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JAMES P. WILSON ATTORNEY-AT-LAW JAMES P. WILSON MEMBER OF: FLORIDA BAR David C. Nolte, ASA Indian River Property Appraiser a 1840 25th Street Vero Beach, Florida 32960 RE: Property Tax Exemption for Orange Blossom Village Dear David: 3625 20TH STREET • SUITE A P.O. Box 2454 VERO BEACU. Fiomi A 12961 (407) 567-3414 FAX (407) 567.3426 October 3, 1994 This office has been retained by Frank L.-Zorc, who has questioned your office's determination that Orange Blossom Village is entitled to exempt status from property tax assessment on the basis that they are a non-profit corporation. — As you know, Florida Statute Section 196.195 sets forth certain criteria which shal] be applied to your office's determination as to whether an applicant will be entitled to a tax exemption. As you are well aware, Mr. Zorc has requested, pursuant to Florida Statute Chapter 119, commonly known as the "Florida Public Records Law", that your office release information from its files to determine whether or not the proper inquiry was made prior to the exemption being granted. I have supplied copies of Mr. Zorc's previous correspondence to you on this subject to refresh your recollection. Mr. Zorc has provided me with correspondence from your office wherein you claim that the records requested were exempt from disclosure under the public records law. I reviewed the statute that was cited in your letter, Florida Statute Section 201.022, and I feel that your reliance upon that statute is misplaced. Section 201.022, Florida Statutes, ..provides that certain records regarding consideration paid for interests in real property shall be exempt from disclosure under the public records law. The exemption from disclosure is specifically limited to records contained upon the return which states the actual consideration paid for the interest in real property. It has nothing to do with determination of whether or not the property qualifies for non-profit status and therefore exemption from taxes. Your application of Section 201.022, Florida Statutes, to Mr. Zorc's request is totally nonsensical as the price of real property in question has nothing to do with his request nor does it have. anything to do with the determination of non-profit and tax exempt status. Mr. Zorc does not care how much the property costs. However, the determination made by your office as to whether or not the property qualifies for exempt status is a process which is discoverable through the public records law. Your office simply can not grant tax exempt status to property under a ,state statute which requires that certain findings be specifically made without revealing the basis for those findings to the public. - The decision of whether or not to grant tax exempt status is appealable at the Value Adjustment Board. I presume that such an appeal could be made by a member of the public, or by the applicant, depending on the determination made by your office. I am not aware of any law which would require you to make certain findings and then conceal the results of those findings from the public, while granting or denying tax exempt status to an individual or to a corporation. OCTOBER 4, 1994 13 ' BOOK mA