Florida’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the city of Tallahassee over its fire services fee.
ACLU of Florida, alongside the Southern Poverty Law Center, is arguing that the fee is an “unconstitutional form of taxation not authorized by law.”
The complaint, according to a news release from ACLU of Florida, says Tallahassee’s fee is a “hidden charge” that “disproportionately impacts low-income households and Black and Hispanic residents, students and renters.” It also notes the “severe” consequences if those fees go unpaid, including “utility shutoffs, collections procedures, liens on the property and even foreclosure.”
The lawsuit is the latest element of drama over a fee and essential local government service that have dominated headlines. Proposed hikes to the fire services fee and fights over how it is applied have put city and county commissioners at loggerheads.
It even led city commissioners to terminate the firefighting contract with the county, forcing them to explore standing up their own fire department to serve residents who live outside of the city lines.
In July, the Tallahassee Democrat investigated a church exemption policy that has led to a costly legal fight and a patchwork of payments with some churches paying the fee and others not paying at all. That led to questions of fairness as officials and church leaders scrutinized the fee. County officials also raised questions about a carveout that allows some developers to skip out on paying the fee for vacant units, even though firefighters respond to blazes even at vacant apartments.
The city is now working to close the church and developer loopholes and make the charges more uniform and less subjective.
The city structures the fee in two different zones placing a heavier burden on low-income residents, ACLU of Florida said. The organization maintains that the inner zone is more racially diverse with lower-incomes, with each household paying a higher fee, and the outer zone is predominantly white with higher-incomes, where the fee is lower.
“This regressive tax is as illegal as it is unjust,” said Nicholas Warren, ACLU of Florida staff attorney. “As living costs keep rising, the mayor and city commissioners chose to increase a charge that exacerbates inequality and falls hardest on our neighbors who are most under strain.”
According to the news release, the state constitution “explicitly prohibits local governments from creating new forms of taxation, reserving that power for the state.”
“The complaint claims that the city lacks the authority under the Florida Constitution or general law to levy a fire services fee,” the news release says.
The lawsuit comes several months after residents floated the idea of challenging the fire services fee debate in court, with former Tallahassee Mayor Dot Inman-Johnson being the first to publicly start the fight.
ACLU of Florida said the lawsuit was filed on behalf of Inman-Johnson and two other residents, Deborah Cozart-Hawkins and Jamila Robinson, as well as the organization Citizens for Government Accountability.
““We are bringing this lawsuit to protect the rights of every resident to fair and equal treatment by their government,” said Inman-Johnson, CEO of Citizens for Government Accountability, in a statement.
Local government watchdog reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ACLU suing Tallahassee over ‘unconstitutional’ fire services fee