HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-2021-112 Fire Preliminary AssessmentRESOLUTION NO. 2021-112
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DANIA
BEACH, FLORIDA, RELATING TO THE IMPOSITION OF FIRE RESCUE
ASSESSMENTS AND THE PROVISION OF FIRE SERVICES, FACILITIES
AND PROGRAMS WITHIN THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA;
PROVIDING AUTHORITY; AFFIRMING THE PROVISIONS AND
FINDINGS OF RESOLUTION NOS. 2017-084 AND 2017-105; PROVIDING
PURPOSE, EFFECT AND DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING FOR PROVISION
AND FUNDING OF FIRE SERVICES; PROVIDING FOR IMPOSITION AND
COLLECTION OF SUCH ASSESSMENTS; PROVIDING LEGISLATIVE
DETERMINATIONS OF SPECIAL BENEFIT AND FAIR
APPORTIONMENT; PROVIDING UPDATED ASSESSMENT
CALCULATIONS; ESTABLISHING PRELIMINARY NOT -TO -EXCEED
ASSESSMENT RATES FOR FIRE ASSESSMENTS TO PROVIDE FOR THE
PROVISION OF FIRE SERVICES, FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS FOR THE
FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2021; DIRECTING THE
PREPARATION OF A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT ROLL;
AUTHORIZING A PUBLIC HEARING AND DIRECTING THE PROVISION
OF MAILED AND PUBLISHED NOTICE OF SUCH HEARING; PROVIDING
FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; FURTHER,
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, in July of 1996, the City of Dania Beach (City) implemented a Fire
Rescue Assessment to provide a portion of the funding for the City's fire rescue services and
facilities with the adoption of Ordinance No. 10-96 (subsequently codified as Chapter 23,
Article VIII of the City of Dania Beach Code of Ordinances), and imposed fire rescue
assessments for Fiscal Year 1997-1998 with the adoption of the Initial Rate Resolution,
Resolution No. 63-96 (also referred to as Resolution No. 1996-063) and the Final Rate
Resolution, Resolution No. 72-96 (also referred to as Resolution No. 1996-72); and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Ordinance No. 10-96 (Ordinance), the reimposition of fire
rescue assessments for any Fiscal Year after the year of initial levy (Fiscal Year 1996-1997)
requires certain processes and procedures; and
WHEREAS, annually a Preliminary Rate Resolution describing the method of
assessing fire rescue costs against Assessed Property located within the City, directing the
preparation of an Assessment Roll, authorizing a public hearing and directing the provision of
notice of such hearing and an Annual or Final Rate Resolution adopting the final assessment
rate and directing billing and collection of such rates are required by the Ordinance for the
reimposition of the fire rescue assessments; and
WHEREAS, the City in each year subsequent to 1996 adopted Preliminary and
Final/Annual Rate Resolutions in accordance with the requirements of the Ordinance to adopt
and impose the Fire Rescue Assessments; and
WHEREAS, to facilitate the understanding of the public and simplify the
administration of the Fire Rescue Assessments, the City adopted Preliminary Resolution No.
2017-084 and Annual Resolution No. 2017-105 to supersede and supplant all prior
resolutions, without however affecting the validity or effectiveness of any prior resolutions
for purposes of the Fire Rescue Assessments adopted and imposed by such prior resolutions;
and
WHEREAS, the City in each year subsequent to 2017 has adopted Preliminary and
Final/Annual Rate Resolutions in accordance with the requirements of the Ordinance to adopt
and impose the Fire Rescue Assessments; and
WHEREAS, the City has engaged a rate consulting firm to analyze and adjust the City's
assessment rates as needed for Fiscal Year 2021-22; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Dania Beach, Florida, deems it to be in
the best interest of the citizens and residents of the City of Dania Beach to adopt this Preliminary
Rate Resolution to begin the process of adopting and imposing Fire Rescue Assessments for Fiscal
Year 2021 - 2022;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA:
Section 1. Authority. That this Resolution is adopted pursuant to the provisions of the Fire
Rescue Assessment Ordinance (Ordinance No. 10-96, subsequently codified as Chapter 23, Article
VIII of the City of Dania Beach Code of Ordinances); the Initial Assessment Resolution (Resolution
No. 63-96, also referred to as Resolution No. 1996-63); the Final Assessment Resolution (Resolution
No. 72-96, also referred to as Resolution No. 1996-72); and all subsequent Fire Assessment
Resolutions; and Florida Statutes 166.021 and 166.041, and other applicable provisions of law.
