In a recent social media post, Tallahassee mayoral candidate Jeremy Matlow proposed funding fire services and stormwater expenses via the property tax bill instead of the current method of charging fees on utility bills. It appears the proposal would allow state government properties and other non-profit property owners to avoid paying for various city services while property owners pick up the tab.
In the post, Matlow did not explain the details of his proposal and has not responded to our request for specifics.
The post stated, “The utility bills are way too high. Part of that is record heat waves, part of it is global energy instability and the remainder is local government. Let’s get the taxes off of the utility bill and get to work lowering utility costs for everyone.”
In the video accompanying the post, Matlow states the first thing we do is “get the taxes off the utility bill.” He references the fire services fee and the stormwater fee.
The 2026 operating expenses for the Fire Services Fund are $65 million, and the Stormwater Fund expenses are $25 million.
During the video, Matlow never explains how the fees will be collected when moved off of the utility bill. However, a commenter asks a question about the proposal, “in property taxes? Or receive a separate bill?”
Matlow responds, “property taxes.”
Moving approximately $90 million in fees to property tax bills means that property owners will subsidize the services for non-property owners and non-profit property owners. All of these residents are currently required to pay the fees.
Complicating the issue is Matlow’s campaign proposal to cut property taxes.
How do you make property taxes responsible for millions more in new spending obligations and cut property taxes?
We have asked Commissioner Matlow this question and will report his answer if and when he responds.
Rarely do I find myself in agreement with Commissioner Matlow, but in this situation, he is absolutely correct. Florida law provides three mechanisms for local funding of fire services. A fee added to the utility bill is not one of them. In fact, a similar fire services fee was charged by the city of Ocala who was forced to refund nearly $80 million to those who paid the fee. The appeals court found that the fee charged by Ocala was an illegal tax. So are the fees charged by Tallahassee.
The core funding of fire services should be through ad valorem taxes. Period. Additional funding can come from special assessments such as for the construction of a new fire station in a developing area, or via grants from the state or federal government. Day-to-day operations must come from ad valorem taxes.
The advantage to the homeowner is that for homesteaded properties, those whose deductions exceed the standard deduction can deduct their ad valorem taxes from their federal income tax.
Regardless of how these necessary services are funded, our tax burden is too great. There is no justification for both the city and county awarding across-the-board raises to all city or county workers and awarding huge raises and bonuses to higher level employees. They are incredibly poor stewards of our money and it is time for us to slow the flow of money to the government. Amendment 3 does just that. Vote yes on 3!