West Manatee Fire District
Voters rejected the West Manatee Fire District's request for a proposed ad valorem tax at the polls on Tuesday for the third time.
Now, district officials are going to try to persuade state legislators to raise their assessment cap next year, said the district's fire Chief Andy Price.
The district's current assessment cap is at $125 per home, and an additional 7.5-cents for each 1,000 square feet, he said. The district is trying to raise money to hire about a dozen firefighters to meet newly imposed safety standards.
Since the district is not funded by the state, county or city, Price said the district's only options were to either petition state legislators or ask voters to pass the referendum.
Price said he does not know if the governor will veto the district's request to raise the cap.
He said the Cedar Hammock and the Southern Manatee fire districts have requested similar raises, but those have been rejected by Gov. Jeb Bush in the past.
But both fire districts were told to put the referendum on the ballot, and were successful in getting additional funding, Price said.
"So we're the reverse," Price said, referring to the three attempts for a referendum.
