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Group sues over water system fees

The Chassahowitzka property owners allege the county's assessments for a new water system are unfair and excessive.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published July 15, 2006

CHASSAHOWITZKA - A group of property owners in this coastal community filed a class action lawsuit against the county Friday.

The suit alleges that assessments commissioners approved last month to pay for a new water system in Chassahowitzka are excessive.

County officials have unfairly burdened residential property owners, the suit says, by incorrectly calculating the assessments owners of commercial property must pay.

The complaint, filed in Citrus County Circuit Court by Lutz attorney Gerald T. Buhr, also says the county should add properties north of Chassahowitzka, east of U.S. 19 along U.S. 98, to the assessment list.

A more than 7,000-foot water main is slated to stretch down that portion of the road, but county plans currently don't require adjoining properties to hook up.

The plaintiffs in the suit are Michael D. Hartley, Clay Steinman, Matthew Corona and PSC Holdings LLC. But Corona said yesterday that the group is filing the suit on behalf of many Chassahowitzka residents.

The formation of a property owners association is in the works.

Property owners in Chassahowitzka have been meeting regularly since June 28, when commissioners voted unanimously to levy assessments of $6,361.88 per residential unit for the project, in addition to a 6 percent interest rate and administrative fees.

A group of property owners pooled their money and hired Buhr to represent them. On Wednesday, representatives from the group met with county staffers to inform them of the suit.

They said they're hoping to negotiate with the county and settle out of court.

"That's our goal," Corona said. "We're trying to get them to work it out."

Hartley said Friday that the purpose of the suit was not to object to the new water system.

"It's coming our way regardless of whether we want it or not. And now we're focusing on trying to make the county accountable for their decisions," he said. "We're a bunch of little people compared to the county, compared to the commercial property owners. This is a lot of money for the little people here."

County officials should do everything they can, he said, to keep costs down.

Corona said county staffers have been helpful in meetings with residents and have suggested that the county needs to develop a new method for assessing vacant commercial properties.

If negotiations with county officials are not successful, the county will have 20 days to respond to the lawsuit.

For now, County Attorney Robert "Butch" Battista said, the complaint filed Friday "basically preserves their day in court, should they need it."

Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.

[Last modified July 14, 2006, 19:55:02]