St. Augustine Sets Sept. 9 and Sept. 23 Dates to Vote on Fire Fee Hike, 7.5-Mill Tax Rate

St. Augustine's city government is on track to raise fire protection fees by nearly 16% while holding the property tax rate steady, under a fiscal year 2027 budget that heads to two public hearings next month. The City Commission will vote on the tentative millage rate, the proposed budget and the fire fee increase on Wednesday, Sept. 9, with final adoption set for Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Commissioners spent Friday, Aug. 28, working through the details at a roundtable budget workshop that started at 8:30 a.m. They first reviewed the FY2027 budgets for the city's three redevelopment districts, the Historic Area, Lincolnville and West City Community Redevelopment Areas, then moved into the General Fund, Utility Fund, Stormwater Fund, Solid Waste Fund, Marina Fund and Visitor Information Center Fund, along with the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan.

The city says the process is now in its "final stages."

What it would cost a typical household

The city is proposing to keep the property tax rate at 7.5 mills, unchanged from the current year. But because that rate sits above the "rolled-back rate," the level that would raise the same revenue as last year, it still counts as a tax increase under Florida's budget law.

The bigger jump is in the fire assessment fee, which pays for fire protection separately from property taxes. On a representative home valued at $400,000 with a taxable value of $350,000, the annual fire fee would climb from $139.68 to $162, an increase of nearly 16%, the largest percentage hike of any fee on the table.

Water, wastewater, garbage and stormwater charges would also go up. For that same representative household using 3,000 gallons of water a month, the city estimates the combined increases would add about $62 a year.

Those figures assume a home's assessed and taxable value stays flat. Homeowners whose property values rose over the past year, which is most of them in St. Johns County, could see a bigger increase than the city's $62 estimate once the new rate is applied to a higher taxable value.

Two hearings, two votes

The first public hearing is Wednesday, Sept. 9. The Community Redevelopment Agency, which is the City Commission acting under a different name, meets at 4:30 p.m. to take up the CRA-area budgets. The City Commission then meets at 5:05 p.m. to hold the public hearing on the tentative millage rate, the proposed budget, the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan and the fire assessment increase. A vote follows each hearing.

The final hearing, where the commission adopts the millage rate and the full FY2027 budget, is set for Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 5:05 p.m.

Several of the new utility and fee rates would take effect Oct. 1 if commissioners give final approval.

The commission has not indicated any changes are planned to the 7.5-mill rate between now and the Sept. 23 adoption vote. What remains open is how commissioners handle public comment at the Sept. 9 hearing on the fire assessment increase, and whether any adjustments to individual fund budgets emerge before final adoption two weeks later.

Residents who want to follow the numbers in more detail can check the city's Budget Information page ahead of the Sept. 9 hearing.

For more on how city decisions affect your wallet and your neighborhood, visit the St. Augustine Community Website or browse our government and politics coverage. Have thoughts on the fire fee hike or the millage rate? Join the conversation in our Community Forum, where neighbors are already weighing in on this year's budget.

Header photo: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)