Naples Press Staff

There is one referendum during the Aug. 20 primary, and it will be decided not by political party, but by fire district residents.

Collier County residents in the Greater Naples Fire District are being asked to help fund new equipment and facilities in its growing section of the county with a potential 0.5 (one-half) mill addition to their property taxes. That half-mill tax, roughly 50 cents per $1,000 of the property’s value, is modest: $200 annually on a $400,000 property or, in practical terms, the cost of a 16-inch pepperoni pizza per month.

It is called potential because this referendum allows the fire district to increase the millage assessed from property owners “up to” 2 mills per $1,000 appraised value on the property, from the 1.5 mill it already levies. How much of that .5 mills the district would assess on properties each year is up to the district.

There are brakes on the proposed increase. The referendum approves its collection for only eight fiscal years. If approved, it would put the Greater Naples Fire District in the middle of the assessment rates of Collier County fire departments. North Naples is lowest at 1 mill; Immokalee and Big Corkscrew the highest at 3.75 mills, the maximum allowed by the state of Florida.

This district covers a large area of eastern and southern Collier. It’s among the largest fire districts in Florida at 1,512 square miles, behind only the 1,800-plus square miles the Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade districts serve.

The population growth of eastern and southern Collier County and the increasing cost of personnel in a county with high housing rates has often been cited as creating the need. But the existing fire stations themselves are also on a strategic plan created by the district’s fire commissioners and approved in 2022 that calls for extensive remodeling or total teardown of old stations.

The strategic plan would build two new fire stations: one on Lake Park Boulevard, 6.7 miles south of Collier Boulevard at U.S. 41 South, the other on Outer Drive, just less than a mile between the two shopping centers of Hammock Cove and Town Center. It would tear down and replace four aging structures, remodel or expand four more and build a training facility.

There are few vocal critics of the referendum. Those who oppose it point out that if Collier County continues growing, and the number of impact fees, which also benefit the district, increase, the district will be bringing in much more than the $16.8 million it projects—too much, they say. Advocates, on the other hand, point out that equipment and material prices are increasing significantly.

Another criticism of the referendum is that it delays conversation on consolidation with other Collier departments, which proponents see as more efficient.

The Greater Naples Fire District strategic plan, which also details other improvements in equipment and facilities, can be found online here: greaternaplesfire.org/aboutus/ strategic-plan/