Robin Hood was a good guy compared to the Fire Commissioners of Lehigh Acres Tuesday night. The Commissioners agreed to throw out the 17 cent square foot for the residential assessment and make a flat fee of $292.00 (or thereof). Which know means if you own a home under 2000 square foot you will be paying more and if you own a home over 3000 square foot you will be paying less.
For example a home on Cherokee Ave (1300 Square Foot home) paid $59.43 in 2013 and if the assessment is approved this homeowner will now pay $292.00 a 173% increase as a home in Richmond Ave (3600 Square Foot home) paid $402.03 in 2013 if the assessment passes this homeowner will pay $292.00 a $110.03 decrease.
Is this a Fair and Equitable plan for all the taxpayers in Lehigh Acres?
The next regular monthly meetings will be June 24, 2014 shall begin at 5:00 p.m. and will be held at Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District, Station 104, 3102 16th St SW, Lehigh Acres, FL 33976.
Here are the Fire Commissioners names, address, phones and emails: Now you can ask the elected officers themselves.
Chairman Larry Becker 644 Parkdale Blvd Lehigh Acres 402-968-5462 email lbecker42@hotmail.com
Cathy Kruse 738 Arthur Ave Lehigh Acres 239-369-4369 email ckruse42@hotmail.com
Linda Carter 704 Homer Ave N Lehigh Acres 239-368-6846 email mslindacarter@comcast.net
David Adams 1110 Magnolia Ave Lehigh Acres 239-994-4452 email flfinaticz@hotmail.com
Jackie Danis 1814 Lockhaven Ct Lehigh Acres 239-240-2014 email jackiedanis1@live.com
Seems the Fire Chairman and some of the other Commissioners will personally benefit from the flat fee, since they own homes that would benefit from this determination. Isn’t that abuse of public office by an official benefiting from their official capacities, perhaps someone should not have voted this into official capacity, not their is an ethics problem.
I think this is so unfair especially for widows that is on a fixed income. What are you trying to do run the rest of the people out of Lehigh. I promise I will not VOTE for any of you again.
The flat rate is nothing but a means to over inflate the LAFD operating budget. The Dept. should consider thining the upper ranks, the ones that do not go out on calls. A flat rate with a cap and a percentage limit would work. Wake up Lehigh Acres the powers to be are feeling for you purse.
No matter what they have to raise the taxes in order to maintain the same level of services. Why don’t the residence of Lehigh propose a solution that will benefit both parties. Why instead of bitching about the disadvantage we work with the commission and find a solution!
They are looking for funds because they anticipate a short fall in the budget. No matter what if we do nothing whether we own a 1,000sq or 20,000sq we all LOSS!
Look at the price of gas and that should be enough to recognize that goods and services will cost more.
Please, everyone needs to band together not separate on this one, people’s lives are at stake, literally.
Dear Ms. Johnson,
Thank you for writing us.
First, we have tried to remain neutral for a long time but it’s very frustrating for us also when the fire board been very deceptive in the meetings and refuses to fulfill records requests with all data requested.
Our publisher has talked to the Fire Chief on more than one occasion. And has reach out to each of the commissioners and have provided them better solutions three times! Our staff is on the record twice during at regular monthly meeting. But they refuse to listen to simple common sense measures.
The fire board’s attorney and special counsel refuse to allow the board to listen to the people of Lehigh Acres. This is the current M.O. (method of operation) of the current fire special counsel, she is the same special counsel for the water company in Lehigh Acres which has raised rates five times out in seven years with minimum resident attending the meetings.
The Lehigh Acres Gazette has been to many monthly and special fire board meetings which are poorly attended by the residents. Last fire board meeting had 8 people out of nearly 90,000 people living in Lehigh Acres.
Our publisher even was on a special citizen’s fire assessment board five years ago, trying to work out an assessment then. And those six people on that special board could not make it work.
This fire board has been mismanaged for the past nine years even though a special community blue ribbon committee was formed five years ago to help them (the fire board) and the fire board refused the help and would not listen to key long-term business leaders in this community.
