Committee debates proposed fire-fee formulas, legal limits and levy trade-offs

Village of Weston Finance & Human Resources Committee members spent more than an hour on July 21 examining draft fire‑fee formulas intended to raise money for additional firefighters, but did not adopt a final structure. Staff presented two sample models based on above‑ground square footage and a separate line for outbuildings and land, showing projected collections of about $395,000 to $432,000 depending on rate choices. A staff presenter told the committee: “This is a fee. It cannot be a tax. That'd be a state law effort to tax you,” and said a fee must be tied to services provided to individual parcels rather than imposed as a flat per‑parcel charge. The nut graf: the committee’s discussion centered on three constraints identified in the packet and by staff — (1) state law requires a connection between the fee and service, (2) large commercial parcels can drive large swings in total collections, and (3) any fee will reduce the village’s allowable levy in the short term because state levy limits require subtracting fee revenue from the levy calculation. Committee…