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Agenda 10/13/2009 Item # 6B Agenda Item No. 68 October 13, 2009 Page 1 of 9 COLLIER COUNTY OFFICE OF THE COUNTY MANAGER 3301 East Tamiami Trail. Naples, Florida 34112. (239) 252-8383. FAX: (239) 252-4010 September 29, 2009 Duane L. Billington 2121 51st Terrace, S.W. Naples, FL 34116 Re: Public Petition Request to Discuss the Fire/Rescue/EMS Surtax Dear Mr. Billington: Please be advised that you are scheduled to appear before the Collier County Board of Commissioners at the meeting of October 13, 2009, regarding the above referenced subject. Your petition to the Board of County Commissioners will be limited to ten minutes, Please be advised that the Board will take no action on your petition at this meeting. However, your petition may be placed on a future agenda for consideration at the Board's discretion. If the subject matter is currently under litigation or is an on-going Code Enforcement case, the Board will hear the item but will not discuss the item after it has been presented. Therefore, your petition to the Board should be to advise them of your concern and the need for action by the Board at a future meeting. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Board's Chambers on the Third Floor of the W. Harmon Turner Building (Building "F") of the government complex. Please arrange to be present at this meeting and to respond to inquiries by Board members. If you require any further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Sincerely, 4~~~ Leo E. Ochs, Jr. "..c.a,A... Deputy County Manager LEO/jb cc: Jeffrey Klatzkow, County Attorney Dan Summers, Director, Bureau of Emergency Services - Agenda Item No. 68 October 13, 2009 Page 2 of 9 Reauest to Soeak under Public Petition P/e8se print SEP l ~ 2009 Name: /) UAAJ~ L--- tA I ~ L, / ""@. -f7::)A/ . -rJ I .s'l r --- Addl'8$S~/a2 _I) I / G A /J . S . W. Jf}Ap~r >/ PzL f .14 I 16 Phone: Ol:i '1- "" sr- g>- S7'7 bel t.-< ~ VI e Ol@ ("e>IYJcq"T · neT Date of the Board ~ you wish to soeak: OC'7: / 1 I ..J... (!)O" , Must circle yes or no: Is this subject matI8r under IiIIgIItion at this time? V_ @ . Is this subject matI8r an ongoing Code Enforcement case? V_ ~ Note: If either answer Is -"'.. the Board will ..... the 118m but win have no discueaion regarding the 118m aft8r It .. p.......... Please exDIaln in detail the reason YOU are reauestina to soeak (attach additional oaae if necessary): 5E~ SEe SEE AT"IA.:CHHcNr ('-A. -rr ~ /' /t" ..l,A- hiXPA YE',l(~ v (G.WPOI!CJ1' (3I-1A/J-rt'A. ;/..001- 1~,2 .L.t1u?5 OF ~a~/)>-+ Please eXDlain In detail the action YOU are askina the Commission to take (attach additional D808 If necessary): Sl:~ A"'--'-A ~ H,4 EAJ.., A Agenda Item No. 68 October 13, 2009 Page 3 of 9 PUBLIC PETITION DUANE L BILLINGTON FIRE SURTAX ATTACHMENT "A" I believe that the Fire/Rescue/EMS Surtax provided for in Florida Statute Chapter 2009-182 is a net tax increase that will be bad for the people of Collier County. It creates additional overhead costs and provides no increase in services. On September 9/2009 I petitioned the Board of Commissioners ofthe Golden Gate Fire & Rescue District to abandon their previous resolution adopted on August 12, 2009 supporting the Surtax. They were in substantial agreement with my position outlined in the attached "Taxpayers Viewpoint". They voted 3-0 to reverse their previous position of support and abandoned the resolution adopted on August 12. The Commissioners did express a concern about not wanting the taxpayers of the District to be penalized by what we refer to as the COERCION CLAUSE of 2009-182, page 3, [g) "Municipalities, special fire control and rescue districts, and contract service providers that do not enter into an inter-local agreement are not entitled to recieve a portion of the proceeds of the surtax collected under this subsection and are not required to reduce ad valorem taxes or non-ad valorem assessments pursuant to paragraph [e]". The Commissioners didn't want the people of the Golden Gate District to have to pay the surtax and not share in the benefit. On Sept. 24, 2009 I shared my concerns with those present at the Fire Service Steering Committee Meeting. Five districts had previously passed resolutions of support for the surtax. Representatives of some of the five and the others agreed in part with my position outlined in my "Taxpayers Viewpoint"; All agreed that the COERCION CLAUSE was "a form of blackmail". Once a majority of the potential participants present their resolutions to the County, the County is required by Chapter 2009-182 as follows: "The county governing authority must develop and execute an inter-local agreement with participating jurisdictions, which are the governing bodies of municipalities, dependent special districts, independent special districts, or municipal service taxing units that provide emergency fire and rescue services within the county. The inter-local agreement must include a majority of the service providers of the county". The county must then schedule a referendum vote to be put on the ballot ofthe next regular election. Agenda Item No. 6B October 13, 2009 Page 4 of 9 PUBLIC PETITION DUANE L BILLINGTON FIRE SURTAX AITACHMENT "B" I am asking the Collier County Board of Commissioners to do the following: 1. Adopt a position/resolution that states the county will allow a sufficient time frame [45 days] after being petitioned by a majority of fire, rescue, emergency services and EMS operators for those entities that did not pass a prior resolution of support to be able to participate. 