The current fire assessment proposal at $292 is financial killer to the working poor, working families and even the retired on a fix income.
The board needs to get out of their so-called comfort zone, tell their attorney’s to shut up and fix the issues.
We would challenge you to come to the next fire board meeting and just listen.
Thank you for your time.
Lehigh Acres Gazette Web Team
For quite some time I am fighting for a fixed fee to finance a stable operation for our fire department. And now the board spoils it all. $292.00 for every house no matter how large is suicide for the referendum! It was argued to be the better “marketing”. That’s right, it will be easy for the average Lehigh resident to vote NO for this, w/o doing any math.
The new fixed fee should at least be in the neighborhood of what the people paid until now. I checked it with the numbers from the property appraiser’s office and it breaks down like this for the average payments in 2013 (which was one of the lower years) and the average of the last 10 years:
– House with 3000 sqft living area (0.8%) :
avg $538.00 per year, avg last 10 years: $746.00
This makes it clear that there is no “one size fits all”. Either we go back to the math (e.g. $0.20 per sqft living area) or we break the houses down by size and charge the following (as a proposal):
– House with 3000 sqft living area (0.8%) : $650.00 per year
(I know that the attorney has to stay within 65 words. Be creative!)
This would result in a total tax revenue of $10,739,370 for 2015/16.
See my charts on
http://harrykloppert.ha.funpic.de/Lehigh%20Fire/Lehigh%20Fire%20Tax-house%20break%20down-summary.pdf
http://harrykloppert.ha.funpic.de/Lehigh%20Fire/Lehigh%20Fire%20Tax-house%20break%20down-outlook.pdf
One last word to “marketing”: The language of the addendum is not a law from Tallahassee, it’s a personal question to the Lehigh residents. And not all Lehigh people do have a college degree and some may not even have a high-school diploma. So, don’t use words like “non ad-valorem”, most people do not know what that means (I’m a poll worker and get the questions). Call it “Fixed Assessment Fee” and “ad-valorem” becomes ”Current Variable Fee”. And don’t write “ft²”, call it “sqft”.
After that then let’s go out to Wal-Mart and Winn Dixie and ask the people in the parking lot. Or have somebody do this. Then we might have a clou what Nov. 4th will bring. That’s “marketing”!
Harry Kloppert
368-2582
Couldn’t agree more! Citizens of Lehigh need to become involved in the community and operations of the public entities that have a direct impact on their lives. As Ms. Johnson stated, a new source of revenue needs to be created to maintain the service currently provided by the fire department. Not sure as to the new law approved by the legislature to fund the fire department leaves an open law suit opportunity, that the commissioners seem to have on their mind, should overshadow a fair and equal assessment that can be approved by the voters. “Fair and equal” seems to be the big stumbling block for everyone involved and without public input from people at a public meeting the wheel just keeps spinning. I have been on record before, stating that a little less dependency and expense on attorneys and consultants , and more input from the public and internal leaders could be more productive. I find it hard to believe that a solution more equitable to the tax payers within the Lehigh fire district, which in my opinion, starts by a greater increase on vacant land and less burden on improved properties, placed on a ballot in referendum form approved by the voters should be in jeopardy of a successful court challenge. There is NO DOUBT that a source of funding that is sustainable to maintain the service of the department is essential. There is NO DOUBT that within the community there is common ground and viable suggestions that can be achieved and acted upon if the input shows up by ATTENDING MEETINGS
“ATTENDING MEETINGS” as said before is a joke. All you are allowed to do is LISTEN. Although it may help to understand some details it is by no means an INVOLVEMENT of the public. When somebody of the audience is allowed to speak, he/she gets after 3 minutes interrupted by an extra loud buzzer. That means: SHUT UP! And the commissioners do not comment on any of the input.
In front of such a big change in the way the department plans to get financed it needs much more public input and explanation. Before the final numbers for the referendum are being decided there shut be a TOWN HALL MEETING !
(if somebody wants to read the minutes of the last meetings: Bad luck. The latest minutes on lehighfd.com are from February 25, 2014)