A Committee of the Navarre Beach Leaseholders and Residents Association
A Brief History
In August, 2006, citing the ruling by Judge Rasmussen from the improvements taxation case, Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser, Greg Brown promptly added the value of Navarre Beach leased land to the tax roll and sent out TRIM notices for 2006 ad valorem taxes.
Mr. Brown boldly interpreted the opinion by the court that he could not only tax the improvements, but also tax the value of the leased land. In two shorts months following the court decision, Mr. Brown had Navarre Beach leased land values on the tax roll, appraised and assessed for ad valorem taxes. Leaseholders were once again levied with millions of dollars of ad valorem taxes on land they did not own and could never own.
Mr. Brown was the guest speaker of the NBLRA meeting on August 19, 2006. It was a meeting well attended and, as expected, charged with emotion. Saddled with insurance woes, recovering from two seasons of devastating hurricanes and the recent improvement tax ruling resulting in payment of millions of dollars of ad valorem taxes, Leaseholders were reeling at the very mention of additional taxes on land they only leased.
Following Mr. Brown's presentation at the NBLRA Meeting of August 19, 2006, NBLRA members and Navarre Beach Residents were in full support of taking action to stop this illegal taxation. A Tax Committee was formed immediately to evaluate case options and what action, if any, was applicable.
The Tax Committee met on August 28, 2006 and again on September 25, 2006. After the September 25 meeting and with 100% Committee support, Mr. M.J. Menge and his firm of Shell, Fleming, Davis & Menge were retained to represent the Navarre Beach residential and commercial leaseholders. Mr. Menge and his firm are also representing Pensacola Beach commercial and residential leaseholders in similar cases.
The Committee issued a letter to all residential and commercial leaseholders on October 10, 2006 outlining the committee's intention to file a lawsuit and asking residential and leaseholders to join. The letter furthered detailed information about our case, filing information and requirements to participate in the lawsuit along with legal costs. (You may read this letter by clicking here.)
During the next four to five week period, it will be Tax Committee's responsibility to sign up plaintiffs, gather necessary documentation and collect funds to cover the costs of the litigation. It is estimated that the costs of our lawsuit through appeal is $500,000.00.
Time is of the essence for the Tax Committee and Navarre Beach Leaseholders. The Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser certified the tax roll on October 3, 2006. Our lawsuit will be filed no later than Friday, December 1, 2006.
The Committee will continue to meet periodically with the attorneys. As a term of the agreement with Shell, Fleming, Davis & Menge for representation in this case, the liaison committee agreed to notify all plaintiffs that any questions regarding the progress of the litigation should be addressed to a member of the Liaison Committee rather than the law firm. Any questions the Liaison Committee cannot answer will be referred to our attorneys. This is more efficient and less costly and preserves our funds for true legal fees. There will be periodic mailings to plaintiffs and posting of updates and legal documents at our website www.navarrebeachtaxsuit.com.
Members of the Navarre Beach Leaseholders Liaison Committee:
Mike Van Cavage, (850) 934-9482
Paul Horil, (850) 939-7444
Email: Info@navarrebeachtaxsuit.com