Tax bills hitting mailboxes

The tax collector and property appraiser brace for the annual onslaught of questions.

By BARBARA BEHRENDT, Times Staff Writer
Published November 2, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Tax collector Juanita Sikes' office mailed 122,407 bills this week.

BROOKSVILLE - For months, Hernando County property owners have heard plenty of debate about property taxes and tax reform. Now, tax reality has arrived.

A total of 122,407 tax bills were mailed this week: 111,201 for property tax and 11,206 for tangible personal property, according to the office of Hernando Tax Collector Juanita Sikes.

The bills also include detailed information about where taxpayers should call to get answers to their specific questions about things like school taxes, property values and payment options.

Sikes was bracing for the inevitable crush of calls and she anticipated that among the most common would be questions about property values. What should people know?

"The No. 1 thing is that this office has nothing to do with property values," she said. That falls under the office of county Property Appraiser Alvin Mazourek.

He, too, is bracing for the expected onslaught of calls, especially from those people who did not read their Truth in Millage, or TRIM, notice mailed out in August. That notice states the taxable value of their property. Owners who questioned their property value could challenge the figures, but the appeals period is now over for the current tax bill.

This year, Mazourek's office had 250 petitions to reconsider values, up from last year's 212. Far fewer actually went to the Value Adjustment Board, which hears arguments from both sides. Many were withdrawn after Mazourek or his staff explained the numbers to the property.

"The big thing is that a lot of people didn't realize that we assess in arrears," he said. The tax roll reflects values from last year, not current conditions, thus property owners questioned why their assessments were not falling along with their property values.

Sikes said she also expected that some property owners may call with questions about the latest tax-reform plan from the Legislature and how that would affect the tax bill.

The simple answer is that it won't affect this tax bill. It could affect next year's bill if reforms make it to the January ballot and if 60 percent of voters approve them.

Sikes and Mazourek resisted the temptation to add informational materials to the bills about tax reform, avoiding the problem now showing up in other counties where brochures on the now-defunct super homestead exemption were included in the bills. Putting in one more flier also would have made the postage costs unacceptable, Sikes said.

Taxpayers have through March 31 to pay their bill. The sooner they pay it, the larger the discount they receive. Between 70 and 75 percent of property owners pay in the first month and Sikes brings in temporary help each November to help open and process the avalanche of mail.

Barbara Behrendt can be reached at behrendt@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1434.

Fast facts

Can't wait for it?

To view a tax bill online, do a search at www.co.hernando.fl.us/pa/propertysearch.asp.

[Last modified November 1, 2007, 20:47:14]