PANAMA CITY BEACH − Though Beach residents won’t pay more next year for fire protection, they will pay more for stormwater services.
In a meeting June 26, Panama City Beach City Council members held public hearings to discuss the fire and stormwater assessments for next fiscal year. It was there they unanimously voted to keep the fire assessment the same and increase the stormwater assessment by 4%.
PCB’s fiscal year spans from the beginning of October until the end of September.
“I certainly hope to keep them low or not raise them any year,” Councilman Michael Jarman wrote in a text. “However, (it’s) hard to see what the future holds. I want to be as fiscally responsible as possible to save residents money, especially with today’s economy.”
According to the meeting’s agenda, assessments for fire and stormwater services are based on a two-tier formula. Residents are charged a uniform base rate, as well as a rate for the value of improvements to a parcel of land.
Under the current fire assessment, which will remain in place next fiscal year, residents are charged a base rate of $91.98 per parcel and 75 cents per $1,000 of building value.
Under the current stormwater assessment, residents are charged $46.44 per parcel and 47 cents per $1,000 of building value. Under next fiscal year’s fire assessment, residents will be charged a base rate of $48.30 and 49 cents per $1,000 of building value.
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