2. To notify the service providers and the public that you are doing the above so the providers do not feel coerced or black mailed to pass a resolution of support. 3. To notify the service providers that you will not be a party to this agreement if it will unfairly penalize a segment of the population of Collier County. t I Agenda Item No. 68 October 13, 2009 Page 5 of 9 c'. P-1 CHAPTER 2009-182 LAWS OF FLORIDA EMERGENCY FIRE RESCUE SERVICES AND FACILITIES SURTAX A TAXPAYER'S VIEWPOINT Our local, independent fire districts may soon be petitioning the Board of Collier County Commissioners to enable the adoption of sales surtax funding of operations. 2009-182 Provides for a means whereby the County would have to levy a 1 % surtax to be used for fire/rescue services, equipment & facilities and pre-hospital emergency medical treatment [EMS). The tax revenues are collected by the State; the State retains a 3% administrative fee; and, sends the balance back to the county where it was collected. The County then collects up to a 2% administrative fee and divides the money among the eligible recipiants according to the relative average of their expenditures incurred the previous five years. Each recipiant is then required to reduce the following years ad valorum tax levy or any non-ad valorum assessment by the amount recieved. What do we have so far? We have an increase in fire/rescue & emergency services taxes of 5% of the amount of revenue generated by the surtax. THE INCREASE IN TAX IS ALL OVERHEAD WITH NO PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL SERVICES TO THE TAXPAYER.! The State can call it a fee but it is a STATE TAX INCREASE. What kind of money are we talking about? It is estimated that the tax would raise over $60,000,000 in Collier County. The total administrative fee [County&State] of 5% would amount to a TAX INCREASE OF THREE MILLION WASTED TAXPAYER DOLLARS.! What company do you know of would voluntarily raise overhead costs without expecting a gain in efficiency and profitability? Why should we operate fire and emergency services in less than a business-like manner? Why would we want to increase costs without a corresponding benefit? What is wrong with our current system of funding via ad valorum taxes? Funding fire and emergency services via ad valorum taxes provides revenue based on the value of the property being protected. This is not unlike buying insurance against the loss of something you own. Higher values of protection require higher payments; lower values require less. You can't get much fairer than that. This is a system that works. Why are we being asked to fix what isn't broken? I do know the State has gone fee crazy to patch up the holes in the State budget. The 3% State administrative fee is similar to the fee collected by charge card companies from the businesses that honor the cards. The charge card companies profit from the fee. Why should the State profit from the taxes that support Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services in Collier County? . .. Agenda Item No. 68 October 13, 2009 Page 6 of 9 P-2 Funding by sales surtax shifts the burden of payment away from an applicable, accountable and trackable investment/value based system to one that relies on expenditures for taxable items that have little or nothing to do with the value of the property being protected. Should we establish fire & emergency services budgets based in part on how much is spent at McDonald's or Burger King? How about on how much is being spent at Home Depot or Lowe's for potting soil or K-Mart or Walmart for toilette paper? How do you equate the value of fire protection for a home to a tax on a roll of toilette paper? Under the surtax, when you are taxed for purchases at Burger King, McDonald's, Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart or K-Mart owned stores; you contribute to the pool of money that will lower their ad valorum taxes; thereby, increasing their profits. They have paid no sales tax to obtain the items they sell. They get a free ride. If they lease the properties that house the stores, the landlords get a free ride and increased profits. What we have in this case is a CORPORATE WELFARE PROGRAM and "GOVERMENT FUNDING BY SMOKE & MIRRORS". How will the surtax effect landlords and renters? I have a rental property. The ad valorum taxes are currently paid for with part of the money I recieve from my renters. Under the surtax, my property tax will be reduced because of surtax revenues. This will increase my profit My renters will get to subsidize McDonald's