Lee County Property Appraiser Ken Wilkinson has mailed the TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice to all property owners of Lee County.

Overall assessment values have decreased to $72 billion or 21 percent for the county. The Lehigh Fire district had the largest decrease with 49 percent.

Here are few things to help you understand what this is all about.

VALUATIONS

At the bottom of the notice is the comparison between your last year market value and assessed value and the new 2009 values for your home. Unlike other states which change assessments once every three or five years Florida due to our constitution requires a new property value assessment every year.

Except under unusual circumstances such as new construction almost everyone will see a decrease in market value. But this decrease may be small because a lot of the decrease in the area was due to the big decline in the value of vacant land.

Mr. Wilkinson in an extended telephone conference confirmed that 84 percent of valuation this year was based on short sales before foreclosure and post foreclosure sales. The law requires that valuation be based on fair market sale transactions.

If you have established a Florida homestead you are entitled to deduct two $25,000 basic exemptions. You can exclude the first $25,000 of assessed value and after the next $25,000 of value another $25,000 exclusion for the amount over $50,000. If your home has an assessed value of $60,000 you get the first $25,000 exclusion and $10,000 exclusion of the amount over $50,000 for a total exclusion of $35,000. If your home is valued at $80,000 your taxable value is $30,000 less both $25,000 exclusions.

If you qualify for the low income senior exclusion you can get a third $25,000 exclusion. For example if your assessed value is $75,000 or less your taxable value will be zero. Only the amount over $75,000 is taxed. You will not pay any Lee County tax but you will pay taxes to the other taxing authorities.

There are two major exceptions to the basic rules. You only get the first basic $25,000 exclusion on the school tax; the amount over $25,000 is fully taxed. For the fire tax you get no exclusion and pay tax on the full assessed value.

If you are not homesteaded you will pay property taxes on the full assessed value. With the drop in property values more than 60 percent of the difference between Save Our Homes protection and regular full value has been eliminated.

RECAPTURE RULE

State Rep. Nick Thompson and State Sen. Mike Bennett were unsuccessful in the last session in getting the recapture rule abolished.

This rule allows for an increase up to 3 percent in assessed value based on the increase in the consumer price index. This year the CPI increased by one-tenth of one percent. If your assessed value increased by a slight amount this year this is a result of the application of the rule. An example is an assessed value increase to $287,780 this year over the prior year value of $287,490.

Wilkinson confirmed that only 44,000 households of the 155,000 homesteaded homes experienced the application of the recapture rule this year.

If the assessed value is equal to or less than the save our home value then these values will decrease in tandem. With the continuing decline in property values the advantage of the save our home protected value will almost disappear.

ONLINE TRIM NOTICE

The TRIM noticed mailed to you is the one required by state statute. The online version is a much better presentation which gives you the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value and the dollar amount. Column three is omitted and should be ignored as it does not apply to taxes for 2009. These figures represent what the taxing authority would have collected if they used 2008 revenue. They are hypothetical numbers.

The actual tax you pay is stated in column two unless the taxing unit reduces its budget request. Your tax cannot exceed the amount listed in column two.

CHINESE DRYWALL

Wilkinson will make a special value adjustment decision on September 8 to deal with this special problem. You should contact the property appraiser office if you have a Chinese drywall problem.

APPEALS

If you believe that your assessed valuation is incorrect you can file an appeal with the Value Adjustment Board. The appeal petition is online or you can obtain a copy from the appraiser’s office. The fee is $15. It must be postmarked by Sept. 18 and filed with the Lee County Clerk of Court at the Minutes office on the second floor of the Administration building next to the county commission chambers in the old courthouse. The property appraiser’s office cannot accept your appeal petition.

Mistakes are made. You can visit the office and request an informal conference to discuss and seek a correction. Valuation is based on 2008 values as of January 1, 2009. They are not based on 2009 current values. Reduced values in 2009 will be reflected next year in the 2010 assessments.

Wilkinson reported on Friday that the numbers of inquiries this year are below last year.

The legislature enacted a change in the law. The burden of proof was modified. The taxpayer shall never have the burden of proof of proving that the property appraiser’s assessment is not supported by any reasonable hypothesis of a legal assessment.

You do not need an attorney to represent you at an appeal hearing but you must follow the rules and procedure of the Value Adjustment Board.

There are cases where the land valuation has decreased but the house value was increased. Additional information is not yet available.

OTHER TAXES AND FEES

In addition your tax bill will include non ad valorem taxes. The East County Water Control District has a per acre tax assessment which is not based on the value of the your property. Also included will be the annual fee for garbage collection.

TAXES

The Lee County Property Appraiser and Tax Collector have nothing to with your actual taxes.

The 92 taxing authorities in Lee County set the tax rates. For example the Lehigh Street Light District has proposed a 242 percent increase.

The Lee County Commission will hold its first public hearing on its budget and taxes on Thursday, September 3 at 5 p.m. in its chambers at the Old Courthouse at 2120 Main Street in downtown Ft. Myers. The meeting is open to public comment.