DUNEDIN, Fla. — As Florida voters prepare to decide the future of property taxes this November, Dunedin is already looking at what could come next.
Thursday night, the City Commission unanimously approved a Request for Proposals (RFP), which allows the city to begin searching for a consultant to study whether a fire assessment could help pay for fire protection if local governments lose property tax revenue.
The vote does not create a fire assessment. Instead, it begins what city leaders expect will be a months-long process. The consultant would examine Dunedin's fire protection costs, recommend a method for calculating any assessment, and estimate how different property types could be affected. The study would also look at long-term funding needs for fire stations, equipment, and fire prevention programs.
Mayor Moe Freaney has said the city is preparing for the possibility that Florida voters approve a proposed constitutional amendment this November that would reduce local property tax revenue.
City leaders estimate the proposed constitutional amendment could reduce Dunedin's property tax revenue by about $4.2 million in its first year and roughly $6.3 million in its second (out of about $18 million the city now collects annually in property taxes).
"We do feel like [a fire assessment] is something that we have to consider, based on the fact that we've gotta be able to fund critical services in some way for our city," Freaney told Tampa Bay 28 in an interview last month.
A fire assessment is a separate annual charge on homes and businesses dedicated to funding fire protection.
The possibility of such an assessment is already drawing mixed reactions from people in Dunedin.
Frank Rivera, who Tampa Bay 28 met while he was getting a haircut in downtown Dunedin, said cities will still need a way to pay for essential services if property tax revenue declines.
“It’s obvious,” he said. “We need to keep up with the structural repairs to our cities throughout the entire state.”
Just a few blocks away, Lyin' Bulldog co-owner Monique Chiofalo wasn't convinced.
"I think we have been paying enough taxes all our lives,” she said. “Another tax into the City of Dunedin is a little ridiculous.”
The consultant's findings would be presented to the City Commission before any decision on a fire assessment. If commissioners choose to move forward, the proposal would still require additional public hearings and another vote before any assessment could take effect.
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