City Council - Special Meeting

110 SE Watula Avenue Ocala, FL 34471 www.ocalafl.org Ocala City Council - Special Meeting Minutes 5:00 PMTuesday, September 13, 2022 Fire Assessment Resolution 1. Call to Order a. Welcome and Roll Call Mayor Reuben Kent Guinn Pro Tem James P. Hilty Sr Council Member Kristen M. Dreyer Council Member Barry Mansfield Council Member Jay A. Musleh Council President Ire J. Bethea Sr Present: Municipal Officers/Others Present: The meeting was also attended by City Manager Peter Lee, Assistant City Manager Ken Whitehead, City Clerk Angel Jacobs, Fire Chief Clint Welborn, Budget Director Tammi Haslam, Strategic & Legislative Affairs Administrator Jeannine Robbins, Director of Finance Emory Roberts, Chief of Staff Chris Watt, IT Representative, and other interested parties. 2. Public Notice Public Notice for the September 13, 2022 Special City Council Meeting was posted on August 22, 2022 3. Public Comments Walter Sally, 10450 NW 107th Court, commented on the fire assessment rates Walter Sally, 10450 NW 107th Court, requested the City find another way to collect funds for the fire taxes, such as hosting a donation fundraiser or partnering with local businesses. He expressed concern residents will lose their property due to the tax increase. Council President Bethea stated the fire assessment is not a new fee. The City created a new process to collect fire taxes through property taxes. Mr. Sally asked when the City stopped including the fire tax in the utility bill. City Manager Pete Lee responded July 2020. Mr. Sally noted the utility bills have increased. Council President Bethea responded the City is unable to utilize reserve funds, which caused utility bills to increase. Mr. Sally asked if they have a plan to lower the utility bills. Council Member Hilty responded the matter is under discussion. Page 1 of 5

City Council - Special Meeting Minutes September 13, 2022 Council President Bethea commented the fire taxes collected only support a portion of the Fire Department's operations. Sharon McCraney, Ocala Worship Center, 1855 SW 1st Avenue, commented on non-profit taxation Sharon McCraney, Ocala Worship Center, 1855 SW 1st Avenue, questioned why non-profits are being taxed. Council President Bethea responded all non-profits are required to pay fire assessment fees. Council Member Musleh stated the fee is considered an assessment, not an ad valorem tax. He noted non-profits previously paid the fire assessment fee on the municipal services bill, ending in June 2020. He noted the organization can apply for a refund through the class action lawsuit for past payments. Barbara Rivera Spans, 3830 SW 29th PL, commented on high property taxes Barbara Rivera Spans, 3830 SW 29th PL, requested Council lower the property taxes. Her taxes have increased from $100 to $500. She stated she never received a refund from the class action lawsuit. She expressed concern the tax increase will negatively impact the elderly population. Vic Roots, 1701 NW 39th Avenue, commented on multifamily property tax increases Vic Roots, 1701 NW 39th Avenue, expressed concern regarding multifamily property tax increases. He questioned why the citizens are being charged to pay an additional fire fee with their property taxes. Unfortunately, he had to increase tenant rents to cover the tax increase. He requested Council take action immediately to remedy the tax increase matter. 4. Public Hearings 4a. Adopt Resolution 2022-52 approving the fiscal year 2022-2023 fire assessment rates Council Member Dreyer stated she does not support adopting the resolution. The City Manager assured Council the City has a contingency plan if Council opposes adoption of the resolution. She expressed concern the proposed resolution will cause an increase in tenant rents. She encouraged Council to oppose adoption of the proposed resolution. Council Member Musleh requested Council Member Dreyer clarify her position on the matter. Council Member Dreyer responded she does not support increasing the rate and would like to maintain the current base rate. Budget Director Tammi Haslam commented if Council opposes the rate increase, the rates will still change; however, the amount of revenue collected does not change. The study showed the rates will decrease, due to an increase in the number of properties. Council Member Musleh asked how the budget will be impacted if Council votes no. City Manager Pete Lee responded the 2023 budget will be affected by $2.5 million; however, the City will strive to balance next year’s budget this year. The City can utilize Page 2 of 5

