On July 21st, Governor Crist issued Executive Order Number 10-169, which authorizes the Property Appraisers in 26 counties, including Pinellas County, to issue interim assessments to property owners whose property value has been reduced due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. The purpose of the interim assessment is only to assist you in making a claim for losses to BP. The order does not authorize us to change your 2010 value for tax purposes, which is based on a January 1st assessment date, prior to the spill.

To date, we have not had oil or tar balls on our beaches. Most reports concerning the spill suggest that, barring a change in our normal weather patterns, the oil will be carried past our beaches by the loop current. Our analysis of residential sales indicates that the spill has not affected the residential market; however we will continue to monitor the market as sales are recorded throughout the remainder of 2010, and into 2011.

There is evidence that owners of some of our tourism-related businesses have suffered revenue losses because of the spill. Owners of property related to tourism such as motels, hotels, or marinas, are encouraged to submit income and expense data concerning room rates, cancellations, and occupancy rates for the last three years for use in analyzing an income approach to value that might support a reduced interim assessment or a reduced 2011 value.

We will review spill related information on a case-by-cases basis, but are not planning a countywide interim reassessment at this time. We will continue to monitor the oil's affect, if any, on our market. Please call us with your questions about the executive order.

Guidance for taxpayers is at: http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/taxpayers/oil/guidance4taxpayers.html.

Updated August 20, 2010