Opinion
By Mike Hickox, Nassau County Property Appraiser, 9-20-23
Recent letters to the editor, social media posts, and emails circulated from School Board members, allude to a lack of communication on the part of the Nassau County Property Appraiser in supplying tax roll projections to the Nassau County School Board (NCSB). Remarks made such as “the property appraiser knew or should have known that the values were higher than estimated by the NCSB and should have communicated those updated numbers to the NCSB.” Well, we did, even though the NCSB never asked us for input or projections. The initial estimates used in the marketing piece, did not come from my office as Kathy Burns and school board members have stated time and time again. Those estimates came from the State of Florida revenue estimating conference held two or three times each year.
http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/conferences/advalorem/archives/index.cfm
When we first saw the marketing piece over a year ago, we requested a meeting with Kathy Burns. We told her during that meeting the property value numbers they were using were not accurate and the graph showing the declining STATE millage (tax rate) was misleading. Only one member of the board reached out to me with questions about values prior to the vote on the millage rate. Curtis Gaus attempted to do the right thing in the meeting and was scolded by Kathy Burns for proposing a reduction without notice. No other member of the board talked to my office.
The actual estimate the NCSB used came from a forecast made in January 2022. They never used an updated value they knew, or should have known, existed. The property appraiser is required by statute to provide all taxing authorities estimated numbers by June 1st every year. In addition, we provide updated certified values at the beginning of July so they can start their budget meetings and vote on their millage rates. We also provide final tax roll values in early October each year. Again, the property appraiser is not the tax assessor, and we have no control over the tax rate or amount being taxed. Below is the timeline of when estimated and certified tax roll numbers are provided to every taxing authority and who provides them, every year.
January 2022 (State Estimate – $13.7 billion)
June 1, 2022 (PA #’s)
July 1, 2022 (PA #’s)
August 2022 (State Estimate)
October 5, 2022 (PA #’s)
March 2023 (State Estimate)
June 1, 2023 (PA #’s)
July 1, 2023 (PA #’s)
August 2023 (State Estimate)
The School District had eight more opportunities to revise the numbers they KNEW were going to be used for the 1 mill tax increase to understand the amount of revenue that would be generated. Even this last week they knew before the vote the 1 mill would generate over $16.9 million additional tax revenue. Over a year ago in our meeting we explained to Kathy Burns they would need approximately .75 mill to raise the revenue needed in the promotional material. We were told it is just as much work to get 1 mill approved as it is for three-quarters of a mill.
To be proactive and reduce the volume of phone calls generated by the August mailing of your notice of proposed taxes, we inserted an additional flyer to answer questions which were being asked. We also produced a map layer in 2022 on our website to show what the increased tax amount would be based on the previous values. We attempted to communicate to taxpayers what was being proposed and the tax liability it would create for each parcel.
It is not my place to tell the NCSB what their budget needs are. My primary responsibility is to appraise every property in the County to a fair market or just value that reflects current market conditions and to produce a tax roll that is fair and equitable. Our communications with taxing authorities are mandated by Florida Statutes and our statistical analysis of the tax roll is equitable.
It is an honor to serve the citizens of Nassau County and my door is always open…to School Board members too.
Sincerely,
Mike Hickox
Nassau County Property Appraiser
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.
