Item 7A Ordinance 70-15-18STAFF REPORT
City of AtJantic Beach
C ommission Meeting
AGENDA I TEM: ORDINANCE NO . 70-15-18
AGENDA ITE.M ff 7A
AUGUST 10 , 20 15
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA,
AMENDING CHAPTER 20, TAXATION, OF THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES OF THE C ITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, BY AMENDING
SECTION 2 0-82 ADDITIONAL HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION
AUTHORIZED AND A DDING SECTION 20-82(b) TO AUTHORIZE AN
ADDITIONAL EXEMPTION, AMENDI NG SECTION 2 0-83, ANNUAL
A DJU STMENT TO HOUSEHOLD INCOME; DIRECTlNG THE CITY
CLER K TO PROVIDE A COPY TO THE DUVAL COUNTY PROPERTY
A PPRAISER'S OFFICE; REQUIRING A MAJORITY PLUS ONE VOTE
O F ALL MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY TO BE EFFECTIVE,
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
DA TE: July 15, 2015
SU BMITTED BY: Nels on Van L icre, C ity Ma nager c;?C"
BACKGROUND: On May 28, 20 13, th e City of J ackso nvi ll e passed an ordinance to al low for
an additional ho mes tead exempti on from taxes paid to th e co unt y for th ose propert ies a nd
indi vid ual s that meet certa in criteria as the result of a consti tutional amendment effective Jul y I ,
20 13.
T he ame ndment provides fo r an additiona l homestead exempti o n equal to the assessed va lu e of
th e homesteaded property if th e property ha s a just va lu e le ss than $250 ,000 to an owne r who ha s
maintained permanent residency on the property for no t less than 25 years, who has atta ined th e
age of 65, and whose household in come does not exceed low income as defined by ge nera l law.
This ordi nance sha ll be delivered to the Du va l Co unty Property Ap praiser no later than
Decemb er I, 20 15 to be effective in the 20 16 ta x year. The ordinance is s imilar to that passed by
th e City of Jackso nvill e.
BU DGET: The bud get impa ct will be rea lized in th e subsequent year as a redu ct io n to ad
va lorem tax revenues. The doll ar amount of th e imp act depend s on the numb er o f qua li ticd
propetiy owne rs that make appl ica ti on fo r the exempti o n and is expected to h ave an in s ignifica nt
impact on the total tax assess ment. At the present tim e, th e est im ated imp act is a reduction of tax
revenue of$375. This was derived fro m th e current market va lu e of six prope11ies that meet the
cr iteria . The total exempted va lu e for th ese six propert ies is $118 ,739.
RECOMMENDATION: ApproveOrdinanceNO. 70-15-18
ATTACHMENTS: ORDINANCE NO. 70-15-18
F lorida Statutes C hapter 196.075 for a·cference
ORDINANCE NO. 70-15-18
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH,
FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 20, TAXATION, OF
THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
ATLANTIC BEACH, BY AMENDING SECTION 20-82
ADDITIONAL HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION AUTHORIZED
AND ADDING SECTION 20-82(b) TO AUTHORIZE AN
ADDITIONAL EXEMPTION, AMENDING SECTION 20-83,
ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT TO HOUSEHOLD INCOME;
DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO PROVIDE A COPY
TO THE DUVAL COUNTY PROPERTY APPRAISER'S
OFFICE; REQUIRING A MAJORITY PLUS ONE VOTE OF
ALL MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY TO BE
EFFECTIVE, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
AGENDA ITEM# 7A
AUGUST 10,2015
WHEREAS, Article VII, §6(f), Florida Constitution, authorizes the state legislature to enact a
general law allowing municipalities, for the purpose of their respective tax levies, to grant an
additional homestead exemption, and
WHEREAS, said constitutional Amendment provides that the additional homestead exemption
equal to the assessed value of homesteaded prope1iy if the property has a just value less than
$250,000 to an owner who has maintained permanent residency on the prope1iy for not less than
25 years, who has attained the age of 65, and whose household income does not exceed low
income as defined by general law; and
WHEREAS, the State Legislature enacted Chapter 12-57, Laws of Florida, creating F.S.
§196.075, implementing A1iicle VII, § 6(d), Florida Constitution, effective July 1, 2013, and
WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Atlantic Beach desires to provide for an
additional homestead exemption within the provisions and limitations of Aliicle VII, §6(d),
Florida Constitution, Chapter 12-57, Laws of Florida, and F.S. §196.075, and
WHEREAS, the additional homestead exemption should be in the fmm of an ordinance and
should be delivered to the Duval County Property Appraiser no later than December 1, 2015 to
be effective in the 2016 tax year, and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY COMMISSION ON BEHALF
OF THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1. The Code of Ordinances of the City of Atlantic Beach, Florida is hereby amended
to add an additional homestead exemption and change the household income determination and
shall read as follows:
Ordinance No. 70-15-18 Page 1 of3
• Sec. 2 0-82 . -Addition a l homestea d exemption~ authorized .
