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Council adopts ordinance to establish process for per‑property fire assessments; funding options include ad valorem, fees and sales tax
Summary
On second reading the council adopted Ordinance 27‑26, creating a process for capital and service assessments to fund Jupiter Fire Rescue; staff said the department's $25 million budget could be funded through a mix of ad valorem taxes, a per‑property fee, EMS transport fees and partial use of sales tax. The vote was 4–1.
The Town Council adopted Ordinance 27‑26 on April 21, creating a code framework for imposing capital and service assessments on property within the Town of Jupiter as a potential funding tool for Jupiter Fire Rescue.
Scott Reynolds, the town's finance director, told the council the ordinance does not set an assessment rate; rather, it provides the procedures and public‑notice steps required before any non‑ad valorem assessment is finalized. Reynolds said staff is working with a $25 million budget for Jupiter Fire Rescue beginning Oct. 1 and contrasted that figure with an estimated $35 million cost if the town had remained with Palm Beach County Fire in the upcoming year. "That's a savings of $10 million year one," Reynolds said during the presentation.
Reynolds outlined funding options under consideration: a mix of ad valorem taxes, a per‑property fee, EMS transport fees and use of a portion of sales tax in support of debt service for new stations. He noted sales tax has been used historically for debt service and said it is legally defensible to apply a sales tax revenue stream to station debt service if council elects to do so.
Next steps outlined by staff include a preliminary non‑ad valorem assessment resolution on May 5 (a notice step similar to the TRIM process), mailed notices to property owners showing estimated assessments, and a final resolution to set any assessment on June 16. If council selects a tax‑based option, TRIM/millage action would be part of the July schedule.
The ordinance passed on second reading by a 4–1 vote, with Mayor Kitzky voting no. Councilors expressed differing views about fee structure equity (flat per‑resident fees versus percentage‑based models) but supported establishing the procedural framework to allow public notice and hearings before any assessment becomes final.