et al along with paying me the rent. It matters not weather you are a firefighter renting a home or a doctor or lawyer renting office space; the surtax is a well-fare program for landlords. Look at all the vacant commercial and residential rental properties in the county. Under ad valorum funding the owners of the properties are responsible for paying all the property taxes. Under a surtax funding method we all would be shouldering part of the burden for payment of taxes for vacant commercial and residential properties owned by others, including bank foreclosures. Sales taxes are regressive and hit lower income people, who spend a relatively higher percent of their income on taxable items, the hardest. Many of the elderly retirees who have sheltered their dwellings with the provisions of the Homestead Exemption will end up paying more for fire & rescue service under the combined ad valorum/surtax system than they now pay under the ad valorum tax method. The sales tax will hurt families with school age children. The extra tax on is applicable to almost all of the children's activities and clothing costs and; the surtax is not a deductable expense for income tax. In summary: The sales tax surcharge funding method will provide for: an increase in taxes that is all overhead and provides no additional services; a waste of three million taxpayer dollars; a new corporate welfare program; government funding by smoke & mirrors; all of us shouldering part of the burden of tax payments for vacant properties owned by others; and, an additional burden on the elderly and low or fixed income people. Is this what the independent fire and rescue districts want to impose on the people of Collier County? Good governance should be founded on accountability and fairness. The surtax funding method provides neither. DUANE L BILLINGTON 455-8579 289-2870 " f Agenda Item No. 68 October 13, 2009 Page 7 of 9 CHAPTER 2009-182 Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1000 An act relating to discretionary sales surtaxes; amending s. 212.055, F.S.; authorizing certain counties to levy by ordinance a discretion- ary sales surtax for emergency fire rescue services and facilities under certain circumstances; requiring a referendum; providing for distribution of surtax proceeds; authorizing an administrative fee; providing for interlocal agreements; providing agreement require- ments; requiring a reduction in the budget for ad valorem tax levies and non-ad valorem assessments for emergency fire rescue service by the amount of the estimated surtax; requiring any surplus surtax revenues to be used to further reduce ad valorem taxes; prohibiting entities not entering into an interlocal agreement from receiving a portion of surtax proceeds; specifying the distribution of surtax reve- nues and limiting reimbursements among participating jurisdic- tions under certain circumstances; prohibiting a county from levying the surtax within certain multicounty independent special districts; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsection (8) is added to section 212.055, Florida Statutes, to read: 212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent; authorization and use of proceeds.-It is the legislative intent that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended; and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide. Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as provided in s. 212.054. (8) EMERGENCY FIRE RESCUE SERVICES AND FACILITIES SUR- TAX.- (a) The lloverninll authority of a county. other than a county that has imposed two separate discretionarv surtaxes without expiration. may. bv ordinance. levy a discretionarv sales surtax of UP to 1 oercent for emerllency fire rescue services and facilities as provided in this subsection. As used in this subsection. the term "emen!encv fire rescue services" includes. but is not limited to. preventing and extinl!Uishing fires: orotecting and savinI! life and prooerty from fires or natural or intentional acts or disasters; enforcing municipaL county. or state fire prevention codes and laws pertaining to the prevention and control offires: and providing orehospital emergency medi- cal treatment. 1 CODING: Words striekeR are deletions; words underlined are additions. -.. Agenda Item No. 6B October 13, 2009 Page 8 of 9 Ch. 2009-182 LAWS OF FLORIDA Ch. 2009-182 (b) Uoon the adootion of the ordinance. the levy of the surtax must be placed on the ballot by the ~ovemine- authority of the county enactine- the ordinance. The ordinance will take effect if approved by a majority of the electors of the county votine: in a referendum held for such ouroose. The referendum shall be placed on the ballot of a l'eg'IlJIITly scheduled election. The ballot for the referendum must conform to the requirements of s. 101.161. The interlocal aereement reauired under paragraoh Cd) is a condi- tion precedent to holdine: the referendum. Cc) Pursuant to s. 212.054(4). the proceeds of the discretionarv sales surtax collected under this subsection. less an administrative fee that