Posted on 08/12/2012 4:09:31 PM PDT by BenLurkin
More than 800,000 Californians who own property in wildfire country will begin receiving bills this week for a new annual fire-protection fee, rekindling outrage among rural residents and leading to a likely lawsuit seeking to overturn the surcharge.
The fee, passed by Democrats in the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last year, is intended to raise an estimated $84 million in its first year for fire-prevention efforts. The annual charge can run as high as $150 for property owners with a single occupied dwelling, although there is a $35 discount for those who already pay a local tax for fire protection.
The discount will apply to about 95 percent of rural property owners, but it’s not enough to quell the anger in the parts of California where the fee will apply.
“Everybody that knows about it is upset, but I think 90 percent of the public has no idea it’s coming. It’s going to be quite a shock,” said John Little of Laytonville, chief of the Long Valley Fire Protection District in rural Mendocino County.
He said the $115 annual bill will hurt residents in his 250-square-mile district. The region, between the Mendocino National Forest and the Pacific Ocean, has a jobless rate of 18 percent and many seniors living on fixed incomes.
(Excerpt) Read more at losangeles.cbslocal.com ...
I’m in Michigan. You get used to it. LOL
Indeed, Agenda 21 in action...the dark side is ramping up.
Me, too. Worse, the feds have purchased a lot of the land around here for "preserves" that we paid for and aren't even allowed to walk on. We're required to clear our property for fire control, but the feds let their brush grow thick and tall - and then dry out.
The federal gov is causing fire danger, and now they're billing us for it.
Agreed my folks moved us to southern Calif in 1953-4? I still live here but it’s not the state I grew up in. Tears for the once “Golden State “
I had a volunteer fireman tell me that if we had a big fire in the small valley we live in, they most likely wouldn’t come here. There’s no water other than the 2500 gallon tank that we have, which was an option or pay $900. Our neighbors payed $900 for fire protection when they built their house. This is a rip off.
“Impact fees” are even uglier: illegal taxes levied by fire departments against only new residents in their areas. What NIMBYs support eventually comes back to haunt them on top of their income cuts and foreclosures to come (see bond collapse, repudiation, currency adjustment, etc.).
For those of you who do not live in California and/or unfamiliar with the demographics of the state, let me rewrite that line so it is more accurate and makes sense.
More than 800,000 Californians Republicans who own property in wildfire country will begin receiving bills this week for a new annual fire-protection fee
Quit your whining Californicates. You should feel privileged and honored to pay the fee to the freely elected overseers that now control every aspect of your lives. For those who live there and are not part of the queer, freak, pervert, or stupid majority and can’t escape, you have my sympathy.
No, no. It's this: GOVERNMENT: "I will let you keep slightly less of the government's money this year."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.