FL H0743

Municipalities may impose a special assessment to fund law enforcement service costs if the governing body adopts an ordinance and reduces ad valorem millage accordingly.

Special assessment apportionment must apportion costs among real property parcels in reasonable proportion to benefits received, considering factors such as structure size, location, use, projected police response time, and property value (with property value not as sole or major factor).

Initial implementation requires municipalities to reduce ad valorem millage by an amount that would collect revenue equal to the forecasted special assessment revenue.

Millage reduction is capped at 75 percent of non-voter-approved and non-bond-pledged millage; reduced to 50 percent cap if two-thirds governing body vote approves the special assessment resolution.

For future years, the rolled-back millage rate equals the millage imposed in the implementation year, adjusted for per capita personal income changes, establishing the baseline for allowable future increases.