§ 11-5. Procedure to impose fire protection assessments.

If the town council elects to impose fire protection assessments in an ensuing fiscal year, it shall take the following actions:

(1)

A non-ad valorem assessment roll shall be adopted preliminarily as follows:

a.

At a public meeting prior to May 1, the town council shall direct its town manager to prepare a non-ad valorem assessment roll.

b.

The town manager shall prepare or cause to be prepared the non-ad valorem assessment roll, which shall be in the form of a resolution with attachments and shall contain at least the following:

1.

A brief and general description of the fire-rescue services to be provided in the town during the ensuing fiscal year;

2.

A summary of the costs of providing all such fire-rescue services in the ensuing fiscal year;

3.

A general description or summary of the estimated fire-rescue costs to be assessed, if less than 100 percent of such costs;

4.

The rate or rates of assessments to be imposed and the unit or units of measurement to be applied against parcels to determine the assessment;

5.

A summary of the methodology by which such rate or rates of assessments and such unit or units of measurement were derived;

6.

A list of the properties to be assessed (which properties may be identified by use of the individual parcel identification numbers assigned by the property appraiser), the unit or units of measurement to be applied against such properties, and the resulting amount of assessment to be imposed against each; and

7.

The estimate of the total revenue that the town will derive from the assessments.

c.

The town manager shall place the proposed preliminary non-ad valorem assessment roll on an agenda for consideration by the town council at a public meeting. The meeting shall be held on or before the date on which the town advises the property appraiser, pursuant to F.S. § 200.065(2)(b), of its proposed millage rate and rolled-back rate of ad valorem taxes for the next fiscal year.

d.

If the town council is willing to consider eventual adoption of the non-ad valorem assessment roll, it shall approve the roll preliminarily, with such modifications as the town council deems appropriate and as are legally permissible, and shall instruct the town manager to schedule a public hearing for a date prior to September 15 to receive public comments and to consider adoption of the roll. The town manager shall then comply with the notice requirements of sections 11-8 and 11-9 and with the notice and publication requirements of F.S. § 197.3632(4).

(2)

On the scheduled date, a public hearing on the non-ad valorem assessment roll shall be held by the town council as required by F.S. § 197.3632 and this article.

(3)

Upon completion of the public hearing, or at such later date as the town council elects (but, in no case on or after September 15), the town council shall vote either to adopt or not to adopt the non-ad valorem assessment roll.

(4)

If the town council elects to adopt the non-ad valorem assessment roll, it shall adopt the non-ad valorem assessment roll either as preliminarily approved or with such adjustments to assessments, and such adjustments to applications of assessments to affected properties, based on the benefit that the town will provide or has provided to the property with the revenue generated by the assessments, as are legally permissible and as the town council determines appropriate in its legislative discretion.

(5)

The adopted non-ad valorem assessment roll shall then be certified on or before September 15 to the tax collector, as required by F.S. § 197.3632(5).

(6)

If the town council votes not to adopt the non-ad valorem assessment roll, no further action shall thereafter be taken with respect to fire protection assessments for the ensuing fiscal year.

(Ord. No. 2015-07, § 1, 6-9-2015)