Section 2. Purpose, Effect and Definitions. That this Resolution constitutes the
Preliminary Rate Resolution as defined in the Ordinance which initiates the annual process for
updating the Assessment Roll and directs the reimposition of Fire Rescue Assessments for the
Fiscal Year beginning October 1, 2021. This Resolution ratifies, confirms and supplements the
Ordinance and Preliminary Resolution No. 2017-084 and Annual Resolution No. 2017-105.
2 RESOLUTION #2021-112
All findings of special benefit and fair and reasonable apportionment in the Ordinance and
Resolution Nos. 2017-084 and 2017-105 are specifically, confirmed and incorporated in this
Resolution by reference and amended in part as presented in this Resolution.
The Ordinance and Resolution Nos. 2017-084 and 2017-105 shall be referred to for
definitions of capitalized terms except for the following terms:
(a) "2017 Methodology Report" shall be the term used in this and subsequent
Resolutions to refer to the Methodology Report, dated June 2017 and including a July
Addendum, as defined in Resolution No. 2017-084.
(b) "2018 Addendum" means the technical memorandum supplementing the 2017
Methodology Report and updating the calculation of Fire Rescue Assessments for Fiscal
Year 2018-19.
(c) "2019 Addendum" means the technical memorandum affirming the rates
previously established in the 2018 Addendum as being fair and reasonable for imposition for
Fiscal Year 2019-2020.
(d) "2020 Addendum" means the technical memorandum modifying, affirming
and supplementing the 2017 Methodology Report as further modified, affirmed and
supplemented by the 2018 and 2019 Addenda, updating the calculation of Fire Rescue
Assessments Rates for Fiscal Year 2020-21.
(e) "2021 Methodology Report" or "2021 Report" means the technical
memorandum titled "City of Dania Beach, Florida Fire Services Assessment Methodology
Report„ prepared by Munilytics, Inc., dated July 8, 2021, attached and incorporated within
this Resolution as Exhibit A, modifying, affirming and supplementing the 2017 Methodology
Report, as modified, affirmed and supplemented by the 2017 Methodology Report and by
the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Addenda. The 2021 Report updates and calculates the Fire Rescue
Assessment Rates for Fiscal Year 2021-22.
Section 3. Provision and Funding of Fire Services. That upon the imposition of Fire
Rescue Assessments for fire services, facilities, or programs against Assessed Property located
within the City, the City shall provide fire services to such Assessed Property. A portion of the
cost to provide such fire services, facilities, or programs shall be funded from proceeds of the Fire
Rescue Assessments. The remaining costs required to provide fire services, facilities, or programs
shall be funded by lawfully available City revenues other than Fire Rescue Assessment proceeds.
3 RESOLUTION #2021-112
No EMS costs are included in the Fire Rescue Assessment, and EMS costs shall not be funded by
Fire Rescue Assessment proceeds. It is ascertained, determined, and declared by this Resolution that
each parcel of Assessed Property located within the City will be benefited by the City's provision of
fire services, facilities, or programs in an amount not less than the Fire Rescue Assessment imposed
against such parcel, computed in the manner as set forth in this Preliminary Rate Resolution.
Section 4. Imposition and Computation of Fire Rescue Assessments. That Fire Rescue
Assessments shall be imposed against all Assessed Property based on the Fire Assessment rates as
updated in the 2021 Report using the Fire Class Codes and Fire Basis data maintained by the BCPA
for each Assessed Parcel. Fire Rescue Assessments shall be computed in the manner set forth in
this Resolution, Resolution Nos. 2017-084 and 2017-105, as amended, the 2017 Methodology
Report, the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Addenda, and as further modified, affirmed and supplemented
by this Resolution and the 2021 Report which is attached to this Resolution. It is hereby
determined and declared that the Fire Rescue Assessments for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 proposed in
this Resolution, as may be adopted by a Final or Annual Resolution, shall be collected under the
Uniform Assessment Collection Act.
Section 5. Legislative Determinations of Special Benefit and Fair Apportionment.
Adoption of this Resolution constitutes a legislative determination that all parcels assessed
derive a special benefit and that the Fire Assessed Costs, as defined in Resolution No. 2017-084,
as may have been amended, are apportioned fairly and reasonably, consistent with the legislative
declarations, determinations and findings as set forth in the Ordinance, the Initial Assessment
Resolution, as amended, the Final Assessment Resolution, as amended, and all subsequent
Preliminary and Annual Resolutions and this Preliminary Resolution. The legislative findings of
special benefit and fair apportionment approved in the Ordinance and all prior resolutions are
ratified, confirmed, and incorporated herein, and are modified and amended as provided in this
Resolution.
