Garden City to End Fire Protection Fee, Create $1.4M Refund Fund After Class Action Settlement

Dec. 22, 2025 – Garden City will stop charging its fire protection fee beginning Jan. 1 and will set aside $1.4 million to partially refund residents and businesses after agreeing to settle a class action lawsuit challenging the legality of the fee.

The Garden City Council approved a resolution this month during a special called meeting agreeing to a final order and judgment in Bobby Black v. Garden City, a case filed in Chatham County Superior Court on behalf of taxpayers who paid the city’s fire fee dating back to October 2020.

Savannah Agenda reached out to Garden City officials for comment on Monday morning and this article will be updated if a response is received.

The lawsuit alleged that Garden City’s fire fee functioned as an illegal tax under Georgia law. Rather than continue litigating, city officials opted to settle, citing the cost, uncertainty, and risk of prolonged litigation.

Under the settlement, Garden City will create an Aggregate Refund Fund totaling $1.4 million, which will be distributed by a court-appointed administrator, minus litigation costs, to all customers who paid the fire fee between Oct. 7, 2020, and the date of final court approval.

According to the resolution, eligible class members are expected to receive approximately 27% of the fire fees they paid during that period.

The agreement also makes clear that the $1.4 million payment will serve as the sole and exclusive source for refunds and legal costs, fully resolving all claims against the city related to the fire fee.

As part of the settlement, Garden City agreed to stop billing or collecting the Fire Protection Fee after Dec. 31, 2025, effectively repealing a program that has been in place since 2010 and amended as recently as 2022.

Garden City’s decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of such fees across Chatham County and the City of Savannah.

In October, a Chatham County Superior Court judge ruled that the county’s now-abandoned fire fee was an illegal tax, ordering the county to refund roughly $26.9 million to more than 36,000 residents, plus about $3.4 million in interest, as previously reported. The county has since replaced the fire fee with a property tax increase and is appealing the ruling.

The judgement has also caught the attention of the City of Savannah. During a recent Savannah City Council workshop, City Attorney Bates Lovett cited the $30 million ruling as a cautionary example as the city moves forward with plans to implement a stormwater utility fee.

“I’m here to warn you that there’s storms in the area and it’s not all wonderful news,” Lovett told council members.

While the Georgia Supreme Court recently upheld Athens-Clarke County’s stormwater fee, some judges issued concurring opinions warning that local governments should proceed carefully when designing such programs, suggesting that future courts may be less accepting.

Savannah officials have argued that a stormwater fee would be a more equitable way to fund drainage and flood-mitigation projects, in part because it would apply to tax-exempt properties such as churches and nonprofits.

City Manager Jay Melder has said Savannah has time to monitor ongoing litigation before stormwater bills go out, which are not until July, as currently planned. Mayor Van Johnson has similarly argued that the city should continue moving forward while monitoring the situation and making changes if necessary.

During their Dec. 11 meeting, the Savannah City Council ended up postponing consideration of the stormwater fee to Jan. 22 to provide more time to gather public feedback after a years-long outreach effort apparently failed to draw much community participation.

Johnson said that the feedback could lead to changes being made to the ordinance, but that the council will vote on the proposal, one way or the other, at the council’s Jan. 22 meeting.

Meanwhile, the city council approved a $646 million budget for 2026, after removing the $10 million in projected stormwater fee revenue.

If you find value in this website, please consider contributing above or via Paypal to help cover the costs. You can also send contributions via Venmo @Savannah_Agenda. Your support, no matter how much you give, is appreciated and will help ensure the future viability of this community resource. You can also show your support by subscribing below and sharing Savannah Agenda with others via email or social media. Increasing readership is critical to the long-term success of this site.