Alford and Wheeler pay back taxes and penalties for falsely claiming homestead exemptions

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – After Andrew Caplan at the Gainesville Sun wrote a story about whether Alachua County Commission Chair Marihelen Wheeler lived in her district and began investigating whether now-former County Commissioner Mary Alford had a similar residency problem, Alford resigned, but Wheeler has continued to serve as Commission Chair. Now they have both paid back taxes and penalties, implicitly admitting that they improperly claimed homestead exemptions while in office.

Alford paid $3,556

After Caplan’s investigation found that Alford claims a homestead exemption on a house in east Gainesville (in Cornell’s district), Alford told the Sun, “I am going through the process of what I need to do to resign from office. I realize I’m not doing the right thing, and I don’t like being a person who doesn’t do the right thing.”

Alford told the Sun she had been living in the east Gainesville property to care for a relative and that she stayed longer at the home than initially expected. Alford submitted her resignation on May 22 and paid her back taxes and penalties that same day, for a total of $3,556.14 accumulated since she was elected in 2020.

Alford also told the Sun that the address she listed on her 2020 campaign documents was a building in which she used to operate a business, but that building was sold and she had to move out. Alford told the Sun that she now lives in District 1, where she is running against Raemi Eagle-Glenn.

Wheeler paid $12,221

Wheeler, who was elected in 2018, paid back taxes and penalties going back to 2019, for a total of $12,221.10, on May 31. Caplan’s investigation found that Wheeler claimed a homestead exemption on a house in Cornell’s district, but in January of 2019, she changed her voter registration address to a house in High Springs. In 2020, she purchased a home in her district with her son, but the homestead exemption is solely in her son’s name. Wheeler told the Sun that she has a room at the property with her son, which she said she shares with a baby, and that she splits her time between the two houses.

Wheeler is running against Ed Braddy for the District 2 seat.

Falsely claiming homestead exemption is a misdemeanor

Florida Statute 179.131(2) states, “Any person who knowingly and willfully gives false information for the purpose of claiming homestead exemption as provided for in this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or by fine not exceeding $5,000, or both.” A first-degree misdemeanor may be punished by up to one year of imprisonment, according to s. 775.082.