Konish: Landlords should be aware that 12 months of stormwater fees will hit property tax bills when change takes effect
Letter to the editor
When implemented, the transfer of collection of all stormwater and residential garbage fees, only within the City of Gainesville, will have profound consequences as follows:
- The fees will attach to tax parcels, NOT GRU electric meters.
- If the GRU electric meter is in the name(s) of a tenant, the monthly fees will drop off the tenant’s GRU bill and hit the landlord’s tax parcel(s) annually WITHOUT EXCEPTION.
- City stormwater fees are IN ADDITION to GRU wastewater and water charges as follows:
- Stormwater is the City’s ESTIMATE of the volume of runoff from a tax parcel into the City right-of-way. There are myriad problems with these estimates.
- Wastewater is sewer water and IS NOT METERED. It instead is imputed from GRU water use with subtle details generally not understood. The costs for this are skyrocketing.
- Water is potable, treated water – which is metered however the customer wants. There are strategies that should guide ANY metering of ANY GRU utility service.
- Homestead and other exemptions DO NOT apply to these fees.
Once these fees hit the ad valorem and non-ad valorem TRIM notice, landlords will have a small window of time to challenge any disputed fees with the TAX COLLECTOR. The dispute would also go through the City of Gainesville Department of Public Works.
I have seen City drainage from its rights-of-way onto PRIVATE PROPERTY and drainage onto adjacent tax parcels owed by a taxpayer.
Various private stormwater improvements are made to varying degrees without permits or consultation with the City.
The stormwater fees can be eliminated by improved private stormwater management on the tax parcel.
The entire ad valorem tax AND non-ad valorem assessments must be paid IN FULL or payment WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED and a tax certificate will be sold, opening the door to foreclosure. Workouts are possible.
Jim Konish, Gainesville
The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Assertions of facts in letters are similarly the responsibility of the author. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.
One way or another. . . they get theirs.
I don’t care who pays I just want your money in my pocket so I can decide how to spend it.
This will not reduce rent, most likely, because the landlord will pass the costs to the tenant.
it likely will increase it. since before unless the rental agreement included utilities, the stormwater fee would be on each renters electricity bill, now it sounds like they will all be on the landowners property taxes, and the full amount may require a bigger split between renters. but they will get lower utility bills technically.
The stormwater fee (actually a tax) belongs on the property tax bill any way. What is the big deal, besides Ward and the other incompetents just wanting more money from taxpayers. This should never been on a GRU utility bill. Garbage fees should be collected by the provider like the rest of the country. It has nothing to do with GRU either.
Why does the letter reference property owners as “landlords” and not “homeowners?” Not all homeowners are landlords and this will impact all property owners.
Homeowners who pay the GRU bill are already paying the fee but landlords are not paying it when the GRU bill is paid by the tenant.
Are they planning to collect the money at the beginning or the end of the service year? If they know they can force everyone to pay it on their property tax bills, they shouldn’t need to collect the money in advance for the entire year. Paying at the end of the year could make a huge difference for some poor people who aren’t paying much in property taxes right now but may already be struggling.
In other words, the first tax bill shouldn’t get charged through the end of that year, then you would get charged for that whole year on the next year’s property tax bill (at the end of the year of service). Not ‘Pay In Advance’ for the whole year. Hopefully that’s what they are planning to do.
But it’s probably not, since they are broke and can’t afford to extend even that small courtesy to residents when we have a whole giant homeless farm to take of, people to clean up after them, arrest them, jail them, doctor them, etc. And the blessed $3 million Streatery that no business owners want. Harvey can get red-faced, pound on the table like he used to always do, and say – “If you can’t pay your property taxes now, that’s just too bad! Some developer will be VERY HAPPY to buy your property!”
These fees can and should mbe billed in arrears after dropping off the GRU bill.
Property taxes are paid in arrears.
And if DeSantis abolishes our PT, the city, county, school board and library will just raise theirs and let the local pols skim it off thru govt “service fees” for them 💩🤡
If the City had a better track record of fiscal responsibility I wouldn’t be so nervous about the stormwater/wastewater fees which are “estimated” in darkness.
Not entirely sure why some of those don’t fall under the purview of the St Johns Water Management District in the first place…
So….you put the ‘blame’ and burden for rent increases on the landlord? More disgusting slight of hand from the Left.
Oh, you mean billed like the county does it.