Tonight’s meeting of the Lehigh Acres Fireboard, the board voted 5- 0 to increase the fire tax 5.79%.
“Everyone will see an increase now. We don’t have a choice. We have three stations that need repair, plus the long-overdue need for an additional station on north Sunshine Boulevard to decrease response times. We are one of only two fire departments in the county that has our own ambulance service,” Dilallo said.
Residential homes will be $ 351.38
2015 – $292.00 2016 – $292.00 2017 – $303.97 2018 – $332.15 Now 2019 – $351.38 a 16.8% increase in 4 years
“The only fix to this is to put the special assessment referendum back on the ballot in 2020, but even then it would not come into effect until our 2021/2022 budget year,” Dilallo said.
Rumors are flying off the shelves ……will the fire commissioner wait until the 2020 November ballot or spend another $100,000 on a special election to change and increase your fire assessment again……. Only time will tell……