TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A lawsuit was filed Monday against the City of Tallahassee over its fire service fee, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLU-FL).<\/p>\n
The ACLU-FL and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed the lawsuit, calling the fire fees \u201can unconstitutional form of taxation not authorized by law,\u201d the ACLU-FL wrote in a press release Monday.<\/p>\n
The litigation asserts that the fire fee \u201cis collected as a hidden charge on monthly utility bills and that the fee disproportionately impacts low-income households, and Black and Hispanic residents, students, and renters,\u201d per the release.<\/p>\n
The complaint went on to say that the city lacks the authority under general law or the Florida Constitution to levy a fire service fee. <\/p>\n
Instead, the plaintiffs argue fire departments should be funded out of Ad Valorem taxes<\/a> (property) taxes.<\/p>\n Critics of the fire fee argued it\u2019s unfair for the city to shut off utilities like power and water for not paying the fire fee, though the city disputes that\u2019s actually happened to anyone.<\/p>\n Plus, Leon County Schools have refused to pay their fire fee, but have not had their lights cut off. LCS took the position that if the city pursued their outstanding bill, the whole fee could be brought down in a lawsuit.<\/p>\n The city never attempted to collect on the millions of dollars<\/a> in unpaid fire fees.<\/p>\n More Tallahassee News<\/p>\n Nicholas Warren, ACLU-FL staff attorney, said the fire fee is a regressive tax that is illegal and unjust.<\/p>\n \u201cAs 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,\u201d Warren said. \u201cIn doing so, the city sidestepped our Constitution\u2019s safeguards against unauthorized taxation. We\u2019re suing to ensure accountability and to require the city to operate squarely within its constitutional boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit comes after months of discussions about the fees themselves.<\/p>\n So far, the City of Tallahassee has defended its fee and said it\u2019s collected in accordance with the law. Previously, a city spokesperson said firefighters would still respond even if the fee was struck down.<\/p>\n The city commission unanimously voted to raise the fee just under 10% earlier this year after the Leon County Commission rejected a larger increase.<\/p>\n Also earlier this year, the county government passed an ordinance<\/a> that prevented the city from collecting the fire fee on utility bills for customers outside city limits but still receiving city utilities. <\/p>\n Tune in to Eyewitness News for the full story. This story will also be updated this evening with the full details.<\/p>\n To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> <\/a>and X<\/a> (Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here<\/a>. Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n Copyright 2025 WCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n