A group of Tallahassee residents and a local government-watchdog nonprofit have filed suit against the City of Tallahassee challenging the legality of the city’s long-standing Fire Services Fee. The lawsuit was filed November 17, 2025, in Leon County Circuit Court by former mayor Dorothy Inman-Johnson, Deborah Cozart-Hawkins, Jamila Robinson, and Citizens for Government Accountability Inc.
According to the complaint, the Fire Services Fee has been imposed since 1999 as a flat monthly charge added to city utility bills. The plaintiffs contend that the fee is an unconstitutional tax because it is not authorized by the Florida Constitution or general law and did not follow statutory procedures governing the creation of taxes or special assessments. They allege that “the City of Tallahassee has invented for itself a new form of taxation, to fund the provision of fire services,” and that the fee is “hidden on monthly utility bills.”
The plaintiffs also challenge how the fee is structured. The complaint states that Tallahassee charges two different monthly rates based on geographic zones, with the “inner” zone paying a higher amount. According to the filing, the inner zone is “more racially diverse and lower-income,” while the “outer” zone is “whiter and higher-income.” As a result, the plaintiffs assert that lower-income households and Black and Latino residents “bear a disproportionately higher cost.”…