Local & State Headlines

Lee district created to fund fire bill

• Annual fees of $250 will be charged for fire and emergency medical services in Lee County under the terms of a proposed county ordinance.

Susan McCord

LEESBURG — Rejecting an earlier plan to consolidate fire and emergency medical services, Lee County officials have proposed another way to help fund the vital provisions, which cost the county more than $3 million this year.

A special fire and EMS district, encompassing all of unincorporated Lee County, will be subject to a $250 annual fee per household or business for fire and emergency medical services under the terms of a new county ordinance up for discussion at a Monday public hearing.

Fees collected would be used exclusively to provide fire and EMS service to county residents, according to the ordinance.

Authorized by constitutional provision, the ordinance is similar to one in Sumter County, where residents outside Americus city limits pay an extra tax for fire protection, Lee County Attorney Jimmy Skipper said.

Lee’s special fire and EMS district would exclude the City of Leesburg, unless an intergovernmental agreement with the city was established, he said.

All but approximately 3,500 of Lee’s 32,000 residents live in unincorporated Lee County, according to census estimates.

Lee County’s fire department currently maintains an Insurance Services Office rating of 6 in most of southern Lee County and a 9 across the rural northern portions of the county.

Funding for several fire and emergency medical upgrades at stations in the Palmyra and Smithville districts and on New York Road had been earmarked in the county’s Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax 4 referendum, according to previous reports.

In addition to the 6 p.m. hearing on the ordinance, the Lee County Board of Commissioners will conduct a work session on the 2009 fiscal budget at 5 p.m. Monday.

During the 6 p.m. called meeting, the commission is expected to approve a right-of-way agreement for an extension of Cedric Street to Lovers Lane Road.

More Headlines>>