With 20 days left before the West Manatee Fire District's proposed ad valorem tax appears on the ballot, the agency's fire officials continue their campaign to win voter approval.
West Manatee fire officials have spent the past few weeks meeting with residents living within the district to discuss the proposed tax. The agency hosted its third town hall-styled meeting Tuesday evening at its station along Cortez Road. During the meeting, the proposed tax received sharp scrutiny from at least one of the four residents in attendance.
Resident George Burtless questioned whether West Manatee's proposed tax, which would allow the district to raise property taxes by 50 cents for every $1,000 of taxable property value, would ever stretch beyond the $1 self-imposed cap for every $1,000 of taxable property value the agency is promising to keep.
"This is the sore point right now," Burtless told West Manatee Fire and Rescue Chief Andy Price during the hour-long meeting. "It doesn't sound like it's in our favor."
The March ballot asked voters to approve a tax increase based on the state's imposed cap, which is $3.75 for every $1,000 of taxable property value. West Manatee officials said they never intended to raise the cap beyond $1 for every $1,000 of taxable property value, which they say will be clearly expressed on the Aug. 31 ballot.
Burtless wanted to make sure they held fast to that promise.
"If you need a half, ask for a half," he told Price.
If voters approve the tax, West Manatee would receive a $1.6 million boost to its $4 million budget. A bulk of the money would fund the hiring of 12 new firefighters, which would help the agency meet federal and state safety standards with a staff of 42 firefighters. The starting salary for a firefighter is about $30,000 a year, Price said.
Unlike city fire departments, which receive city and state funding for their services, fire districts base their funding on property value, or an assessment tax.
West Manatee fire officials say annexation has posed a burden on that tax. According to Price, the agency lost about $18,000 from its budget this year from annexation.
"This won't stop it, but it will curve it," Price told residents.
If approved, a home worth $200,000, for example, will see an increase of about $100 in property taxes, Price explained.
About 15,000 residents within the West Manatee Fire District received fliers from the agency a couple of weeks ago asking them to consider approving a proposed tax increase.
"Nobody likes taxes - that's a bad word - but we've been frugal," West Manatee Fire and Rescue commissioner Larry Tyler said. "This is something that's for the safety of our firefighters and the people."
The Cedar Hammock and Southern Manatee Fire districts have both implemented an ad valorem tax with voter approval. Cedar Hammock's tax stands at $1 per $1,000 worth of taxable property value, while Southern Manatee's tax stands at 80 cents per $1,000 worth of taxable property value.
