In a time when budgets are being cut, companies are being downsized and every penny is being scrutinized, saving money is at a premium. Especially when government is involved. Orange County Property Appraiser Bill Donegan recently proposed the language contained in House Bill 179 sponsored by State Representative Bryan Nelson and a Senate companion bill, SB 800, sponsored by Senator Carey Baker to save Orange County millions in future costs.

Previously, the Orange County Property Appraiser’s office was required to physically inspect each of Orange County’s 435,000 parcels at least once every five years. Essentially the new bill allows the Property Appraiser to use “image technology” in lieu of a physical inspection, but only where geographically suitable. “This will save Orange County $1.443 million in future costs,” Donegan said recently. “This new legislation doubles the number of parcels we can review each week thus saving money over the next five years in salary, benefits, education, computers and fuel costs from a lot of unnecessary travel.”

In addition to saving the County money, the bill is also aimed at saving hundreds of homeowners cash by allowing the Property Appraiser’s office to approve late filed homestead applications on the spot. Homesteading a property generally saves a homeowner thousands on property taxes every year if it is their primary residence. By approving the applications on the spot, this will not only save valuable time for the homeowners; but, for those who are late, this will also eliminate the filing of a petition and $15 fee with the Value Adjustment Board.

The new initiative also tightens the criteria for homestead exemption by providing additional factors to aid in determining permanent residency. The reason: it simply makes it easier for the Property Appraiser to approve homestead applications faster. The change will also make it more difficult for out-of-state residents to file fraudulent Florida Homestead applications thereby saving Property Appraisers time and money investigating homestead fraud. “Abuse of the law affects all taxpayers,” says Donegan. “The new language in this bill will help us identify and deny fraudulent applications upfront.”

Article by Corey Gehrold