After 5 hours of city staff presentations and public comments, commissioners voted 4-3 against a fire assessment fee that would have placed a fee on property owners' November tax bill. Places of worship and nonprofit establishments, which have been exempt from paying property taxes in the past, would not have been exempt from the fire services assessment.

Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan said with the economy being so bad, it is a poor time to implement the fee and would have made the commission look out of step with the community.