The legislative determinations of special benefit and fair apportionment as presented in
Resolution No. 2017-084, and as affirmed and modified by subsequently adopted resolutions, are
hereby modified and amended as follows:
(a) Subsections (1) and (m) of Section 5 of Resolution No. 2017-084 are hereby
amended, without however amending or affecting the validity or effectiveness of any Fire
4 RESOLUTION #2021-112
Rescue Assessments adopted and imposed by any previously adopted resolutions, by
replacing the existing subsections in their entirety with the following new language:
(1) The separation of non-residential property buildings by actual square
footage (Fire Basis) is fair and reasonable for the purpose of parcel apportionment
for the relative demand because the demand for fire service is determined and
measured by the actual square footage of structures and improvements within
benefited parcels. The greater the building area, the greater the potential for a large
fire and the greater the number of firefighting resources that must be available and
used in the event of a fire in a structure of that building's size. It is fair and
reasonable to correlate a building's benefit directly to a building's size, without
limit.
(m) It is fair and reasonable to allocate costs to any particular non-residential
structure without any limit to the square footage of a structure as large buildings
require more resources and more value of property benefits from fire protection. It
is fair and reasonable to not consider the flow capacity of fire apparatus as a limiting
factor to fire protection as larger buildings will have fire flows provided
independent of the apparatus cumulative pumping capacity. The amount of
personnel engaged in firefighting increases with building size and personnel costs
are the largest costs in fire protection. Setting a maximum buildingsize ze cap for the
fire assessment may shift cost burdens to owners of smaller structures; removal of
the maximum size cap eliminates this potential cost shifting.
Section 6. Determination of Fire Assessed Costs; Establishment of Proposed Not -
to -Exceed Fire Rescue Assessment Rates. The Fire Assessed Cost to be assessed and
apportioned among Assessed Property within the City and the Proposed Not -to -Exceed Fire
Rescue Assessment Rates for the Fiscal Year commencing October 1, 2021, are presented
below. The approval of the Proposed Fire Rescue Assessment Rate Schedule by the adoption
of this Preliminary Rate Resolution determines the amount of the Fire Assessed Cost (as
identified in the 2021 Report) and the maximum, or not -to -exceed, rates that may be imposed
and collected for the upcoming fiscal year. The remainder of such Fiscal Year budget for fire
rescue services, facilities, and programs shall be funded from lawfully available City revenue
other than Fire Rescue Assessment proceeds.
RESOLUTION #2021-112
PROPOSED NOT -TO -EXCEED FIRE RESCUE ASSESSMENT RATES
PROPERTY USE
CATEGORIES
RATE BASIS
RATE
Residential
Per Dwelling Unit
$ 267.94
Vacant
Per Acre
$ 93.88
Commercial
Per Square Foot
$0.3815
Industrial/Warehouse
Per Square Foot
$0.0310
Section 7. Preliminary Assessment Roll. The City Manager or designee is directed
to prepare, or cause to be prepared, an updated Preliminary Assessment Roll for the Fiscal
Year commencing October 1, 2021, in the manner provided in the Ordinance and this
Resolution. The updated Assessment Roll shall include all Assessed Properties within the Fire
Class Code categories and incorporate the Proposed Rates referenced in Section 6 above. The
City Manager or designee shall apportion the estimated Fire Assessed Cost to be recovered
through Fire Rescue Assessments in the manner set forth in Resolution Nos. 2017-084 and
2017-105, the 2017 Methodology Report, the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Addenda, and as modified
and supplemented by the 2021 Report and this Resolution. A copy of this Preliminary Rate
Resolution, the Ordinance, previously adopted Resolutions, documentation related to the
estimated amount of the Fire Assessed Cost to be recovered through the imposition of Fire
Rescue Assessments, and the updated Preliminary Assessment Roll shall be maintained on file
in the office of the City Clerk and open to public inspection. The foregoing shall not be
construed to require that the updated Preliminary Assessment Roll proposed for the Fiscal Year
beginning October 1, 2021, be in printed form if the amount of the Fire Rescue Assessment
for each parcel of Assessed Property can be determined by the use of a computer terminal
available to the public.
It is ascertained, determined, and declared by this Resolution that the method of
determining the Fire Rescue Assessments for fire services as set forth in this Preliminary Rate
Resolution is a fair and reasonable method of apportioning the Fire Assessed Cost among
parcels of Assessed Property located within the City.
Section 8. Authorization of Public Hearing. That there is established a public
hearing to be held at 7:00 p.m. on September 13, 2021, in the City of Dania Beach City
6 RESOLUTION #2021-112
Commission Chamber, 100 West Dania Beach Boulevard, Dania Beach, Florida, at which time
the City Commission will receive and consider any comments on the Fire Rescue Assessments
from the public and affected property owners and consider imposing Fire Rescue Assessments
for the Fiscal Year beginning October 1, 2021 and collecting such assessments on the same
bill as ad valorem taxes. Adoption of the Annual Resolution after the public hearing and
approval of the Final Roll shall be the final adjudication of the issues presented (including, but
not limited to, the determination of benefit and fair apportionment, the method of
apportionment and levy, the Fire Protection Assessment Rates, the Final Roll and the levy,
collection and lien of the Fire Protection Assessments), unless proper steps shall be initiated
in a court of competent jurisdiction to secure relief within 20 days from the adoption of the
Annual Resolution.
