Sanford commissioners voted Aug. 11 to approve on second reading an ordinance described at the meeting as ordinance 48 31 to establish a fire-protection special assessment and send notices to property owners; a final decision whether to impose the assessment will come at a Sept. 8 meeting. The city estimated the assessment would generate about $2.3 million over five years to help pay for fire-department costs, and staff said the finance director identified roughly $2.5 million in capital items not included in the current budget, including a fire engine that the mayor said costs about $1.2 million.

The ordinance would authorize a non-ad valorem assessment levied on properties the city finds specially benefited by fire protection and would make unpaid assessments a lien on the property. City Attorney Green said the draft notice must include statutory elements; commissioners and staff said the notice draft is attached to the ordinance as Appendix B and that the mailing will follow the required statutory format.

Why it matters: City officials and residents centered the debate on funding an aging fleet and equipment and how the cost is allocated among homeowners, commercial property and tax-exempt institutions. The commission said the assessment is intended to provide a predictable revenue stream to cover capital and operating needs that, staff argued, cannot be met within current budget assumptions.

Supporters and opponents: Several residents urged caution or rejection. Leon Konechny, a longtime Sanford resident, said the levy felt like a new tax on fixed-income homeowners and argued larger commercial properties and exempt institutions should bear more of the burden. Nancy Groves, another resident, expressed gratitude for firefighters but urged the commission to “live within our budget” or consider consolidation with Seminole County. Ariana Davis, who lives in the Historic District, said she supports the assessment because of visible maintenance problems (she cited fire hydrants out of service).

Staff responses and clarifications: City staff described limits on other funding sources. The mayor and staff explained that impact fees can be used only for additional capacity projects caused by growth (for example, building a new station or adding an engine to serve a new development) and cannot be used to replace existing apparatus. Staff also said other revenue sources (property tax, sales tax, state and federal grants, bond proceeds) are already accounted for in the budget and are not available to fully fund annual apparatus replacement needs. The commission noted the city has purchase orders to repair or replace dozens of hydrants and that Seminole County has been dispatching a tanker to structure fires in Sanford while the hydrant work continues.

Limits on increases and exemptions: Staff said the ordinance sets an average annual increase of roughly 3% and a five-year cap of 12.5% (the commission may set a higher single-year adjustment up to 10%, but over five years increases cannot exceed 12.5%). City Attorney Green confirmed that only government-owned properties are exempted in the draft ordinance; churches and other tax-exempt nonprofit property owners would be assessed under the ordinance as drafted. Staff said the initial mailing will show each property owner the proposed assessment amount for their parcel; commissioners emphasized the mailed notice is informational and that the Sept. 8 meeting will be the final, binding vote if the commission chooses to adopt the assessment.

Outcome and next steps: The commission voted to move the ordinance forward (motion, second; vote recorded as unanimous at the Aug. 11 meeting). Notices will be mailed to property owners; the commission will hold a final vote on imposing the assessment on Sept. 8. Commissioners asked staff and the city attorney to review the draft notice language and to clarify any items the public finds confusing.

Ending: The discussion highlighted the tension between maintaining emergency services and distributing costs across different categories of property. Commissioners and staff said they expect additional public comment once assessment letters are mailed and encouraged residents to review the mailing and attend the Sept. 8 hearing.