Paradise Valley could stop billing property owners a monthly fire service fee and pay for fire protection out of its general fund instead.

Several Town Council members voiced support for that shift at an Oct. 22 study session, according to the Paradise Valley Independent. No formal vote was taken.

Leslie DeReche, the town's chief financial officer, presented the history of the Fire Service Fund at the session. She outlined expenditures, collection costs and options for addressing what the town described as an ongoing deficit in the fund, the Paradise Valley Independent reported.

The specific size of that deficit was not disclosed in available public records.

How the fee works

Paradise Valley does not levy a property tax. Instead, the town charges property owners a monthly fire service fee to help cover the cost of its contract with the city of Phoenix for fire suppression. Emergency medical services are provided by a private company, according to the town's website.

As of 2016, the fee ranged from $10 a month for an empty lot to $50 a month for a home larger than 6,000 square feet, ABC15 reported at the time. The current rate schedule was not available in public records reviewed for this article.

The Fire Service Fund is classified as an enterprise fund in the town's fiscal year 2027 budget, which Mayor Mark Stanton signed May 14.

From Rural Metro to Phoenix

The fee structure traces back decades. Property owners once paid private provider Rural Metro directly for fire and emergency services. Rural Metro had served the town since 1952.

In July 2007, Paradise Valley ended that 55-year relationship and entered an intergovernmental agreement with Phoenix, as the East Valley Tribune reported at the time. Under that original deal, Phoenix and the town split operating costs equally, and Phoenix paid for the first two firetrucks. The town funded its share using sales and bed tax revenue from resorts and state-shared revenue.

The switch ended individual subscriptions that had cost homeowners between $400 and more than $600 a year.

What's next

The Oct. 22 discussion was the second study session on the Fire Service Fund this fall. Council members also discussed the fund on Oct. 8, according to town meeting records, with no reportable action taken.

At that same Oct. 8 meeting, the council approved a First Amendment to the Fire Services License Agreement.