Palm Bay, FL - If you’ve noticed a “Notice of Public Hearing” in Florida Today regarding a “Fire Protection Non-Ad Valorem Assessment,” you might be concerned. The word “assessment” tends to trigger alarm bells about new taxes. But here’s the critical detail most residents need to understand: this is not a city-wide tax, and if you already own a home in Palm Bay, this assessment will not touch your wallet.
What’s happening is far more strategic. City Manager Matthew Morton has engineered a financial firewall that protects existing Palm Bay taxpayers from shouldering the cost of explosive growth in the city’s southern corridor. The assessment represents a fundamental shift in how the city funds expansion: developers and future buyers pay for new infrastructure, not you.
The Expansion Challenge: Southern Corridor Boom
Palm Bay’s southern region, particularly around the St. Johns Heritage Parkway interchange with I-95, is experiencing unprecedented development. SunTerra Lakes alone spans over 1,000 acres with plans for approximately 2,700 residential units. Cypress Bay West, already under construction by D.R. Horton, adds hundreds more homes across multiple phases. These aren’t distant proposals but active construction sites reshaping the city’s landscape.
Every one of these new homes requires immediate fire protection. Families moving into brand-new subdivisions expect response times comparable to established neighborhoods. That means new fire stations, new engines, new equipment, and new personnel positioned strategically throughout the expansion zone.
Historically, cities handle this by dipping into general fund revenues, meaning existing taxpayers subsidize new growth. But Palm Bay faces two critical constraints. First, Charter Section 6.01(b) caps annual ad valorem tax revenue increases at 3 percent, a protection voters approved overwhelmingly in 2016 with 70.97 percent support. Second, Charter Section 6.02 requires a majority vote of affected property owners for assessments impacting 50 or more owners, preventing the city from simply imposing fees without consent.
The city needed a funding mechanism that satisfied both constraints while ensuring growth paid for itself.
The Developer Vote: Charter Compliance by Design
The strategy hinges on timing and property ownership. When developments like SunTerra Lakes and Cypress Bay remain largely undeveloped, the “affected property owners” aren’t future homebuyers but current landholders: the developers themselves.
The assessment attaches to the property deed. When a developer sells a finished lot or home, the buyer knows upfront about the fire assessment obligation. There’s no surprise tax bill years later. The cost becomes part of the purchase decision, just like HOA fees or school district ratings.
This satisfies Charter 6.02 because developers—the current owners of undeveloped parcels—vote to approve the assessment district before homes are sold. Future buyers don’t vote because they aren’t owners yet, but they receive full transparency at closing.
City Manager Morton emphasized this point during the February 5th City Council meeting: the city has been working directly with property owners who have agreed to participate, creating a funding mechanism where new homeowners are fully aware of the assessment before they even purchase their homes. The costs land exactly where the impact occurs.
The County Leverage: No Free Rides on City Services
Deputy Mayor Mike Jaffe identified a critical challenge during the February 5th discussion: SunTerra Lakes, one of the largest developments driving this need, sits partially in unincorporated Brevard County, not within
Palm Bay city limits.
If SunTerra or other county developments want Palm Bay fire services, they’ll enter the assessment district as a condition of interlocal agreements. No assessment participation means no city fire protection. The city won’t extend services beyond its borders without compensation.
Jaffe explained that other large county developments in the southeast section may request city fire or police services through interlocal agreements. His proposal, which City Manager Morton confirmed, ensures that any such agreement includes participation in the assessment district. Otherwise, there would be no interlocal agreement, and those projects wouldn’t be able to develop with city services.
This prevents the classic suburban problem where county residents benefit from city services without contributing to city coffers.
Watch the Full Discussion
To provide complete transparency, here is the full video of the February 5, 2026, Palm Bay City Council discussion regarding the fire assessment proposal:
The Road Bond Philosophy: Protecting Long-Term Residents
This approach mirrors principles embedded in Palm Bay’s road bond program. When voters approved the $150 million road bond in prior years, the financing structure was designed so that long-term homesteaders (residents who have owned property for decades and benefit from homestead exemptions) pay proportionally less than newer arrivals or commercial property owners.
The fire assessment extends this philosophy to infrastructure expansion. Residents who purchased homes years ago in established neighborhoods don’t subsidize fire stations serving brand-new subdivisions miles away. The people who benefit most (new residents in new developments) bear the cost.
Charter Section 6.01(b), the 3 percent cap voters approved in 2016 with nearly 71 percent support, remains untouched. The February 27th resolution doesn’t raise existing residents’ taxes. It establishes a framework where expansion costs stay with expansion.
What Happens Next
The February 27, 2026, special City Council meeting at 6:00 PM is procedural, not final. The Council will consider adopting a resolution notifying the Brevard County Property Appraiser and Tax Collector that the city may use a uniform method of collection for fire assessments beginning in October 2026.
If approved, the city launches a methodology study to determine exact assessment amounts, coverage areas, and operational details. Multiple additional public hearings will follow before any final adoption. Residents will have ample opportunity to review specifics and provide input.
The assessment won’t appear on tax bills overnight. Implementation requires careful planning, legal compliance, and community engagement. But the foundation being laid on February 27th represents a significant policy shift: Palm Bay growth will pay for Palm Bay growth, protecting existing residents from the financial burden of explosive southern corridor expansion.
For decades, Palm Bay residents have fought to protect the 3 percent tax cap and ensure City Council’s power to levy assessments remains restricted by the Charter. This fire assessment strategy successfully solves a difficult funding problem while preserving exactly those protections for existing residents. It ensures that the people who pay the least are those with long-term homesteads, and that established residents are not unfairly burdened by the costs of new expansion.
