Today’s ruling by the Florida Supreme Court on behalf of the City of Gulf Breeze is a big win for our water ratepayers who have had to pay the cost of litigating against the efforts of the Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser’s Office to tax a golf course owned by the city’s utility for sprayfields. It is also a win for the Florida League of Cities, which supported us in the appeal, and for other local governments in Florida. Many thanks to our special counsel, Ed Fleming, for the excellent work on this matter, as well as our city attorney, Mary Jane Bass. Our legal counsel will proceed to ensure the Property Appraiser reimburses the Gulf Breeze Regional Water Utility (over $255,000) paid by the City in protest while the appeal was pending.

Here, the City owned land that it used primarily as an effluent spray field, and secondarily as a golf course for members of the public. The Property Appraiser sought to tax the land because the City’s operations were managed by a private company—one specializing in operating golf courses. The City successfully contested that taxation at the trial court level, with the Honorable J. Scott Duncan ruling in the City’s favor. That ruling was reversed in a split decision at the First District Court of Appeal. Today’s Florida Supreme Court ruling rightly quashes the First DCA’s ruling and reinstates the win by the City of Gulf Breeze. Today’s ruling is also a win for the citizens of the state of Florida who are interested in improving government efficiency.

This was a case certified to the Florida Supreme Court because it involved an “issue of great public importance,” one for which the Florida League of Cities filed an Amicus Brief. It impacts any municipality in the state of Florida that wishes to privatize municipal services. Experience has shown that private companies, especially with expertise in the municipal services involved, can save tax dollars while simultaneously enhancing recreational and other services.