City Council - Special Meeting Minutes September 13, 2022 ARPA funding for project expenses and several one-time funding options. The City can reevaluate fire assessment increases in year 2025. The funds are collected to support the Fire Department's operations in the community. Council Member Musleh commented the City refunded five years of fire collection fees to the public. The City’s collection of fire assessment fees through property taxes support the Fire Department's services in the community. He expressed concern delaying the collection of fire assessment fees. Council Member Hilty concurs with Council Member Musleh. He suggested the City create a process to help residents who have been severely impacted. Council Member Dreyer requested clarification regarding the $2.5 million debt. Council Member Hilty responded the collection of fire assessment fees through property taxes will help pay the loan interest on the $60 million loan. Council Member Dreyer commented the residents are paying for the poor decision made by previous City Council members. She expressed concern the tax increase will severely impact businesses who have been impacted by the pandemic. Council Member Musleh strongly disagreed. Council Member Hilty stated the City cannot continue borrowing money to avoid rate increases. Mayor Guinn questioned what the rate increase is for a single-family residence. Ms. Haslam explained the square footage rates for single-family homes. Ms. Haslam commented on February 16,2021, City Council adopted Ordinance 2021-13. The ordinance established a process for the adoption of fire assessments. On May 3, 2022, Council approved the scope of work/costs to update the fire assessment study, and findings were presented at a past Council workshop (June 28, 2022). Preliminary Resolution 2022-43 was adopted by Council on July 19, 2022. The adopted resolutions proposed revenue was $11.5 million for FY2022-2023. The proposed resolution adopts fire assessment rates for FY2022-2023. The proposed revenue ($11.5 million) was included in the General Fund and City-wide budget, which was tentatively adopted by Council. She noted staff recommends adoption of the resolution. Council Member Mansfield concurs with Council Member Musleh and Council Member Dreyer’s position on the matter. He requested the City find alternatives to cover the deficit. He favors decreasing the utility bills and covering the public relief. He does not support adopting the resolution. Council President Bethea spoke on the use of Reserve Funds to prevent rate increases. He expressed concern the rate increase will impact taxpayers. He asked what alternative options are available to avoid a rate increase. Page 3 of 5

City Council - Special Meeting Minutes September 13, 2022 Council Member Hilty stated the City is below target on the rate stabilization fund. He questioned how the City plans on stabilizing rates in the future. He reiterated the City cannot continue to borrow money to maintain low rates. Council Member Dreyer expressed concern the rate increase will severely impact the public. Mayor Guinn asked how the City resolved a past utility matter several years ago. Ms. Haslam responded she will report back. Council Member Hilty stated the City cannot continue using other resources to maintain low rates. Council Member Mansfield stated he does not favor increasing the rates. There being no further discussion the motion was denied by roll call vote. RESULT: DENIED MOVER: Jay A. Musleh SECONDER: James P. Hilty Sr Hilty Sr, and MuslehAYE: Dreyer, Mansfield, and Bethea SrNAY: 4b. Adopt as amended Resolution 2022-52 approving the fiscal year 2022-2023 fire assessment rates with anticipated revenue of $9.2M and establishing the proposed rates as provided in the amended resolution Budget Director Tammi Haslam asked if Council supports adopting the current rate with a revenue of $9.2 million. Via telephone, Susan Schoettle explained the alternate resolution includes several modifications. The target revenue was modified to $9.2 million. A definition for the 2022 Addendum was attached to the final technical report, which documents the proposed changes. The $9.2 million, is the same revenue amount that was collected in the previous year. City Manager Pete Lee asked if the $11.5 million was the cap. Ms. Haslam responded yes, Council can choose to adopt between $9.2 million - $11.5 million. Council Member Dreyer asked if the City could maintain the fee as it was last year. Council Member Musleh noted the City would need to schedule another public hearing to modify the collection fee. Ms. Haslam commented the Property Appraiser's deadline is this coming Thursday. She provided a brief overview of revenue collection options (current, or option 1: $9.2M, Page 4 of 5

City Council - Special Meeting Minutes September 13, 2022 option 2: $10.1M, option 3: $10.5M, option 4 - $11.0M, option 5: $11.5M). Council Member Hilty motioned to adopt a Resolution to equal the $9.2M, option 1. Council Member Dreyer favored the adoption of option 1. There being no further discussion the motion carried by roll call vote. RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: James P. Hilty Sr SECONDER: Kristen M. Dreyer Hilty Sr, Dreyer, Mansfield, and Bethea SrAYE: MuslehNAY: 5. Adjournment 5:49 PM Adjourned at 5:49 pm. Minutes _______________________________ ________________________________ James P. Hilty Sr Angel B. Jacobs Council President City Clerk Page 5 of 5