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Fight over taxes headed to court

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published December 14, 2006

Teena Harrison, owner of the Great Heron Inn in Indian Rocks Beach sits by the pool with Harry the Great Blue Heron. She bought the hotel in 1997 when the tax bill was about $14,000. This year it is $54,000.
	[Times photo: Sheila Mullane Estrada]

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH - Teena Harrison has spent nearly 10 "idyllic" years feeding fish to her beach hotel's official mascot, Harry, the great blue heron.

But Harry's free meals and Harrison's life as a beach hotel owner are threatened by escalating property tax bills spurred by sharply increasing property values.

Despite tempting offers from real estate speculators, Harrison does not want to sell her beachfront property, as many other "mom and pop" beach hotel owners have done in recent years.

Instead, she is fighting to keep the Great Heron Inn open as a reasonably priced destination for tourists.

So this week Harrison and a group of like-minded beach hotel owners fired their first salvo in what they say is a tax revolt in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court.

The group Monday filed a lawsuit against Pinellas County Property Appraiser Jim Smith, Pinellas County Tax Collector Diane Nelson and James Zingale, executive director of the Florida Department of Revenue.

The beach hotel owners are contesting the 2006 tax assessment on their properties. They contend that the county's property appraiser "failed" to consider all eight factors required by state law in determining property values.

The hotel owners want the taxable values of their beach properties lowered to a more reasonable level that will enable them to continue to operate their businesses and provide affordable vacation destinations for middle class families.

"Real estate taxes have increased so rapidly that many of the owners have been forced to sell," said Liz Barrett, a tax revolt organizer and owner of Barrett Beach Bungalows in Indian Shores.

The problem, said Barrett, is the property appraiser looks primarily at "highest and best use" when he should consider other factors, such as the condition of the hotel properties and the income they generate.

"Small mom and pop lodgings are being driven out of business due to these ridiculous skyrocketing taxes," said Barrett. "We want to continue to offer affordable Florida beach vacations. Are just the ultrarich who can afford a multimillion dollar beachfront condo the only ones worthy enough to enjoy our beaches? We think not."

Barrett said the hotel owners want their taxes rolled back to 2000 or 2001 levels and then be protected by a cap similar to the Save Our Homes cap for homesteaded residential property.

"These are small business owners that just want to be fairly taxed on their use. We want them to stop taxing us as buildable land," said Mary Lois Harrison, owner of Victoria Apartments in Indian Shores. (She is no relation to Teena Harrison.)

Mary Lois Harrison said increasing property values and taxes are turning the beaches over to the "super rich." Compounding the problem, she said, is the slowing real estate market.

"Now, even if we wanted to sell, there aren't any buyers," she said. "Many of us have had to refinance just to pay the tax bill. We are afraid we could lose our property to taxes we can't afford. If Pinellas County wants to continue to have tourists, something must be done about keeping the small and affordable motel owners."

Barrett said Teena Harrison is typical of many small hotel owners. She bought the Great Heron Inn - and its great blue heron mascot, Harry - in 1997. At that time her tax bill was about $14,000. Until a couple of years ago it went up a few thousand dollars a year, an amount she said was "reasonable" and "fairly predictable".

In 2003 her tax bill started jumping by tens of thousands a year. Last year her taxes were $32,500. This year they are $54,000.

"The Property Appraiser's Office told me the reason our value went up was because of all the million-dollar condos," she said.

She is trying to fight the condo trend and is spending nearly $100,000 to refurbish her hotel with a new roof, new air conditioning and wiring, new balcony railings and a new deck around the pool.

The Great Heron Inn was built in 1973 and has only 17 mostly one-bedroom apartment units. During high season she charges up to $135 a night, an amount that most likely will increase next year, partly to pay for the renovations, but also to pay for the higher taxes.

"But there is only so much people will be willing to pay to stay here. I don't know how much longer we can hold out," Teena Harrison said. "Our taxes went up $22,000 this year alone."

In the past few years more than five hotels in Indian Rocks Beach have been knocked down and replaced with high-priced condos, said Harrison, adding that hotel owners feel Pinellas County is "deaf" to the economic pressure of higher and higher taxes.

"Maybe the lawsuit will get their attention," she said.

[Last modified December 13, 2006, 20:39:01]