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James Hensley, 1856 79th Avenue, advised that his complaint is of a different type and has to do with the quality of life in Indian River County. He has lived here part of the year for about 8 years and now is a permanent resident. He certainly never anticipated that he would be using a homemade outhouse 20 or 30 times during the summer months because of heavy rains and sewage backup. Mr. Hensley stressed that he is not against taxes, but did feel that we should get something for them. It is his understanding that the County is obligated to clean out these ditches, but he has not seen much of that in the time he has been living here. Norma Cox, 6308 South River Run Drive, Sebastian, informed the Board that she has lived here almost 4 years. She was granted Homestead Exemption, but now her taxes in this county in this coming year will be the same as when she was an out-of-state resident. The services she receives remain the same, however, and she feels that is a problem. Leonard Schaefer, 405 29th Street, new county resident, advised he is having a hard time with the Property Appraiser. He claimed that he has found there are some extremely high priced properties that are very underassessed, and he believed if everything were assessed properly, we would not be here complain - Ing about paying such high taxes. He felt that we should take a serious look to make sure everyone is assessed fairly. Chairman Bird explained that assessment falls under the purview of the Property Appraiser, who is a separate elected official. It is the responsibility of the Property Appraiser to make a fair assessment, and once that is done, the County Commission applies a millage against that assessment. There are, however, many other taxing bodies in the County that also levy a millage to make up your total tax bill. Chairman Bird really felt that in most cases the increased amount of taxes probably are due to an increase in the valuation on your property and that even though there are some reflections of a downturn in the real estate market, they are not to a large enough degree that the Property Appraiser can take them into account in a mass lowering of property values in this county. He assured those present that we will try to hold the line on millage as best we can, but again pointed out that it is the combination of all the taxing entities that makes up your tax bill. Commissioner Scurlock pointed out that the School Board, for one, is a major part of your taxes. The Hospital District, the various drainage districts, and fire districts, are all a part, but the School Board has had an especially large impact. 7 �OC1K 8 SEP 11 199