Palaca adopts fire service assessment resolution; counsel says rates remain unchanged tonight

The Palaca City Commission adopted an annual fire‑service assessment resolution on May 28, preserving the assessment at the rates previously advertised for the coming fiscal year while leaving open commission discretion to adjust exemptions when full roll data is available.

Special counsel Mark Lawson told the commission that the resolution before the body set assessments at the same rates used in prior years and removed a previously used 50 percent transition exemption for certain institutional parcels while giving the commission flexibility to reinstate exemptions later when the tax collector’s roll and other budget data are available. "Are you raising the assessments tonight? No you are not," Lawson said, explaining the administrative logic: adopting the resolution now gives the commission the most flexibility while the budget is finalized and gives staff time to compute final revenue numbers.

Lawson warned that if the commission chose not to adopt the assessment resolution at this meeting, the city would need to raise property tax millage by roughly 3.1 mills to cover the fire‑department share of costs or make substantial cuts elsewhere in the budget. Public commenters urged the commission not to raise fees; the commission adopted the resolution by recorded vote with at least one commissioner noting opposition.

Next steps

The resolution will be published as required; staff will return to the commission with final revenue and roll details during the summer budget process so the commission can revisit exemptions or rates before final budget adoption.