What is the Public Fire Protection (PFP) charge and how is this charge recovered by the municipality??
The PFP charge (also known as the hydrant rental charge) recovers the costs related to the capacity of the system available to fight fires within the municipality’s water service area. These costs include a portion of the pumps, storage facilities, water mains, hydrants and an estimated quantity of water used for this purpose. Prior to 1988, municipalities recovered the PFP charge through the tax levy. In 1988, legislation was enacted which gave the governing body of any city, village, or town the option of collecting the PFP charge either through the tax levy or as a direct charge on general service water customers bills or as a combination of the two. There are approximately 594 water systems in Wisconsin. About 80% of these utilities recover the PFP charge through the tax levy while the remaining water utilities recover at least some or all of this cost through direct charges placed on water utility bills.