may be retained by the Deoartment of Revenue. shall be distributed by the deoartment to the county. The county shall distribute the proceeds it re- ceiyes from the denartment to the particioating iurisdictions that have en- tered into an interloca1 agreement with the county under this subsection. The county may also cha.n!e an ailminiRtrative fee for receivine: and distrib- uting the surtax in the amount of the actual costs incurred. not to exceed 2 percent of the surtax collected. Cd) The county governing authority must develoo and execute an interIo- cal aereement with participating jurisdictions. which are Ute !rovemine: bod- ies of municioalities. deoendent soecia! districts. indeoendent swcial dis- tricts. or municioa! service taxinl! units that orovide emeNancy fire and rescue services within the county. The interloca! agreement must include a majority of the service oroviders in the county. 1. The interlocal agreement shall only specify that: a: .. The amount of the surtax proceeds to be distributed by the county to each oarticioatinlr jurisdiction is based on the actual amounts collected within each participating jurisdiction as determined by the Department of Revenue's population allocations in accordance with s. 218.62: or b. If a county has soecial fire control districts and rescue districts within its boundary. the county shall distribute the surtax oroceeds among the county and the participating municioalities or soocia! fire control and rescue districts based on the proportion of each entity's exoenditures of ad valorem taxes and non-ad valorem assessments for fire control and emel'llencv rescue services in each of the immediately preceding 5 fiscal years to the total of the expenditures for all oarticipating entities. 2. Each oarticioatine: jurisdiction shall aeree that if a oarticipating juris- diction is requested to orovide oersonnel or eQuioment to any other service provider. on a lonlr-term basis pursuant to an interlocal aereement. the jurisdiction providinlr the service is entitled to oayment from the reauesting service provider from that provider's share of the surtax proceeds for all costs of the equipment or oersonnel. Ce) Upon the surtax taking effect and initiation of collections. a county and any participating jurisdiction enterin(r into the interlocal agreement shall reduce the ad valorem tax levy or any non-ad valorem assessment for fire control and emere:encv rescue services in its next and subseauent bud- l:ets by the estimated amount of revenue provided by the surtax. 2 CODING: Words _ekeD are deletions; words underlined are additions. . Agenda Item No. 68 October 13, 2009 Page 9 of 9 Ch. 2009-182 LAWS OF FLORIDA Ch. 2009-182 CD Use of surtax proceeds authorized under this subsection does not relieve a local eovernment from complying with the provisions of chapter 200 and any related provision of law that establishes millage caps or limits undesimated budeet reserves and procedures for establishiIll! rollback rates for ad valorem taxes and budeet adoption. If surtax collections exceed pro- jected collections in any fiscal Year. any surplus distribution shall be used to further reduce ad valorem taxes in the next fiscal Year. These proceeds shall be applied as a rebate to the final millalre. after the TRIM notice is completed in accordance with this provision. (g) Municipalities. special fire control and rescue districts. and contract service providers that do not enter into an interlocaI lU!Teement are not entitled to receive a portion of the proceeds of the surtax collected under this subsection and are not reauired to reduce ad valorem taxes or non-ad va- lorem assessments pursuant to oaralrraph (e). (h) The provisions ofsub-subparalrraph (d) La. and subparalrraph (d)2. do not apply if: 1. There is an interlocal alUeement with the county and one or more participatinlr lurisdictions which prohibits one or more iurisdictions from providinlr the same level of service for orehospital emerlrency medical treat- ment within the prohibited participatinlr jurisdictions' boundaries: or 2. The county has issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity or its eauivalent to a county department or a dependent special district of the county. (i) Surtax colleetions shall be initiated on J anuarv 1 of the year following: a successful referendum in order to coincide with s. 212.054(5). (j) Notwithstanding- s. 212.054. if a multicounty independent soecial dis- trict created pursuant to chapter 67-764. Laws of Florida. levies ad valorem taxes on district prooertv to fund emeTlrencv fire rescue services within the district and is reauired by s. 2. Art. VII ofthe State Constitution to maintain a uniform ad valorem tax rate throug:hout the district. the county may not levy the discretionary sales surtax authorized by this subsection within the boundaries of the district. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. Approved by the Governor June 16,2009. Filed in Office Secretary of State June 16, 2009. 3 CODING: Words striekea are deletions; words underlined are additions.