Newberry City Commission raises residential fire assessment rate to $300, appoints two to Mayor’s Youth Council 

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

NEWBERRY, Fla. – At the August 25 regular meeting, the Newberry City Commission raised residential fire assessment rates to $300 and appointed the first two members to its new Mayor’s Youth Council.

Newberry Opioid Task Force update

The meeting began with a presentation by Joy Glanzer, member of the Newberry Opioid Task Force. Glanzer said the Task Force was established by the City of Newberry in 2018 to raise awareness and educate the public on the opioid epidemic. She said City Manager Jordan Marlowe, who was a high school teacher at the time, lost a student to an overdose and was shocked to find that Alachua County was number two in the state for opioid overdoses and deaths. 

Glanzer said all of the original Task Force members are still with the group. A new billboard campaign will launch on September 8, she said, with billboards all over Alachua County, and social media will be used to reach young people. The Task Force has $250,000 in funding from a settlement with pharmaceutical companies. Glanzer mentioned other local programs sponsored by the Task Force, including distribution of Narcan nasal spray. 

Mayor’s Youth Council established

The first item of business was the second reading of an ordinance establishing a Mayor’s Youth Council. The first reading was heard on June 23. Commissioner Monty Farnsworth made a motion to adopt the ordinance, Commissioner Mark Clark seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

Fire assessment rates

The next item was the adoption of the final fire assessment rates. City Attorney Scott Walker explained that the new rates will take effect on October 1, 2025. 

City Manager Marlowe said the new rates are based on a three-year study that averages the costs for the different categories over three years. Marlowe said the previous system of using only the preceding year’s numbers was “flawed.”

Assistant City Manager Dallas Lee gave a presentation and said the fire assessment funds can only be used for fire services and not for other types of services, such as paramedic or medical services. Lee said property taxes cover 54% of the Fire Department funding, fire assessment fees cover 36%, and the goal is to eventually cover half the expenses with the fire assessment fees. Lee showed the following slide, which lists the different categories and their percentages of calls received:

The next slide showed the maximum rate the Commission can set in each of the categories:

And this slide shows the proposed rates, with residential rates increasing from $200 to $300:

Marlowe pointed out that these rates would not cover anything extra, such as if the State decided to mandate a maximum of 40 hours/week for firefighters, which he said is being discussed. Marlowe added that future needs, such as new fire stations, will not be funded with $300 residential rates.

Lee explained that annual payments for equipment, such as the new tanker truck and brush truck, total $119,500 annually, and that has to be factored into the budget. Lee said staff recommended adopting the proposed $300 residential rate, along with the other proposed rates. 

Clark asked Lee what the County would charge to provide fire department services, as an alternative to funding their own Fire Department. Lee said, “In most cases, it is higher than what our fire assessment is proposed to be.” Attorney Walker added that having fire department resources nearby and more local control are important considerations.

Farnsworth said he has never supported fire assessment fees, but he supports the Fire Department. 

Responding to a question, Fire Chief Jason Lyman said the Newberry Fire Department answers about 1,400 calls per year, although about 75% to 80% of those are medical calls and are not eligible for fire assessment funds. 

During public comment, a man who owns 119,000 square feet of storage space said his fire assessment fee will increase from $4,000 to $17,000 under the proposed plan.

First motion

Commissioner Rick Coleman made a motion to table the item and have a workshop with more public input because he felt the proposed rates would place too much burden on the business categories and not enough on residential properties. Commissioner Tony Mazon seconded the motion.

Marlowe said, “I understand the desire to table it. I would say the worst thing that we do is leave the instability going. We got a great turnout here tonight. We’ve had two budget workshops on this… Let people come up and have public comment.”

Laura Storm said she wasn’t aware that there had already been two budget workshops or she would have attended. 

Brandy Oldman suggested abandoning fire assessment fees and “putting it all in the millage.”

Developer Tripp Norfleet commended the Fire Department. He encouraged cutting the budget instead of raising taxes. Norfleet said, “I think we really need to look at that budget number,” and most of the room applauded. 

Commissioner Donald Long said the increase was large because the Commission had not raised fire assessment rates enough during the previous years. Long said, “We put ourselves in this position.” 

Responding to Norfleet, Coleman said he has many years of experience in banking, and he thinks the budget has already been cut as much as they can. Marlowe said there are many state mandates that must be met, and those mandates make it impossible to make certain budget cuts.

Second motion

Coleman said, “We’ve got to have it, and we’ve got to have what’s fair and equitable. So, I’m going to make a motion that we go at $300.” Clark seconded the motion.

The motion passed 4-1 in a roll call vote, with Farnsworth in dissent. Marden had noted earlier that Farnsworth always votes against any fire assessment taxes.

Avalon Woods Phase 5A

After an intermission, Commissioners heard several items related to land use and rezoning. The Avalon Woods Phase 5A construction plans, with certain added conditions, were approved 3-2 in a roll call vote, with Farnsworth and Mazon in dissent.

Solid Waste MSBU agreement renewal

Lee introduced the next item, the second reading of the annual Alachua County Solid Waste Municipal Services Benefit Unit (MSBU) agreement. During the first reading, Lee had explained, “As you recall, the County assesses a solid waste assessment on all residents throughout the county. It helps to pay for rural collection centers, some of the landfill costs, some education costs, things that are not paid for, and their tipping fees, or fees they collect through your waste haulers. The assessment is $25 per year for a resident. So we are asking that the Commission rejoin [renew] the MSBU this year.” Lee said staff was also asking for approval to automatically renew the MSBU for future years, as long as the fee does not increase by more than 10%.

Farnsworth made a motion to approve the agreement with the automatic renewals, and Clark seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.

Mayor’s Youth Council

The last item was appointing members to the Mayor’s Youth Council. Marlowe said Anna McGehee and Alaina Wilson meet the requirements of the ordinance. Long made a motion to appoint the two nominees, and Coleman seconded the motion. It passed unanimously. 

Hardship application for fire assessment fees

During final comments, Mazon asked about the hardship program to help those unable to pay their increased fire assessment fees. Marlowe said, “You guys have funded and authorized any resident that has a hardship and can’t pay. It’s a one-page application. All they need to do is let us know. We can send the application to them. We can walk them through it, help them fill it out.”

Advanced Auto Parts site plan

A Board of Adjustment meeting was held following the regular meeting. They heard an application for a site and development plan for a 6,915-square-foot Advanced Auto Parts store on 1.25 acres within the Highland Park Planned Development. Principal Planner Jean-Paul Perez said the Planning & Zoning Board recommended approval with certain conditions, including not illuminating the signage on the south side and having a maintenance plan for the service road to the store. 

After some discussion, Clark made a motion to approve the site plan with the required conditions, and Long seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.