Storm victims will soon be socked with property tax bills - calculated long before their homes became rubble.
By BRADY DENNIS
Published October 10, 2004
Hurricane Ivan ravaged John and Sally MacDonald's home in Pensacola's Grande Lagoon neighborhood, leaving the $300,000 house mostly in ruins. In a few weeks they will get another kick in the stomach - the annual property tax bill.
Unfortunately for the MacDonalds and thousands of other homeowners, tax bills are based on a property's appraised value as of Jan. 1, long before the hurricanes plowed through Florida. By state law, what now might be a pile of rubble must be taxed the same as if the home were in perfect condition, at least for this year.
In a summer of heartaches and headaches, the thought of paying property taxes on destroyed property has added another layer of anxiety.
For some, it will cause inconvenience. For others, it could be the nudge that threatens to push them over the edge.
"We don't have that kind of money sitting around," John MacDonald said, who faces about a $3,000 bill. "We need to use that money to fix the residence up. It's beyond being serious. It will probably run us out of our home."
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The tax collectors and property appraisers sympathize.
"We certainly are compassionate," said Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley. "On one hand, I have a government that needs money. On the other hand, I have homeowners who are dealing with so much else. It's a tough time to do my job."
State law doesn't give property appraisers authority to change tax roll values due to damage occurring after Jan. 1. Likewise, it dictates that tax collectors must send out the bills and collect on those assessments.
"There's no choice," said Ken Bearden, director of delinquent taxes in Charlotte County. "There's nothing at this moment we can offer. There is a hope that these people will get some sort of relief."
When tax bills go out in November, some groups will be hit particularly hard.
Homeowners without insurance are likely to suffer because of the lack of extra cash, most of which they will need to repair their homes.
And in a sad twist, people who have paid off their mortgages also might suffer a more immediate hit. Homeowners with mortgages typically pay their property taxes in monthly increments, so most already will have paid much of the year's tax bill.
But many of those without mortgages pay their taxes each year in one lump sum. They will have to find ways to come up with the money even as they scrounge to recover from the damage.
That includes the MacDonalds. John MacDonald remembers his first thought when he realized the tax bill would come as usual:
"This disaster becomes bigger and bigger and bigger."
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One saving grace is that homeowners have until April to pay their taxes, although paying early can mean as much as a 4 percent discount.
"I really don't want people panicked," said Holley, the Escambia County tax collector. "My job is to reassure people and explain their options."
Also, Gov. Jeb Bush recently issued an executive order authorizing a 60-day extension, if needed, for local governments to reschedule millage hearings, certify tax rolls and mail notices to taxpayers. It also provides more time for property owners in hard-hit areas to protest tax assessments and pay tax bills that were delayed in coming.
But the best hope for tax relief lies in a special session of the Legislature expected in December, a session the governor has promised would deal with the problems caused by the hurricanes.
He even suggested that people hit hardest by the storms be allowed a one-time property tax break.
That idea is being pushed by Florida TaxWatch, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group that monitors the state's tax policies. Even before all the hurricanes had passed, leaders of the group were urging state legislators to grant property owners an abatement on their yearly tax bill to reflect the loss of value caused by the storms.
"This is a matter of fairness, pure and simple," said Dominic Calabro, the group's president.
Even so, the hurricanes created a mountain of other problems to resolve, so where the property tax issue sits on the list of priorities is anyone's guess.
"I'm hoping there's the compassion there to help people rebuild their homes and lives," said Doug Belden, Hillsborough County's tax collector and also head of the Florida Tax Collectors Association. "People are financially strapped right now."
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Thousands of homeowners across the state will wait and hope. The MacDonalds will be among them. So will their neighbors across the street, Norma and Frank Stroud. Ivan shattered their windows and ripped off their roof and doors. They had to move out and rent a place for now.
"We're concerned what the future might or might not hold for us," said Frank Stroud, who is 81.
The looming tax bill isn't his main worry, but it adds another brick to a growing wall of costs.
"I could complain, but I don't think it'd do any good," he said. "I know the state needs the tax money. (But some relief) would take a load off my mind."
And if it doesn't come?
"We'll live with it," Stroud said. "Hell, we're going to have to. We don't have any other choice."
Information from the Associated Press was included in this report.