AGENDA ITEM# 7A
AUGUST 10,201 5
.(li_Co mm cnc in g Ja nu ary I, 2001, and annu ally thereafter, pursuant to Art ic le VII,
§6(f), Flo rid a Co ns titution , a nd F.S. § 196.075, a n additi ona l homestead
exempt ion of t wen ty-live thou sa nd doll ars ($25,000 .00) is hereby autho ri zed fo r
any person who has th e lega l o r equitable title to rea l estate and maintai ns thereon
the permanent res id ence of the owne r, who has attained the age o f sixty-five (65)
and whose househo ld in co me does not exceed twenty th ousa nd do ll ars
($20,000.00), aEij~;~sted by the eost of living iRdeK for the year ~(:}00 . Low income
as defined by F.S . §196.075 .
(b) Commencing Jan uary I, 2015 and annually thereafter, pursuant to At1 ic le VII.
§6Cd), Florida Constituti on and F.S. § 196.075, an add iti ona l homestead
exemption is authorized equal to the as sessed value of the property to any person
who has the legal or equi tab le title to real estate with a just va lu e less than two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars and who has maintained th ereon the permane nt
residence of the owner for not les s th an twenty-five years and who has attained
age sixty-five and whose household income does not exceed th e income limitat ion
prescribed in F.S. §196 .075 .
• Se c. 20-83.-Annual adjustment to hou sehold income.
_ CoRlmeneiRg :ltumary l , ~001 , the het:isehold ineome limitation shall be adjusted annually,
on January 1, by the pereentage change in the a•,•erage eost of li•,ring index in the J:>eriod January
1 through Deeember 31 of: the it:nmediate prior year eompared wi th the same period fer the ~ear
~o that. The iAdeJE is the average of the monthly eons~;~ mel' priee index figures for the stated
12 month period , relative to the United States as a whole, issued by the URited States
t>epartment of Labor.
The household income limitation shal l be adjusted annua ll y. on January 1, in accordance
with F.S . § 196.075.
SECTION 2. The C ity C lerk is he reby directed to deli ve r a certifi ed co py o f thi s ordin ance to
the Duva l Co unt y Property App raise r's Office up on approval.
SECTION 3. Severability. If any sec tion , sentence, clause or phrase of thi s ordinance is held to
be inva lid or uncon s titu tiona l by any court of compete nt jurisd icti on, then sa id holdin g sha ll in
no way affec t t he validity of th e remai nin g portions of th is ordinance.
SECTION 4. Effec ti ve Date . T hi s o rdinance s hall take effect imm edi ate ly upo n its fi na l
passage and adopti on.
Ordinance No. 70-1 5-18 Page 2 of3
AGENDA ITEM# 7A
AUGUST 10,2015
Passed by the City Commission on first reading this __ day of ____ _
2015.
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED with a quorum present and voting, by the City
Commission this __ day of , 2015.
ATTEST:
DONNA L. BARTLE,
City Clerk
Approved as to form and conectness:
RICHARD KOMANDO,
City Attomey
Ordinance No. 70-15-18
CAROLYN WOODS,
Mayor, Presiding Officer
Page 3 of3
ACENDA ITEM I# 7A
AUCUST 10,2015
Bel ow is section 196.075, the add i tiona l se nior exempti o n, copied from the State's webs ite
for s tatute s .
Title XIV
TAXATION AND FINAN CE
Cha p ter 196 View Entire Ch apter
EXE MPTION
196.075 Additional homestead exemption for perso ns 65 and older.-
(1) As used in this section, th e t erm :
(a) "Household" means a person or group of pers ons living together in a
room or group of rooms as a housi ng unit, bu t t he t erm do es not include
persons boarding in or r enting a portion of the dwellin g.
(b) "Household income" means the adjusted gross inco me, as defined ins.
62 of the Uni t ed Sta t es Intern al Reve nue Code, of all members of a househol d.
(2) In accord ance with s. 6(d), Art. VII o f the State Constit ution, the board
of coun ty co mmi ss ioners of any county or the governing authority of any
mun i cipality may adopt an ordina nce to allow ei the r o r both of t he fol lowing
additional homestead exemptions:
(a) Up to $50,000 for any person who has the l egal or equitable title to real
estate and maintains thereon the perman ent residen ce of th e owner, who has
attained age 65, and whose house hold income does not exceed $20,000 ; or
(b ) Th e amount of the assessed value of the property f or any pe rso n who
has the lega l or equitabl e title to real e state with a just value l ess t han
$250,000 and has maintained thereon the permanent res i denc e of the owner
for at l east 25 yea r s, who has attained ag e 65, and who se household i ncome
does not exceed t he i ncome limitation presc ribed in parag raph (a), as
ca lculated in subsection (3).
(3) Beg inning Jan uary 1, 2001, the $20,000 in come limi tation sha ll be
adjust ed an nually, on January 1, by the percentage change in the average cost ·
of-living index in the period January 1 t h rough Dece mber 31 of the immediate
prior year co mpared w it h the same period f or the ye ar prior t o that. The index
is the aver age of the monthly consume r -price-i ndex figures for the stated 12-
month period, relative to the United Sta t es as a wh ol e, issued by the United
St ates Department of Labor.
