Public taxes paying for private property modifications

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Jurisdiction

Florida

FLORIDA
Our state constitutional law (FL) dictates that no public monies may pay for any improvements on private property.
In this unincorporated rural zoned area, our local inland water management board taxes landowners for maintenance
of culverts, roads and canals and also itemizes an annual assessment for maintenance of the specific easement areas of each landowner's property.
Each parcel of private land's survey lines and measures includes a canal and or road. In other words, private property boundaries meet/abut other properties in the middle of canals and/or roads. The water district has an easement with each property owner covering culvert, road and waterway areas for the purpose of drainage control and maintenance. (There are also separate individual easement agreements in the culvert/road area between power and other utilities and individual landowners.)
Landowners that want any modification or enhancement to their easement area such as additional culvert drains, road roundabouts or road rises had the option to do so at their own cost by having the owners on their road sign a list that if majority of owners, would petition the Board to do the word by way of having their engineers review, and ensure the modifications were sound and met necessary regulatory standards. Each landowner on that road section would be assessed in part for the requested modification annually in addition to the annual ad valorem taxes for maintenance on canals, culvert and road easement of each landowner's parcel. However, with changes to the Board over the period of several years, changes in modifications changed significantly in that the water management board began to make changes to the roads without consulting or permission of owners on those specific roads. Some claimed they did not even receive notice of the modifications. More so, they did not receive any direct assessment of these modifications but rather *all landowners received an increased tax bill approximately 45% higher.
In Addition, The Board has made several unsuccessfully attempts to incorporate as a municipality, however the lack of public roads and little funds have deterred them. How can landowners address this misuse of taxes and abuse of easement agreement? Some newer owners of course are not unhappy because they don't have the full assessment as everyone in the area are subsidizing improvements on their property until the area is absorbed, annexed into another city. Florida Constitutional law says any municipal property owner may only claim homestead on no more than half an acre and this will be a hardship for many landowners.
When questioned about it, the Water Mngmt Board used the rational that despite being private property, everyone used the roads. Isn't this a violation of public $ for private property? And isn't it a violation of the property owners right to notice & abuse of the easement agreement? Some landowners believe the Water Board is attempting to secure all the roads by adverse possession to avoid the procedure and cost of eminent domain. Who should we contact about this misuse and abuse other than retaining our own legal counsel?

 

[adjusterjack]

It always amuses me that the last sentence on posts like this (I've read hundreds if not thousands) is always something like:

"How do we do this without paying a lawyer."
"I want justice but I can't afford a lawyer."
Etc, etc, etc.

You might contact your state's attorney general.

If that doesn't help you'll need an attorney who can research the easement provisions and any laws that apply and file a lawsuit when appropriate.

 

[Tax Counsel]

When questioned about it, the Water Mngmt Board used the rational that despite being private property, everyone used the roads. Isn't this a violation of public $ for private property?

I think it likely that it isn't a violation of the Florida Constitution, just based on what you've said here. It has long been a practice in Florida and elsewhere for cities and counties to provide these kinds of services for their community. The key difference here is that the state isn't spending money to enrich a single person or small group of persons in a way that it doesn't for anyone else. For example, providing government money to a single homeowner to put an addition on his/her house that it doesn't offer for the community generally would be the kind of thing the Florida Constitution clearly prohibits. But providing services like road maintenance, water and service, etc to everyone in a particular neighborhood or development is typically considered a valid municipal cost. In my city the sidewalks had always been the responsibility of the homeowner to maintain. The city council decided last year that they will be maintained at city cost, with taxes going up to pay for it, of course. The reason? A lot of city residents weren't doing a very good job maintaining their sidewalks thus posing difficultly to disabled person who travel on them.

Who should we contact about this misuse and abuse other than retaining our own legal counsel?

While your post doesn't clearly indicate the water management board is violating any of your rights, the place to start to find that out is to consult an attorney who practices real estate law.

 

[welkin]

Each parcel of private land's survey lines and measures includes a canal and or road. In other words, private property boundaries meet/abut other properties in the middle of canals and/or roads. The water district has an easement with each property owner covering culvert, road and waterway areas for the purpose of drainage control and maintenance. (There are also separate individual easement agreements in the culvert/road area between power and other utilities and individual landowners.)

There is nothing unusual about surveys showing property boundaries from the centerline of a road (or canal) when the property is private and then in a deed, grants an easement for control and maintenance and use of the easement to a municipality, the county, the state, or a HOA, or in your case, the water district. The express grant of the easement dictates what is allowed and what is not.

Landowners that want any modification or enhancement to their easement area such as additional culvert drains, road roundabouts or road rises had the option to do so at their own cost by having the owners on their road sign a list that if majority of owners, would petition the Board to do the word by way of having their engineers review, and ensure the modifications were sound and met necessary regulatory standards.

Again, nothing unusual. Who controls the easement (the dominant estate) gets to say what can and cannot be done on the easement unless the express grant says otherwise.

Each landowner on that road section would be assessed in part for the requested modification annually in addition to the annual ad valorem taxes for maintenance on canals, culvert and road easement of each landowner's parcel.

In the quote above, you say that property owners could make improvement if approved at their own expense. Now you are saying that the property owners are assessed for the improvements. Which is it? If the Board is making the improvements, then it might be done by special assessment where the property owners are assessed in proportion to the benefit the property derives. That is usually determined by a special board of assessment.

Say there are 10 homes on a private road, and you want the road improved. Each property has a different length along the road. The assessment would be determined by the cost of the improvement divided proportionately between the 10 homes according to the road footage divided by the number of years to pay off the assessment. This would be in addition to the property taxes you already pay.

However, with changes to the Board over the period of several years, changes in modifications changed significantly in that the water management board began to make changes to the roads without consulting or permission of owners on those specific roads. Some claimed they did not even receive notice of the modifications. More so, they did not receive any direct assessment of these modifications but rather *all landowners received an increased tax bill approximately 45% higher.

The water management Board is an Authority within the state government. It is a public body subject to all the open public meeting acts. Every decision they make is done according to the laws of the state of Fl. Therefore, you have access to their meeting minutes and resolutions and regulations they pass. If you want to know how and why the changes were made, all you have to do is go to your regional Boards website and start searching and reading. I'm sure you will find that all their actions are within the laws of their authority.

In Addition, The Board has made several unsuccessfully attempts to incorporate as a municipality, however the lack of public roads and little funds have deterred them. How can landowners address this misuse of taxes and abuse of easement agreement?

Nothing you have posted yet suggests to me that there is a misuse of taxes or abuse of the easement grants. It appears to be a kneejerk reaction to the rising costs of owning property where you are.