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1. What is a Public Safety Pension Fee?

Since the City Council is concerned about increasing property taxes too high, there was no desire to increase property taxes to cover pension obligations. The City established the Public Safety Pension Fee to meet the pension obligations. The fee is based upon the size of the structure on a property.

The Public Safety Pension Fee is a new fee started in 2019 to be used entirely to fund state-obligated police and fire pension payments and reduce the burden on the city of Peoria's property taxes. The new Public Safety Pension Fee has been enacted for three years (2019 to 2021).

2. How is the Public Safety Pension Fee calculated?

Each residential and commercial property within the city of Peoria limits regardless if it is a vacant lot, or if are one or more structures, will be charged the new Public Safety Pension Fee. Each property owner will be charged a fee rate based on the square footage of the structure(s). This means that the fee rate for both residential and commercial structures are the same.

3. Why is the Public Safety Pension Fee based on structure size?

Police and fire are deemed to be essential public services and are offered to all residents and structures within the City. The City Council believed a fee on the structure size on each property would be an equitable way to divide costs between potential users. Those with larger structure sizes will pay larger annual fees.

4. What will it cost?

The following chart shows the amount of the Public Safety Pension Fee for 2021 based on structure size:

Structure Size	Annual Fee
No Structure (0 square feet)	$12
1 to 2,000 square feet	$35
2,001 to 5,000 square feet	$50
5,001 to 10,000 square feet	$200
10,001-plus square feet	$300

Government-owned parcels are exempt from the fee.

Any person or entity liable for public safety pension fee who fails to pay such fee when due, or any portion thereof, shall pay to the city a penalty of $5 per month up to the first six months or part of a month within which a delinquency remains. If the fee, or any portion thereof, remains delinquent beyond six months, any person liable for the fee shall pay to the city a penalty of $20 per month for every month thereafter within which a delinquency remains.

5. Are there any exempt properties?

Yes, government buildings are exempt from the Public Safety Pension Fee. There are no other exemptions.

6. Are there options for residents with low or fixed incomes?

At this time, there are not waivers for property owners with low or fixed incomes.

7. What if the structure is vacant?

Police and fire services remain even if a structure is vacant. The Public Safety Pension Fee is based on the structure size regardless of occupancy.