Sumter County residents are likely to face a substantial increase in fire assessment fees for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
A recent study recommended boosting the annual fee to $323.24 for homeowners from the current rate of $124, an increase of 161 percent.
Commissioners voted Tuesday night to schedule a public hearing on the revised fire assessments at 6 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Everglades Recreation Center, 5497 Marsh Bend Trail. The fire assessment fees were last updated in 2006.
The increase would come as both the county and The Villages Public Safety Department now offer ambulance services, which until last fall were provided by American Medical Response, a national private company.
Last November, voters rejected a referendum to create an independent fire district for The Villages, which would have had its own taxing authority.
The June 30 study, prepared by Benesch of Tampa, also recommended fire assessment fees of $0.539 per square foot for commercial property, $0.405 per square foot for institutional property and $0.344 per square foot for industrial property.
The study’s calculations were based on the proportion of fire and ambulance costs based on property types. The cost of advanced life support is not included.
The county needs to collect about $40 million in fire assessment fees against the costs of both departments, according to the study.
Sumter County’s 85,300 dwelling units accounted for nearly 70 percent of the costs or $27.6 million of the assessable budget. The share for commercial property was about 21 percent or $8.5 million. Other property types accounted for much less.
Next year’s proposed expenditures for Sumter County Fire and EMS are $24.2 million while the Village Public Safety Department’s operating budget calls for expenditures of $34.5 million.
