CRESTVIEW — City officials are gathering information about a fire services assessment as a means of providing supplemental funding for the Crestview Fire Department.
"The purpose of bringing forward this information is to give the City Council options," Crestview Fire Chief Joe Traylor said, noting the assessment would provide "extra funding by not raising property tax."
Camille Tharpe, senior vice president of the Tallahassee-based Government Services Group consultants, said Monday that "an assessment is not a tax," but some council members expressed concern about the idea.
"I have mixed feelings about this right now," Councilman Mickey Rytman said. "'Assessment' seems to me like another word for 'tax.'"
"As of this moment, until I know something better, I am against assessing my constituents in Crestview, Fla., 1 cent," Councilman Joe Blocker said.
Councilman Tom Gordon said the assessment could lower the city's ad valorem tax rate and spread the cost of providing fire protection more equitably.
"People who are paying property taxes will pay a little less; the people who are not paying will pay a little bit more," Gordon said. "There's no such thing as a free lunch."
Council President Robyn Helt expressed concern when Tharpe suggested the assessment was a way to circumvent homestead exemption property tax reductions.
"We have these things in place that prevent us from gouging for our services excessively, but now we have a mechanism to skirt around it," Helt said, referring to the idea. "I just think it's my job to not do that every time an opportunity presents itself. I think government has to live within its means."
If the city implemented a fire district assessment, the fee would likely be collected with residents' utility bills rather than through separate billing.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview council discusses fire department assessment fee