Promises Made But Not Kept
By The Lehigh Acres Fire Board

Are you a member or own a charitable, religious, scientific, or literary organization in Lehigh Acres that is exemption under § 196.196, Florida Statutes your bill maybe forth coming from the Lehigh Acres Fire District for the fire assessment fee.

Chief John Wayne admits to the Lehigh Acres Gazette that their Attorney Richard Pringles comments and explanation on March 24, 2015 was correct.

On September 30, 2014 the Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Board of Commissioners approved Resolution 2014-09-05 hereby approving the following exemptions from the Fire Fee Assessment:

*An exemption for property that is entitled to a charitable, religious, scientific, or literary exemption under § 196.196, Florida Statutes

On Oct 1, 2014 the Fire Dept released the following press release:

Churches, charitable institutions and wholly disabled veterans are among those who will be exempt from the Fire Fee Assessment in Lehigh Acres, should it be passed by voters Nov. 4.

The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue Board of Commissioners passed a resolution Sept. 30, stating the board’s intent to continue granting exemptions to parcels which are deemed exempt from paying property taxes by the Lee County Property Appraiser.

“From day one, it’s always been in the plan to exempt these properties,” said Lehigh Acres Fire Chief John Wayne.

On March 24. 2015, The Fire boards Attorney Richard Pringle stated for the record that everything was included in the NEW Initial Assessment Resolution and the Fire Board authorized it on March 24, 2015. (Click here to download and listen)

Note that on NONE of the 27 pages of the new Resolution, does it state anything about any organizations such charitable, religious, scientific or literary to be exempt for the Fire Assessment.

And now on page 14 (Click Here) of the Resolution which was voted on and duly authorized by the elected fire board on March 24, 2015, It states the Institutional Property will be charge by the usage of the property, so if Institutional Property is owned by a charitable, religious, scientific or literary and they runs for example a retail store on the property that property will be charged the fire assessment fee. This is the same if a Church has a daycare on the property according to the Pringle the church will be charged the fire assessment fee.

The ballot question did not have a usage clause in it, so how can the Elected Fire Board change it? According to Pringle the board consultants said that it can be done that way.

Fire Board will be using the Lee County Property Appraiser Improvement codes to generate the tax roll for the Fire Assessment according Chief John Wayne and later confirm by an email from Jeff Rackley Senior Project Manager Government Services Group, Inc. who is consultant for the Fire Board they are using for this fire assessment.

Using improvement codes will cause many of the Churches, Fraternal organizations and other not for profits that own property in Lehigh Acres to pay the fire assessment tax.

But according to the James A. Sherron Chief Deputy Director of Lee County Property Appraiser Office, “The Improvement codes are for internal use only and are used for valuation and appraisal purposes only by the Lee County Property Appraiser Office and should not be used by any other governmental entity for taxation purposes.”

Sherron said, we have given the fire board’s consultant Government Services Group the data they requested March 2, 2015 and it’s how GSG interprets the data will be the problem. We can help them out, but they have not asked us to do so.

Sherron wrote in an email to the Lehigh Acres Gazette: “In general, data used in the production of our tax roll is explicitly for our internal purposes and any reliance on the data used in the valuation process is at the Fire Districts risk.  Some of the files the District is using may be working files, subject to change daily and typically not a statutorily required deliverable.”

”If the fire department uses the wrong codes they will have to defend the use of them, not us.” said Kenneth Wilkinson Lee County Property Appraiser.

The best example of the issue so far is: The Kiwanis Thrift Store at 15 Homestead Rd S – The Lee County Property Appraiser Office has confirmed the building is 100% wholly exempt.

But the store has an Improvement code of 35 which a retail stores. According GSG the store would have to pay nearly $4000.00 a year in Fire Assessment fees. Some Kiwanians are starting wonder which of their college scholarship recipients will not be able to fund next year because of these Fire Assessment fees.

In the resolution passed on March 24, 2015 Page 9 States: Paragraph F states that is method is fair and reasonable. How can it be fair and reasonable it takes a 100% wholly exemption away for charitable organization.

Currently Lehigh Acres also has buildings that are listed as a commercial condominiums in its improvement code from Lee County Property Appraiser office but since there are not for profits own those buildings the fire consultant has decided that they do not have to pay.

So how can one not for profit entity pay, when another gets exempted. Where is this fair and reasonable?

The Gazette has learned that two of the five fire commissioners are possibly working on two different amendments to the correct the current resolution.

The Gazette has also learned that a hand full Churches, Fraternal organizations in Lehigh Acres are looking into filling a class action law suit against the Fire Board for deceptive business practices.

The next Fire Board meeting is April 28, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. at Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District, Station 104, 3102 16th St SW, Lehigh Acres, FL 33976.

In week of May 5, 2015 the fire district will be spending nearly $187,000 dollars of your tax dollars to send notices to every land owner in the fire district about fire assessment tax bill. There be an other meeting on May 26, 2015 same place and time.