Page 16 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - May '24

Page 16, Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens
Palm Beach County Property Appraiser

Dear Taxpayer: If you are interested in any special reports or maps, please not increase, its assessed value may increase, causing your
Hello May! contact Public Services Support at (561) 355-2881 or pa- taxes to rise. This is the action of Florida law in a softening
My staf f is busy pubsvc@pbcpao.gov. Fees for reports and programming can market that follows years of rising market values when the
completing preparations for be found at pbcpao.gov. property tax caps protected property owners from significant
the 2024 estimated taxable tax increases.
property values, which will Rising Tax Bills In A If you have any questions about this process, please
be released to all Palm Beach contact Residential Appraisal Services at (561) 355-2883
County taxing authorities Flattening Market or myhouse@pbcpao.gov.
later this month.
We provide an estimate Florida’s property tax caps (up to 3 percent for homesteaded Office Closed In Honor Of
to cities and other authorities properties and 10 percent for nonhomestead properties) can
who levy taxes because they cause assessed values to increase even if market values do Memorial Day
need them to begin developing their budgets. They review not. Florida law requires that the assessed value continue to
the property values in their jurisdictions and decide on a increase by the maximum cap amount each year until the gap The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office
proposed tax rate. The property values multiplied by the tax between the assessed value and market value is “recaptured” (including all of our service centers) will be closed
rate, or millage, determines your taxes. or the assessed value equals the market value. Memorial Day, Monday, May 27. Let us gratefully
The cities and other taxing authorities then share those As property values flatten, you may see this happen to your remember the sacrifice of those who died in military service
proposed tax rates with my office, so that we can notify all home or business. Even if the market value of a property does for our freedom and prosperity.
property owners of both their home value and proposed tax
rate. These are revealed in the Notice of Proposed Property
Taxes mailed to all property owners in mid-August.
While state law requires my office to value property based
on the status of the market, your tax rate is set by taxing
authorities who answer to you, the voter. If home values
increase, tax bills do not necessarily have to increase as tax
rates could be reduced. Every resident has the right to speak
to the elected officials who levy taxes at the public meetings
listed in your notice.
If you feel that the market value of your property is
inaccurate, you also have the right to file a petition for
adjustment with the Value Adjustment Board through the Clerk
of the Circuit Court & Comptroller. For more information,
visit pbcpao.gov or contact Residential Appraisal Services at
(561) 355-2883 or myhouse@pbcpao.gov.
In this month’s newsletter, we’re highlighting our Public
Services Support team, who handles most public records
requests for my office. From address labels to complex
customized reports, my staff is helpful, knowledgeable and
ready to serve you.
Respectfully,
Dorothy Jacks, CFA, FIAAO, AAS,
Palm Beach County Property Appraiser

Public Services Support

Department

The Public Services Support Department receives and
processes hundreds of public records requests annually. Data
is derived from our Geographical Information System and
appraisal/tax roll systems. We have several standard reports
and are able to create customized, specialized reports and
maps based on the taxpayer’s needs.
Last year, the Public Services Support team, a group of
five, managed:
• 923 Data Run Requests/Variances – This includes
address labels, maps, owner’s lists and variances for when
a taxpayer’s planned use of their property deviates from
local zoning.
• 100 Archive Records (down 34 percent from 2022)
– This includes tax rolls and building cards. Some of our
records date back to 1977 and homeowners request these
records for income tax purposes. They usually want to know
the value when the property last changed hands.
• 1,800 Impact Fee Records (up 414 percent from
2022) – This is a request for a building card from builders
or homeowners who are searching to see if a structure ever
existed on a vacant lot, and if so, its square feet, number of
bedrooms, baths, etc. If there was a structure, they can submit
the building card to the Palm Beach County Planning, Zoning
and Building Department for an impact fee credit.
• 116 Custom/Specialized Reports – This could
encompass any number of requests, such as:
◦ Information from the tax roll by assessed value
◦ The number of homestead properties in certain cities
◦ The entire tax roll or appraisal database file for
the current year
◦ Daily/monthly sales updates
◦ Subdivision reports
◦ All vacant properties
◦ Spreadsheets listing information for certain cities
◦ All properties in an estate
◦ All single-family homes or a list by property use code
◦ Certain properties by subdivision or labels for
certain areas
◦ Vector and situs files
Our team loves to make our wealth of information more
accessible to the public. While they are asked many different
questions, they still get surprised by interesting queries. For
example, one caller asked who owned a commercial property
because they “really liked” the mannequin in the storefront
window and wanted to purchase it.