief than another group?
Add into this, many homeowners’ properties are up to the latest codes and fire safety standards. I wonder what the ratio of fire calls is to owner-occupied, newer homes compared to rental or non-owner-occupied homes.
Bottom line, calling one group “the wealthy,” and pitting us against each other solves nothing.
Maybe it’s time to get better management that can be responsible with their budget, it’s obvious the clowns in charge can’t or won’t do it.
Please forgive me, but are all of the large-density housing projects along Nine Mile Rd, contributing little to the funding of the county? How about all of the new developments south of Nine Mile Rd?
It seems that just because a person’s property value increases, it doesn’t necessarily mean that person can afford to pay more in property taxes.
Won’t the long-term solution be something along the lines of impact fees for new development AND expecting ALL residents to pay toward this (through sales tax)?
If sales taxes are going to be used to fund fire and police, shouldn’t the property taxes be adjusted down accordingly?
I’m all for funding fire and police. And, as a homeowner, I expect to pay for services made available, but it just seems government NEVER has enough $
Lowering property taxes while increasing the flat fee is a massive shift from the wealthy to the working poor. It would be much better to eliminate fire service fee altogether and find that expense through regular property taxes.
If one person can do the job of 4 people then maybe we just don’t need those other 3 people. Might save taxpayer money,You think?
Eliminate those 400 positions and watch how many more open up. It’s obvious the BOCC doesn’t care about the worker bees just the management and their friends.
County is projecting 19 million increase in revenue due to property value increase. Take the 6 million you need for fire and you still have 13 million left .Not rocket science. There is too much money wasted on the pet projects of the Commissioners. Everything going up except wages. I have to live within the amount of money I have coming in each month so why can’t the BoCC due the same. The County is top heavy in management due to giving jobs to their buddies .They all need to be voted out but people still vote them in CRAZY!!!!!
Why don’t all of you quit ringing the phones of every Department demanding services.
That would probably help them a lot.
@ Carl
You are partially right. But those of us on low fixed income, meds going up, food, gas, ETC. If I could go out and work I would, but I’m to old, no one wants to hire me.
Most of you are hitting the nail on the head. To the person who said ” nothing is free”, this is generally true but in this instance, that statement does not apply. The bocc dias is out of control and need to be removed. Term limits should be strictly applied and the voting public needs to step up to stop the lunacy. Things are only going to get worse.
Retired Escambia County Employee:
Do you think private companies don’t do this? Have employees do 2 or more jobs?
Nobody wants to hear sob stories from people that get paid with tax payer money.
Get out and vote these incompetents out of office. They are ruining the future of this area.
Everything in this whole world has increased for being able to live.
You think we are special and shouldnt pay extra as the rest of the world.
Stop being a pile of premoadonas as it appears … cram in your limited ability to understand.
NOTHING IS FREE!!!@
REMEMBER THIS AT THE VOTING POLES
What happened to the projected $19 million from the property tax levy increase? If Fire-Rescue does need $6 million more – and the BCC has yet to make the case to the public – why isn’t the needed $6 million being funded directly from the $19 million? Maybe NorthEscambia.com can get a copy of the internal county document that justifies the increase and post it here so we all can see it. How much would the county save by eliminating all 400 positions that are vacant and, apparently, not needed? What now happens to that money budgeted for those positions that are not filled. There is manpower “fat” among the positions that are filled. As example, the county does not need a County Administrator “and” two Deputy County Administrators “and” two Assistant County Administrators. If the BCC hired a County Administrator able to do the job the other four positions could be eliminated. Also, are there any functions being done by the county that it should not be doing? How about letting the Sheriff be in charge of Corrections as before? How much would that save the county? Abolishing the CRA would free up about $4 million. The county has a lot of “special districts.” Can any be abolished to free up money? How much would be saved if Escambia County had the Florida Legislature abolish ECUA and took over those functions? Do we really need the SRIA? Commissioner Underhill once described the BCC’s decision-making process as “Ready, Fire, Aim.” That seems the case once again in this last-minute effort to extract more money from working families and county businesses.
Time to clean house next election. Didn’t Bergosh take part of District 2 without the vote of District 2 people? Time to take back our government.
The only thing seemingly worse than ECBOCC is the DC swamp
I have an idea…how about government, at EVERY level, live within their means like we have to do.
If we citizens did like government does, and every time we needed extra money we went out and robbed someone, we’d be in the pokey. It’s business as usual for government under the pseudonym “taxes”.
Government needs to quit giving themselves raises when they would like more money. Tighten the belt and make sacrifices like we have to do. Cut corners of unnecessary areas…trim the fat.
Pretty much anytime a politician or business says that “there won’t be any rate increase”, you can bet your wallet is about to get lighter.
Well, yes you can run the county without the 400 vacant positions being filled. But, more than likely you have people in other jobs doing the job of the 400 and not being compensated. That’s what happens when a job is vacant. Others pick up the slack and the people in charge expect it. Yet, the ones doing the job of three or four people are never compensated. The county is famous for across the board raises, but not rewarding those that actually carry the load. Good luck with the fire tax.
I have a keen idea …. how about living within the budget already provided and not increasing ANY tax. If your pool of funds increases because property values increased on paper it doesnt mean that homeowners actually have additional funds.
The only “new money”from taxes should be that caused by growth from all the new developments. Stop reaching deeper into my pocket saying you need more money. The funds simply arent there.
Its time that the county return that $19 million in “found money” back to the rightful owners — and that would be those being taxed.
Property tax won’t go up unless your assessment goes up.
The assessment always goes up.