(4) An ordinance granting an addi tional homestead exempt ion as authorized
by this section must meet t he f ollowing r equirements:
(a) It mu st be adopted under the proced ures f or adoption of a
nonemergency ordi nance speci f i ed i n chapter 125 by a board of county
commissioners or chapter 166 by a munici pa l governin g authority, except that
the exe mp tion authorized by paragraph (2)(b) must be authorized by a super
majority (a majority plus one) vote of the members of th e gove rning bo dy of
the co un ty or municipality granting such exem ption .
(b) It must specify tha t the exemp tion applies only to taxes levied by the
unit of government gra ntin g the exemption. Unless otherwi se specified by the
co un t y or municipality, t his exe mption will apply to all tax levies of t he co un ty
or mun i cipality granting the exe mption , i ncluding dependent spec ia l distri cts
and municipa l service ta xing units.
(c) It must speci fy the amount of the exe mption, which may not exceed the
applicable amoun t spec i fied in subsection (2). If t he co unty or muni cipality
specifi es a different exemption amoun t for depe ndent special di stricts or
municipal service taxin g units, the exemption amount must be uniform in all
dependent specia l di stric t s or munici pal service taxing un its wi t hin the county
or muni cipality.
(d ) It mus t r eq uire that a taxpayer clai ming the exe mption an nually submit
to th e prope rty appraiser, not l ater than March 1, a sworn statement of
house hold income on a form p rescri bed by the Departm ent of Reve nue.
(5) The department must re quire by rule that t he filing of the statemen t be
supported by copies of any federal income tax returns for the prior year, any
wage and earn ings statements (W·2 forms), any req ues t for an extension of
t ime to file returns, and any other do cu ments it finds necessary, for each
member of the house hold, to be submitted for i nspection by the property
apprai ser. The tax payer's sworn statement shall attest to t he accuracy of the
docume nts and gra nt p ermi ssion t o allow review of the doc uments i f request ed
by the p rope rty appraiser. Submission of supporting doc um enta tion is not
req uired for the renewa l of an exemption under this section unless the
property appraiser request s such documentation. Once the docume nts hav e
been inspected by t he property appraiser, they shall be r eturned to t he
taxpayer or otherwi se destroyed. The prop erty appraiser i s aut horized to
generate random au dits of th e taxpayers' sworn statements to ensure the
accu ra cy of the household income reported. If so se l ected for aud i t, a taxpayer
shall exec ute In ternal Reve nu e Service Form 8821 or 4506, which authorizes
the Inte rn al Revenue Servi ce to r el ease tax in formation to the pro perty
appra i ser 's office. All reviews conducted in accordance with this sec t ion shall
b e co mpleted on or before Ju ne 1. Th e prop er ty appraiser may not gra nt or
r enew the exemption if the req uired docum en t ation requested is not provi ded.
AGENDA JTEM # 7A
AUG UST 10,20 15
(6) The board of county commission ers or municipal gove rn i ng authority
must deliver a copy of any ordina nce adopted und er t hi s sec tion t o th e
property appraise r no later than Decemb er 1 of t he yea r p rior to t he year th e
exemp t ion will take effect. If the ordin ance is repea l ed , t he boa rd of coun ty
commi ssion er s or municipal governing au t hori t y shall notif y the prop erty
appra i se r no later t han De cember 1 of t he yea r pri or to t he yea r th e ex emp t i on
expires .
(7) Thos e p erson s entitl ed to the homes tead exemption i n s. 196.031 may
apply for and r e ceive an additional hom estea d exe mpti on as provided i n t hi s
section. Receipt of the additional homestead exe mpt i on prov ided for in this
sec tion shall be subject to the provi sion s of ss . 196. 131 an d 196.161 , if
applicabl e .
(8) If tit le is held jointly with right of survivorship, t he pers on res iding on
the property and otherwi se qualifying may recei ve the enti re amoun t of th e
addi tional homestead exemption.
(9) If the property apprai ser det ermin es that f or any year wi t hin t h e
immediately previous 10 years a person wh o wa s not en titl ed to the additiona l
homestead exemption under this section wa s gra nted such an exemption, the
property apprai ser shall se rve upon t he own er a notice of I ntent t o r ec ord In
the public records of the county a notice of tax lien aga i ns t any property
own ed by that person in the county, and t hat prope r t y mu st be Id entif i ed i n
the notice of tax lien. Any property that i s own ed by t he t axpaye r and i s
situated in t hi s state i s subject to the ta xes exe mpted by th e improper
homestead exemption, plus a penalty of 50 pe r cent of t he un pa i d taxes f or
each y ear and Interest at a rate of 15 perce nt p er ann um. Howe ver , if su ch an
exemption is improperly granted as a r esult of a cl eri ca l mi stake or omission by
t he property app raiser, t he person who improp erly recei ved th e exemption
may not be assesse d a penalty and interest. Before any such lien may be filed,
the owner must be given 30 days w ithin wh ic h to pay th e ta xes, penalties, and
int erest. Su ch a li en i s subje ct to the procedure s an d prov i si ons se t f orth in s.
196.161 (3).
AGENDA ITEM# 7A
AUGUST 10,2015