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Hillsborough Property Appraiser Candidates Tout Experience

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By SHERRI ACKERMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 8, 2008

TAMPA - One man has spent years deciding the values of other people's property. The other still feels the sting of being denied an agricultural exemption.

Both Republicans say their experiences are what led them to run for Hillsborough County property appraiser.

Rob Turner is the incumbent, a former banker who came out of nowhere in 1996 to unseat longtime appraiser Ron Alderman. Turner prides himself on returning integrity, professionalism and fiscal responsibility to the office, which was being investigated for mismanagement under his predecessor.

During Turner's three terms, the tax roll has grown from 390,000 parcels to 506,000. He earns $155,000 a year overseeing an office with 147 employees and a $13 million budget.

His campaign has raised $41,864 from a mix of South Tampa movers and shakers to longtime farmers in Plant City.

James Robert "Rob" Townsend is an electric company employee and Plant City native who once worked at Kennedy Space Center. He is running, he says, to lower property taxes, which he terms "the greatest threats to our homes, properties, businesses and way of life."

He touts his problem-solving abilities, understanding of the U.S. Constitution and deep roots in Hillsborough County as attributes that will make him a more effective appraiser than his opponent.

Townsend also has firsthand knowledge of what it's like to come under the scrutiny of the property appraiser's office. Turner's office denied Townsend part of his agriculture greenbelt tax exemption in 2006. Such an exemption can reduce the assessed value of property by thousands of dollars.

The loss cost Townsend $18,000 and forced him to dip into his 401(k) retirement fund, he said, but it also inspired him to do more than just complain. Townsend fired up a campaign. He has raised $20,195, mostly from his own coffers.

"I am bought and paid for by nobody," Townsend said. "I owe no developers."

When Turner took office in 1997, the county had about 10,000 parcels with greenbelt protection. Turner made everyone reapply, a move he said resulted in 3,000 plots losing their status.

"Some believe it's their birthright to have greenbelt," he said. "And it's not."

2 Positions Not The Same

People often confuse the property appraiser with the tax collector, Turner said. His job is to determine the value of property based on transactions from the prior year and produce an annual tax roll. The Florida Department of Revenue then audits each property appraiser's office.

The appraiser doesn't set the tax rate directly. The rate is determined by authorities such as the county commission, school board, municipalities and special taxing boards such as the Tampa Port Authority. The tax rates are then multiplied by the appraised value, minus any exemptions, to determine individual tax bills.

Turner forged a reputation as a zealous appraiser when he successfully sued private entities, such as the Tampa Port Authority, to pay taxes on the public property they use for business.

Townsend called it a calculated move.

"I think the current appraiser used any excuse to raise valuations," Townsend said. "He's trying to take in more money for the county."

There is no personal benefit for him to increase property values, Turner said.

"The only thing I get from higher assessments," he joked, "is much more abuse."

Townsend said he is worried about people who are losing their property because they can't afford the taxes.

"It's eminent domain by tax," he said.

Turner attributes the current crisis in part to taxing authorities not acting fast enough to lower the tax rate when property values were soaring in the late 1990s.

"We saw here unprecedented increases," Turner said. "Yet the millage rate was not decreasing at a commensurate amount. It really hit the fan in 2004, 2005, 2006. The taxing authority needed to lower the millage rate to offset rising valuations."

Amendment 5 A Tricky Subject

Both candidates are cautious about proposed land-use amendments up for vote, most notably Amendment 5. The constitutional amendment would eliminate school property taxes, though school funding then is supposed to be restored by the Legislature with a 1-cent increase in the sales tax, cutting the state budget, repealing tax exemptions, or a combination of those.

"By our initial analysis, Amendment 5 would lower property tax bills by 24 percent," Turner said, but he doesn't know how much money would be needed to offset the loss.

Townsend said he worries that the proposals, if approved, won't stand up to constitutional challenges. He opposed Amendment 1, which voters approved in January.

The change doubled the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $50,000 and gave homeowners "portability" by allowing them to transfer the Save Our Homes tax benefits to a new homestead. It also allowed businesses to exempt up to $25,000 of tangible property, and cap nonhomesteaded properties' annual valuations at 10 percent.

The property tax cutting initiative took $6.5 billion in property values off the tax rolls, according to the property appraiser's office.

"There are too many exemptions now," Townsend said, "and they have left government officials with few choices in tough economic times."

Portability is a good idea, said Turner, but the transfers should have been limited to one or two times.

Turner wants to offer more assistance to first-time homebuyers and get a better definition on agriculture classifications, and he opposes families having multiple homestead exemptions. That would happen, for example, if a wife owns a house in Hillsborough and her husband owns one in Pinellas and they both apply for the homestead exemption.

"I think it would be ripe for folks to have a nice beachfront condo and a home," Turner said. "It's a conflict with the spirit of what the homestead exemption should be."

The winner of the Aug. 26 primary will take on Democrat Ken Ayers in November's general election.

Researcher Stephanie Pincus contributed to this report. Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144 or sackerman@tampatrib.com.

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