UPDATE I: As the trickle down theory of bailouts, to deficits, to job destruction, to revenue destruction, to State budget shortfalls, to Municipal “shortfalls” goes, the new Leon County Fire Services Fee has now dropped into approximately 55,014 Leon County mailboxes.

According to the accompanying letter, I “should have received an informational letter earlier this month” –which I don’t recall receiving–but presuming that I did, and missed it, I suppose it would be telling me how a fee was decided to be levied upon Leon County residents without their approval, or vote, to increase medical response services in the event of a fire or EMS-related response.

It would seem to me that Leon County collects enough fees from me through 10 years of steadily increasing taxes on a property that has devalued far below what would be considered a “good deal” tax rate (not to mention increased private insurance fees on the inflated asset value) and those fees already include the needed funding to operate the new firestation 3 miles from my home.

But let’s examine a little bit more why we should not be paying this Fee.

This fee amounts to $40.25 QUARTERLY or $161.00 per year, about what would be collected if every Leon County resident was forced to add an emergency phone line to their current cellular phone account, plus a few hours usage. Multiplied by 55, 014 owner-occupied homes in Leon County, this amounts to $8,857,254.00 dollars revenue per year. But let’s take their quoted figure of $6,783,500.00 as a starting point.

If this revenue is earmarked to fund the salaries of new EMS responders at $60,000 per year (loaded compensation of $40,000 plus excellent benefits) this would result in 113 new responders in Leon County alone, an additional responder for every 500 homes in Leon County, to compliment the current number of responders already in place.

However, the letter informs me that “a total of 18 new responders” will be allocated to “five rural fire stations in Leon County”. If that’s the case, and even if 18 new responders earned $100,000.00 in loaded compensation each, what is the additional 5 million being used for?

In their position paper, the typical spin is evident in the statement, “for the new fiscal year, the County reduced property taxes by $8.8 million”. And how did the County do that, by reducing the millage rate? I don’t think so. In their budget report press release they brag that the Board, “through its consistent philosophy of fiscal restraint – accomplished its goal of keeping the Countywide millage rate unchanged“.

So unless the County wants to take credit for declining property values, they essentially did NOTHING to reduce property taxes. They simply agreed not to increase the millage rate in the face of collapsing home values. It’s the assessment’s that have been reduced, commensurate with the destruction of homeowner wealth. Gee that’s nice. Thanks for not raising the millage rate during this property value collapse.

So now that we can see the plain truth, what this amounts to is initiating a new quarterly fee to reclaim lost property taxes due to the property value correction that is putting many Leon County residents under water because their mortgage principle now sits at 125 to 150% of their property value.

Fiscal responsibility during property value boom times of  2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 is where windfall property tax revenues on inflated values should have been reserved against future declines. This is where fiscally responsible stewards of the public trust reclaim lost property taxes from a valuation collapse. Property values, and the associated taxes may go up or down, but a new county service fee NEVER goes away.

I will be filing written objections and attending the hearing on July 13, 2010, as should all Leon County citizens, as unexpected $40.25 quarterly fees for services that my property taxes already pay for will surely start a precedent that will go something like this:

1) $40.25 quarterly stormwater runoff improvement fee
2) $40.25 quarterly hurricane and flood mitigation fee
3) $40.25 quarterly sidewalks, parks and easement maintenance fee
4) $40.25 quarterly Canopy road tree services and clearing fee
5) $40.25 quarterly landfill environmental hazard mitigation fee
6) $40.25 quarterly traffic light maintenance and upgrade fee
7) $40.25 quartely carbon-emmission reduction fee

–and so on, and so on, and so on.

Residents of Leon County should demand to review the County’s budgets and proposed fees, as well as their fiscal status, investments, bond offerings, revenues, the whole shebang. And you can bet that whatever County you live in, this is coming if it’s not already in your mailbox, and it’s coming in waves.

But the lunacy can end before it takes hold if the States will take their economies back from Wall Street, and adopt the economic policies that Farid Khavari has proposed in his campaign platform for 2010.
The Bank of Florida can extend more than enough credit to Leon County to create the jobs, fund the infrastucture improvements and put people to work to accomplish all of the work cited above which represent potential new quarterly fee-recovered costs, otherwise assessed to County taxpayers.

And if any municipal investment loss in Leon County is uncovered, and found to be executed prudently in good faith, the Bank of Florida can easily help Leon County to absorb that loss.

But if such a loss in uncovered, and is deemed to have been a fraudulent swindle, with the associated risks not being disclosed, the financial advisors will be prosecuted. OR, if any underhanded dealings, or improper conduct such as bribery (as in the Alabama municple sewer fund debacle, and now the New Jersey Municipal debacle) is found, County officials will be prosecuted, as deemed appropriate by the rule of law.

There is no excuse for the State of Florida, as in the SBA 55 billion dollar investment loss debacle, to follow the poor example set by our Federal government’s fiscal naivete, corruption and collusion with Wall St., the continuing bailouts and the rewarding of failure.

The States must lead by example, and the Counties will follow.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZo2O7uRC.Ok
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aNSuFFTbi00E
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=auPmzvv3Al.g

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