Section 9. Notice of Publication. That the City Clerk shall publish a notice of the
public hearing authorized by Section 8 of this Preliminary Rate Resolution in the manner and
time provided in Section 2.04 of the Ordinance. The notice shall be published no later than
August 23, 2021.
Section 10. Notice by Mail. That the Director of Finance shall provide information on
the public hearing and the proposed not -to -exceed rates to the Broward County Property
Appraiser's Office to be included in the TRIM (Truth in Millage) Notice to serve as first class
notice as required by the Ordinance.
Section 11. Application of Assessment Proceeds. That the proceeds derived by the City
from the Fire Rescue Assessments will be utilized for the provision of fire services, facilities, and
programs and will not be used for any EMS costs or services. In the event there is any unexpended
or uncommitted assessment revenue remaining at the end of the Fiscal Year, such balance shall be
carried forward and used only to fund fire services, facilities, and programs.
Section 12. Conflict. That all resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict with this
Resolution are superseded and supplanted to the extent of such conflict.
Section 13. Severability. That if any clause, section, other part or application of this
Resolution is held by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, in part
or application, it shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions or applications of this
Resolution.
7 RESOLUTION #2021-112
Section 14. Effective Date. That this Resolution shall be in force and take effect
immediately upon its passage and adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED on July 13, 2021.
ATTEST:
THOMAS SCHNEIDER, CMC
CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TOT AND CORRECTNESS:
THOMAS J.
CITY ATTO
T JAMES
MAYOR
8 RESOLUTION #2021-112
EXHIBIT A
CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA
FIRE SERVICES ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY REPORT
(112021 Methodology Report")
July 8, 2021
Prepared by Munilytics, Inc.
City of Dania Beach FY2021-2022 Fire
Assessment Analysis
July 8, 2021
Report Commission
This study was commissioned by the City of Dania Beach as part of its annual fire
services special assessment program. The study evaluated the assessment roll for
FY2021-2022 in light of the updated FY2022 assessment methodology, which has
changed non-residential rates to a per square foot assessment with no cap on the square
footage. Tranches for non-residential have been eliminated.
W&
M U N I L Y T I C 5
Study Conclusions
The study concludes that the FY2021-2022 changes result in a per square footage charge
for non-residential properties as part of a more equitable levy to those properties.
Tranches have been eliminated as well as caps on square footage levies. The City's
budget for fire services had decreased by an estimated $2,637,798, largely due to a
discontinuance of contributions to the legacy pension plan.
The evaluation of the property appraiser's July 1, 2021, roll, based upon the current fire
call data from the Broward Sheriff's office and the new methodology, develop the
following maximum rates:
Maximum Amount to be Levied in Each Category
Unit
Assessed
Category
Units
I
Unit Type
Allocation
Amount
Residential
V acant/Acreage
Commercial
Industrial/Warehous e
Less: Exempt Properties
Total Assessable
Not For Profit
Government
Exempt Properties
Total Fire Service Costs
15,513 4,297,177.00
733 71,145.00
6,169,741 2,433,170.00
5,109,093 163,634.00
(38,341.08)
6,926,784.92
128,062.00
305,925.00
38,341.08
7,399,113.00
277.00 per dwelling unit
97.06 per acre
0.3944 per square foot
0.0320 per square foot
The City does not expect to levy the full amount of the assessment and has targeted a net
realizable amount of $6,700,000. Based upon that total assessable amount, the following
rates would be levied:
(continued)
M U N I L Y T I CS
Proposed FY2021-2022 Levies in Each Category:
Unit
Assessed
Category
Units
I
Unit Type
Allocation
Amount
Residential
Vacant/Acreage
Commercial
Industrial/Warehouse
Less: Exempt Properties
Total Assessable
Not For Profit
Government
Exempt Properties
General Fund Contribution
Total Fire Service Costs
15,513 4,156,486.19
733 68,815.69
6,169,741 2,353,507.32
5,109,093 158,276.58
(37,085.78)
6,700,000.00
123,869.21
295,908.93
37,085.78
242,249.08
7,399,113.00
267.94 per dwelling unit
93.88 per acre
0.3815 per square foot
0.0310 per square foot
Rates that are initially set can only be reduced after they have been noticed to property
owners and all categories must be changed in the same manner.
AAL
M U N I L Y T I C S