Bayshore valuations slow, NFM drops
For the last decade, the Bayshore and North Fort Myers fire districts has made the slow, painful climb back to where valuations were in 2007, before the Great Recession sent property values plummeting and the districts on the brink of fiscal disaster.
And once those values came back in 2021, the worst storm to hit Southwest Florida in decades brought things to a screeching halt.
What looked like another banner year for property values turned downward. While the estimated property valuations for Bayshore were up 2.71 percent, North Fort Myers Fire District sank 6.4 percent in 2022, representing the first decrease in overall property valuation since 2012.
Bayshore, which also covers Babcock Ranch, saw its tax roll values increase from $599,849,392 in 2022 to an estimated $616,122,000 as of June 1, an increase of $16,272,608.
Bayshore Fire Chief Doug Underwood said the district benefited from Brightwater and other new construction while also not taking as much damage from Hurricane Ian as other communities.
“We have new properties coming onto the tax roll. We also have some homes along the river that were damaged and the valuations on those homes were reduced,” Underwood said. “Having a slight increase was good news.”
In North Fort Myers, overall valuation dropped from $3,825,036,939 in the final 2022 valuations to an estimated $3,580,365,000 in 2023, a decrease of $244,671,959.
The purpose of the value estimate is to give the taxing authorities an initial estimate for developing their budgets and property tax rates.
Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell’s office will continue to refine these estimates and will certify the official values before July 1. In the past that number has come up larger, but with the events of the past year, with some damaged homes still unaccounted for, who knows.
“We’re still working on the high-rise condos. There are so many condo complexes impacted, we’re going over those that sustained real damage,” Caldwell said. “There are also new homes we have to get processed and haven’t been calculated fully. That’s why the July numbers are usually higher. We have a lot of work in both directions.”
“There’s a lot more work that needs to be done over the next three weeks to get those final numbers. There are a few homes that haven’t been brought onto the rolls and homes that were damaged in the storm not calculated,” Underwood said. “We could go one way or the other.”
Areas hit the hardest by Ian suffered the most. Sanibel saw its valuations crater more than 30 percent, while Fort Myers Beach saw its taxable value drop nearly 40 percent.
For taxing entities, increased taxable valuation means an increase in revenue at the current rate of taxation; the “rollback” millage rate keeps revenue flat.
The final figures of all taxing districts will be sent to Tallahassee for approval when finalized.
TRIM — Truth in Millage- notices will be mailed to property owners in August. Property owners will then have 25 days to resolve any disagreement in value with the property appraiser.