St. Augustine sets budget hearings with proposed fire-fee increase

St. Augustine property owners will have two opportunities next month to weigh in on the city's proposed fiscal 2027 budget, which includes a proposed increase to the fire assessment fee that appears on every property tax bill in the city.

The City Commission has scheduled public hearings for Wednesday, Sept. 9, and Wednesday, Sept. 23, to review and adopt the budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. The first hearing, set for 5:05 p. m. Sept. 9, will cover the tentative property-tax millage rate, the proposed budget, the five-year capital improvement plan, and the proposed fire-fee increase. The final hearing is set for 5:05 p. m. Sept. 23.

What's happening

The City Commission will hold a roundtable workshop Friday, Aug. 28, starting at 8:30 a. m., to discuss the fiscal 2027 budgets of the city's three Community Redevelopment Agency districts: the Historic Area CRA, the Lincolnville CRA, and the West City CRA. The commission acts as the governing board of the CRA.

Immediately following that workshop, the commission will continue discussion of the general fund, utility fund, stormwater fund, solid waste fund, marina fund, visitor information center fund, and the five-year capital improvement plan.

An initial public hearing on the CRA budgets is scheduled for 4:30 p. m. Wednesday, Sept. 9. The public hearing on the city's overall budget, millage rate, and fire assessment fee will follow at 5:05 p. m. the same day. Following each hearing, the commission will discuss and vote on the proposals.

The final public hearing and adoption vote is scheduled for 5:05 p. m. Wednesday, Sept. 23. The proposed budget is available on the finance page of the city's website.

What the fire assessment fee covers

Fire assessment fees are a common mechanism in Florida municipalities to fund fire and emergency medical services. The fee appears as a separate line item on property tax bills and is assessed on every parcel in the city, residential and commercial alike.

Unlike ad valorem property taxes, which are based on a property's assessed value, fire assessment fees are typically structured as flat fees or tiered fees based on property type, square footage, or use. The rationale is that fire protection is a service available to all properties and the cost should be shared based on the demand each property type places on the system rather than solely on property value.

The proposed increase would raise the fee paid by St. Augustine property owners, though the city has not disclosed the current fee amount or the proposed new rate in the public notice. That detail is expected to be spelled out in the budget documents and discussed at the public hearings.

How the increase would affect property owners

For homeowners and business owners in St. Augustine, the fire assessment fee is a distinct, unavoidable cost that directly affects the annual tax bill. Even properties that are fully exempt from ad valorem taxation—such as homesteads with exemptions or nonprofit facilities—still owe the fire assessment fee, because it is a service charge rather than a tax on property value.

The size of the increase will determine how much the fee rises for different property types. In many Florida cities, a single-family home might pay between $150 and $400 annually in fire assessment fees, while larger commercial buildings or multifamily properties pay substantially more based on square footage or risk profile. Without the specific figures from St. Augustine's proposal, property owners will need to review the budget documents or attend the hearings to understand the dollar impact on their bills.

The increase comes at a time when property owners across Northeast Florida are navigating rising property insurance premiums, increased property appraisals, and inflationary pressure on household budgets. Any bump in the fire fee compounds those pressures, particularly for retirees on fixed incomes and small landlords operating on thin margins.

Why cities raise fire fees

Fire departments face rising costs for equipment, personnel, training, and vehicle replacement. Modern fire service in Florida is increasingly focused on emergency medical response—most fire calls are actually medical calls—and staffing paramedic-level providers is expensive. Turnout gear, self-contained breathing apparatus, ladder trucks, engines, and specialized rescue equipment all carry hefty price tags and finite service lives.

In addition, cities with historic districts like St. Augustine face unique fire-protection challenges. Narrow streets, densely packed wood-frame buildings, limited water-main capacity in some older neighborhoods, and the need to balance modern fire codes with historic preservation all demand higher staffing levels, specialized training, and equipment tailored to the built environment.

St. Augustine's three CRA districts—Historic Area, Lincolnville, and West City—also drive budget dynamics. CRAs capture incremental property-tax revenue within their boundaries to fund infrastructure, streetscape improvements, affordable housing, and economic development. The interplay between general-fund services like fire protection and CRA-funded improvements can shape how the city allocates costs and fee structures across different parts of town.

