Harris v. Wilson

656 So. 2d 512, 1995 WL 313899
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMay 25, 1995
Docket93-3445
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 656 So. 2d 512 (Harris v. Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harris v. Wilson, 656 So. 2d 512, 1995 WL 313899 (Fla. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

656 So.2d 512 (1995)

Lizzie Mae HARRIS, Wanda M. Townsend, and Ellis Townsend, Appellants,
v.
Dale WILSON, James Jett, Larry Lancaster, Patrick McGovern, and George Bush, as constituting the Board of Clay County Commissioners; Clay County, a Political Subdivision of the State of Florida, Appellees.

No. 93-3445.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

May 25, 1995.
Rehearing Denied July 10, 1995.

*513 Gloria A. Einstein, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc., Orange Park, for appellants.

Robert L. Nabors, Gregory Stewart, and Virginia Saunders Delegal of Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson, P.A., Tallahassee; Mark H. Scruby, Clay County Atty., Green Cove Springs, for appellees.

Alice M. Vickers, for amicus curiae, Fla. Legal Services, Inc.

WOLF, Judge.

Appellants challenge a final summary judgment determining that a special assessment imposed by appellee, Clay County (county) for financing solid waste disposal was valid. Appellants raise a number of issues which may be consolidated and restated as whether the trial court correctly determined that no material factual disputes existed concerning the validity of the assessment. Appellants asserted that as a general proposition a special assessment for providing for solid waste disposal services throughout an entire geographical area (which service was previously funded through tipping fees) on a particular class of property was an invalid tax. We find that the trial court properly rejected this general assertion. In addition, no disputed issues of material facts remain concerning whether the properties subject to this assessment received a special benefit, and whether this assessment is fairly and reasonably apportioned among the properties that receive the special benefit. We therefore affirm.

In 1992, Clay County enacted an ordinance imposing a partial year special assessment (ordinance 93-26) applicable only to residential properties in the unincorporated areas of the county for the maintenance of county solid waste facilities. The assessment was for $63 per residential dwelling unit. Commercial properties and undeveloped properties were not subject to the assessment. Appellants are homeowners subject to the assessment.

Appellants brought two separate actions (which were later consolidated), challenging the assessment. The county filed a motion for summary judgment. In support of the motion, the county filed an affidavit from the interim county manager (formerly solid waste director), and an affidavit of a consultant who assisted in the preparation of the partial solid waste disposal assessment for the county. The affidavits outlined the assessment adoption process and in addition, alleged that the amount of the assessment was apportioned to the properties subject to the assessment in an amount equal to or less than the benefit received by such properties. The affidavits further provided (1) that the cost of providing for the processing and disposal of solid waste from properties located within the municipalities and for commercial and other nonresidential properties within the unincorporated area are collected through tipping fees at the disposal site, (2) that the tipping fees imposed are equal to the cost of the processing and disposal of the solid waste generated from such properties, and (3) that the determination not to impose the partial year solid waste disposal assessment upon commercial properties in the unincorporated area is based upon the varying production of solid waste generated from commercial properties.

The trial court also had before it the ordinances adopting the assessment, which made specific findings as to (1) the rationale for not imposing the partial year solid waste disposal assessment within the municipal boundaries, and (2) how the residential properties subject to the partial year solid waste disposal assessment were benefitted by the processing and disposal of the solid waste generated from their properties. Further, the board expressly made various findings of benefit in the Final Assessment Resolution. These included the availability of solid waste disposal facilities to properly and safely dispose of solid waste generated on improved residential lands, closure and long-term monitoring *514 of the facilities, a potential increase in value to improved residential lands, service to owners and tenants, and the enhancement of environmentally responsible use and enjoyment of residential land.

On August 31, 1993, the date of the summary judgment hearing,[1] plaintiffs filed a supplemental response to defendant's motion for summary judgment with attached copies of documents concerning the alleged process of calculating the assessment. While the documents had been provided by the county in response to a request to produce, no affidavit was filed authenticating the documents, nor was any backup provided concerning the context in which the documents had been produced. The trial court refused to admit the documents, and granted final summary judgment in favor of the county.

In City of Boca Raton v. State, 595 So.2d 25, 29 (Fla. 1992), the supreme court recognized that a special assessment is not a tax and is, thus, not subject to the preemption of taxation to the state pursuant to article VII, section 1(a) of the Florida Constitution.[2]

However, a legally imposed special assessment is not a tax. Taxes and special assessments are distinguishable in that, while both are mandatory, there is no requirement that taxes provide any specific benefit to the property; instead, they may be levied throughout the particular taxing unit for the general benefit of residents and property. On the other hand, special assessments must confer a specific benefit upon the land burdened by the assessment. City of Naples v. Moon, 269 So.2d 355 (Fla. 1972).[3]

In City of Boca Raton, the supreme court said that there are only two factors in determining whether a special assessment is valid.

There are two requirements for the imposition of a valid special assessment. First, the property assessed must derive a special benefit from the service provided. Atlantic Coast Line R.R. v. City of Gainesville, 83 Fla. 275, 91 So. 118 (1922). Second, the assessment must be fairly and reasonably apportioned among the properties that receive the special benefit. South Trail Fire Control Dist. v. State, 273 So.2d 380 (Fla. 1973). Thus, a special assessment is distinguished from a tax because of its special benefit and fair apportionment.

Id. at 29.

Appellant essentially argues that the levy is not valid because (1) a special assessment may not be levied throughout an entire taxing unit, (2) that special assessments are not appropriate for the provision of certain services such as stormwater or solid waste, see Sarasota County v. Sarasota Church of Christ, 641 So.2d 900 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994), and (3) that questions of fact were presented concerning the apportionment of benefits in light of the documents which were improperly rejected by the trial court. We disagree with these contentions.

The first two issues concern whether the properties in question were specially benefitted. In Madison County v. Foxx, 636 So.2d 39 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994), this court was asked to determine the validity of a special assessment for solid waste disposal, and found that properties may receive a special benefit from services such as solid waste disposal.

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Bluebook (online)
656 So. 2d 512, 1995 WL 313899, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harris-v-wilson-fladistctapp-1995.