Opposition growing for city budget hearing

Robert Buckner isn't opposed to city officials charging taxpayer fees for fire services, but he thinks the way city council members are implementing them - along with breaking away from decreasing the tax rate - is unfair and places an extra burden on business owners.

Buckner, who owns a local insurance business, rarely likes to speak publicly on issues. He said council members need to be reminded they previously indicated the tax rate would be lowered to compensate for charging fees for fire services.

He plans to remind them during Wednesday's meeting by talking to council members and submitting a written letter outlying why the fire fees, matched with the tax rate, is a bad idea.

His letter comes after fire fees were approved by council members this summer to alleviate paying for fire services from the general fund by supplying an estimated $649,479 - 40.5 percent of the $1.6 million fire department budget.

And despite earlier talks of lowering the tax levy to alleviate the burden of the fees, a majority of council members opted to keep it at 6.069 - the same as last year - following concerns there wouldn't be enough in reserves.

In a six page letter - not including graphs and charts - Buckner writes that at one time, council members discussed lowering the tax rate by roughly 3 mills (One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of taxable property value).

He included in his letter quotes from past meeting transcripts that show council members had agreed to a lower tax levy. They said such a decrease would help to make Brooksville more attractive to businesses.

However, as discussions continued, council members backed away from decreasing the tax rate "mill for mill" and instead settled on keeping it the same.

"(This) is a reason so many folks are disgruntled with elected officials," Buckner wrote. "'We should do what we said we were going to do,' but now something else because the numbers are short and a need for adjustment or other options. It is either a roll back or it is not, and if not then don't add the assessment."

"I and others get frustrated when comments and actions are not consistent," he further stated in his letter. "I am confident we all want a major change in taxation issues to be fair, and get it right at the outset."

His goal isn't to be combative with council members, Buckner said Friday. Instead, he said they need to have an open conversation about the matter, which he hopes will result in them agreeing on a taxing method more equitable for everyone.

Buckner isn't the only one debating the matter. Last week business owners began rallying against the measure after learning some of their fire fees were as much, if not more than, what they were being taxed.

Whether it was an unintended consequence, they and Buckner agree council members need to make changes so that businesses and homeowners aren't unfairly taxed.

They might have some support on the matter from Mayor Lara Bradburn, who indicated she was not fully in favor of the fire fees or for keeping the tax rate the same as last year.

Three out of five council members appear to be in favor of keeping the tax levy the same. It might be up to the public to change their minds, she said.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 201 Howell Ave.