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Kissimmee commission approves first reading to allow citywide fire service assessments
Summary
The City Commission approved first reading of an ordinance authorizing fire service assessments to fund a new staffing schedule recommended by a recent Fire Staffing Study; a second public hearing on assessment methodology is scheduled for June 3.
The Kissimmee City Commission on first reading approved an ordinance that would authorize the city to impose and collect fire service assessments on property throughout the city to fund expanded fire staffing.
City staff presented the ordinance as the follow-up to a Fire Staffing Study workshop held April 1, 2025, and said the study recommended instituting a 24/72 staffing schedule for the fire department. The ordinance establishes the procedures for imposing assessments, makes assessments a lien on assessed property equal in rank with other state and local tax liens, and authorizes issuance of obligations secured by assessments while stating such obligations will not create a general debt of the city.
The ordinance was presented as the first of two public hearings on the matter; staff said a second public hearing on the assessment methodology will take place June 3, 2025. Notices were sent to property owners beginning May 13 and were advertised in the local newspaper, staff said. After the presentation staff recommended approval of the ordinance on first reading and offered the consultant who prepared the methodology to answer questions.
Vice Mayor Eady moved to approve the ordinance on first reading; Commissioner Martinez seconded. The motion passed; the clerk announced "Aye. Aye. Motion carries." The commission did not adopt a final assessment at the May hearing and will consider the specific assessment methodology and final rate at the June 3 public hearing.
The ordinance text presented to the commission describes assessments as a funding mechanism exclusively for the Fire Department and notes procedures for collection and remedies for holders of assessment-backed obligations. Staff said the approach complies with statutory requirements and that consultants assisted in preparing the assessment methodology. No final rates, parcel-level amounts, or effective dates were included in the ordinance presented at the first reading.
