Lehigh Acres Fire Dept -- The Good / Bad and the Ugly: Quotes by Lehigh Residents ----

Lehigh Acres Fire Dept -- The Good / Bad and the Ugly

The Lehigh Acres Fire District, a special taxing district, was created by a special act of the Florida Legislation in 1963. Its charter may be amended only by special act of the legislature. The governing authority of the District is a board composed of five members elected from residents of the District. During the past 4 decades we have been a part of the many advances in fire and life safety in our region.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Quotes by Lehigh Residents ----

In Lehigh Acres, the tax-rate will be slightly lower next year but the amount collected by the fire department will almost double, thanks to rising property values and new-home construction.

"It's a joke — It's really a fiasco," said Harold Doidge, 70, of Lehigh. "These guys are completely run amuck."

Homeowners already have gotten the bill in the mail — the increased cost of fire protection is on their Truth in Millage notice. Some safeguards are in place that limit the amount a homeowner's property values can increase in a given year.

But new homeowners such as Alan Penberthy of Lehigh are out of luck. Instead of $332, which he would pay if Lehigh lowered its rate to reflect rising property values, he will pay $618.

"The problem is the growth isn't going to go on forever and in order to feed this monster, they are going to have to increase tax rates significantly for everyone," Penberthy said.