SAVANNAH, Ga. — Georgia highest court wiped out Chatham County separate fire service charges on Wednesday in Savannah, saying the levy was really an unlawful property tax and putting the county on the hook for roughly $30 million in repayments plus interest to owners and firms.
Justices backed a lower court that treated the charge as a tax because assessments did not track property value. Justice John J. Ellington authored the ruling. Every justice who heard the case joined it; one justice sat out.
Chatham County Fire and Rescue covers unincorporated areas of the county, while the Savannah Fire Department serves the city. Officials must now rebuild how fire protection outside city limits is paid for after years of collecting the fee.
Chatham County is governed by an eight-member Board of Commissioners chaired by Chester A. Ellis, with County Manager Michael A. Kaigler directing day-to-day operations. County spokespeople had no statement after the decision landed.
Advocates for county governments said lawsuit campaigns of this kind have spread statewide and that some other counties already paid plaintiffs to settle. They noted churches and other tax-exempt sites had been paying the fee even though engines still roll when those buildings burn.
City groups countered that folding fire costs into ordinary property taxes can push higher bills onto taxable parcels while hospitals, colleges and nonprofits keep receiving protection without the old fee. County lobbyists said they will ask the General Assembly next year to change the statute.
Section: More Savannah GA crime news