What the five-year capital plan includes

The five-year capital improvement plan, which will be subject to public hearing alongside the operating budget, lays out the city's planned investments in long-term assets: roads, stormwater systems, water and sewer lines, parks, public buildings, fire stations, and equipment.

Capital plans are the blueprint for growth and maintenance. They reveal where the city expects to add capacity—new infrastructure to serve annexations or redevelopment—and where it expects to repair or replace aging systems. For residents and developers, the capital plan signals which neighborhoods may see road or drainage projects, where sewer extensions might open up infill development, and what impact fees or assessments might be on the horizon to finance the work.

The stormwater and utility funds on the agenda are particularly relevant in a coastal city like St. Augustine. Rising sea levels, king-tide flooding, and increasingly intense rainfall events have made stormwater management a front-burner issue in St. Johns County. Any proposed rate increases or project priorities in the stormwater fund will affect how the city addresses flooding in low-lying historic neighborhoods and along the waterfront.

Community Redevelopment Agency budgets

The CRA workshop and hearing will focus on the budgets for St. Augustine's three redevelopment districts. CRAs are a Florida tool that allows a municipality to earmark property-tax revenue growth within a designated area—the tax-increment financing, or TIF—and reinvest it in that area rather than depositing it in the general fund.

The Historic Area CRA covers much of downtown and the city's colonial core. The Lincolnville CRA encompasses one of Florida's oldest historically African American neighborhoods, where the city has invested in streetscape, drainage, and affordable-housing initiatives. The West City CRA targets a traditionally underinvested area west of the historic district.

CRA budgets fund streetlights, sidewalks, façade grants, land acquisition for public use, parking, and in some cases direct incentives to spur private investment. How much TIF revenue each district generates depends on growth in property values within its boundaries. In a hot real-estate market like St. Johns County's, CRA revenues can climb sharply, giving the city more resources to deploy—but also raising questions about gentrification, displacement, and whether reinvestment keeps pace with rising costs for longtime residents.

What happens next

The City Commission's Aug. 28 workshop is a working session, not a formal vote. It gives commissioners and staff the opportunity to refine budget proposals and ask questions before the official hearings begin.

The first formal public hearing is Sept. 9 at 4:30 p. m. for the CRA budgets, followed immediately at 5:05 p. m. by the hearing on the citywide budget, millage rate, capital plan, and fire-fee increase. Florida's Truth in Millage (TRIM) law requires two public hearings on the budget and millage rate, and the hearings must be held at least five days but not more than 15 days apart. St. Augustine has scheduled the second hearing for Sept. 23 at 5:05 p. m.

Property owners who want to comment on the fire-fee increase, millage rate, or capital priorities can attend either or both hearings. Public comment is accepted before the commission votes. Residents can also submit written comments to the city clerk or contact individual commissioners ahead of the hearings.

For those unable to attend in person, the city typically livestreams commission meetings and posts agendas and supporting documents on its website. The detailed budget book, which breaks down revenues and expenditures line by line, is available now on the city's finance page and offers the clearest picture of where tax and fee dollars will go in fiscal 2027.

Budgets and the broader growth conversation

St. Augustine's budget process unfolds against the backdrop of St. Johns County's rapid growth. The county has been one of Florida's fastest-growing for years, driven by highly rated schools, proximity to Jacksonville's job market, and quality-of-life appeal. That growth has brought new development, rising property values, and intensifying pressure on infrastructure, schools, and services.

For the city of St. Augustine, growth presents both opportunity and strain. Rising property values increase the tax base and CRA revenues, giving the city more resources to invest. But growth also demands more from fire and emergency medical services, stormwater systems, roads, and code enforcement. Balancing those demands while keeping the tax and fee burden manageable for existing residents is the central challenge of every budget cycle.

The fire-fee increase and the capital plan will offer a window into how city leaders are navigating that balance—and whether the investments planned for the next five years will keep pace with the changes reshaping Northeast Florida.