Fire Chief John Wayne continuously lies to the media, why? Before the fire assessment was voted on, Wayne said governmental entities would be exempt and even the presentation shown be him at the public hearings said that (click here see page 18).
Now the Fire Board has billed the Lee County Public School over one million dollars for the fire assessment fee, just East Lee County High School alone is $162,613.88.
Highlights of the bills:
Billed FGUA over $2,300, billed Lee County Government over $650,000, billed the Federal Post Office over $15,000, billed the Lee County Mosquito Control over $2,400. and billed Florida DEP over 6,000 for preserve lands.
In an email the Lehigh Acres Gazette received from Chief Wayne it stated, “Every parcel in the boundaries of the Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District was assessed and billed, regardless of ownership entity.”
In another email from Chief Wayne, he stated, “If they (talking about Governmental entities) elect to pay their assessment, they will remit payment directly to LAFD…not the tax collector like everyone else.” Wayne also said, “We do not have enforcement powers over government agencies.”
But in the notices sent to the Governmental entities it states: “Failure to pay the assessment could result in the initiation of proceeding to compel payment by any means authorized by law.”
Why did the fire commissioners authorize payment to print and mail bills to governmental entities using your tax dollars (nearly $12,000) when they agreed not to bill them and since by Florida law states that the fire board cannot formally take any action against another governmental entity for non-payment.
So is the Chief just looking free money or is he breaking the law again?
It should be voted on again if he even gets the addt’l money I thought it was supposed to be to save jobs and as soon as it passed he was planning how to spend it