Having failed to secure Manatee County voter approval for ad valorem taxing rights in March, WMFRD did the next best thing. The five member elected Commission voted themselves a 7.9% increase for tax year 2025-2026 at their May 19 meeting. This is on top of previous annual increases of 7.5% and 7.4%. By contrast, all of the Manatee County taxing authorities (including the county and school district) are limited by state law to annual increases no greater than the inflation rate, which in this case was 2.9% for the most recent fiscal year.
As a taxpayer, my basic question is why is the annual percentage increase so much greater for WMFRD? Even in tax-happy states like Colorado, income tax increases are limited to inflation plus population growth for the last twelve months. Applying this generous formula to WMFRD, the increase should be 5.40% (CPI of 2.9% plus Manatee County population growth of 2.5%) for the upcoming tax year, not the proposed 7.9%.
I fully realize that adequate fire and rescue are vital citizen services, but they must be put into a viable economic framework which recognizes that incomes for most Manatee County citizens are not going up 7.9% per year. If WMFRD really needs additional funds, why not become a constitutional office like the sheriff, clerk, tax collector, election supervisor and property appraiser? That way, you become part of the Manatee County financial system, which at last count had $958.4 million of unrestricted cash (which can be used for any county purpose) on its balance sheet.
If you’re bothered enough by this message, make plans to attend the next WMFRD commission meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, June 16 at 6 PM at the administration building located at 701 63rd Avenue, and let them know what you think of this overly aggressive tax increase.
Mike Meehan, CFA, MBA
Manatee County
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lib224
Thanks for this. I would imagine that most citizens are surprised by the separate line item on the tax bill for these services. And we're even more clueless about the administrators on the ballot. WMFRD continues to grow at a exponential rate, while actual structure fires continue to become fewer and fewer due to newer building codes. Ten vehicles from various departments showed up at the site of a single elderly death recently. Cops, fire and emergency services love to go call to call and then have a big get together sharing stories and goodwill. This could be controlled, but it seems impossible for the average citizen to change it.
Sunday, June 14 Report this