Tills Mill resident urges council to revisit parcel-based fire fee

At the Chesterfield County Council meeting in February, Tills Mill resident Chad Watson told the council the new fire-fee structure has sharply increased his property charges and asked council to revisit the fee and improve public notice for meetings.

Watson gave a detailed example he said reflected the fee’s impact: an 8-acre tract designated agricultural that previously had annual taxes of $14.11 jumped to $91.93 after the new fee was applied. "That happened on every parcel of my land," Watson said, adding many parcels contain only farmland and no structures.

Watson said the fee was assessed per parcel and characterized the change as an "astronomical amount" for landowners who maintain multiple small parcels for future sale or other reasons. He said other departments use a single one-time fee (he cited Ruby Mount Croghan, Bay Springs and Brock’s Mill as comparisons) and questioned why Tills Mill’s fee differed. "I just think this is a very unreasonable burden being imposed on the Tills Mill community," Watson said.

Watson also said community notice of the meeting that approved the fee was inadequate: he and neighbors were not aware a public meeting had taken place, and he asked the council to consider additional outreach such as social media in future proceedings. He requested council reconsider or revisit the decision.

Council responses in the meeting noted staff would follow up; the county clerk and staff were invited to meet with Watson after the meeting to address his questions. Council did not take an immediate vote or formal action on the Tills Mill fee during the meeting.

The remarks were made during the public-comment portion of the agenda; no ordinance or formal vote on the fee was recorded in the meeting minutes presented at this session.