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Greetings Madam Manager & Commissioners,

I hold the deepest empathy for you all and I try to express it whenever I
can, howbeit in my own style.
The last public hearing regarding rental permits for landlords did not
take any comments from the public for some reason. No motion, maybe, but
there is no law that says you can't take public comments during a
brainstorming session when there is no motion on the floor.

I'm writing this because my conscience won't let me sit back and watch you
blunder into another revenue losing venture.
Listen...I'm going to put a bug in your ear.

Upwards of 30% of homeowners of color do not claim homestead exemption. I
won't get into the myths surrounding why. If you combine that number with
others who don't claim the exemption, you will be somewhere between 15 to
20% of all home owners.
The proposed permitting ordinance will out all those who are not taking
advantage of homestead. Since the ordinance is based on homes that aren't
homesteaded, those home owners will simply homestead their homes to get
government out of their hair.  That means less tax revenue will be
collected from those homes.
Another scenario that will result in negative net revenue is when
investment properties are sold because of the ordinance. The county will
again receive less revenue because the property switched from an
investment property to a primary residence that is homesteaded.
When you add all this up, I don't think the fees for permits will cover
the overall cost to the County. The permit fees can hardly cover the cost
of the FTEs, let alone make up for the lost revenue from properties
switching to homestead.
If what I'm saying is true, the property tax revenue shortfall will
manifest itself after next year's tax cycle, because when you switch to
homestead nothing happens in the immediate. Both the City and County will
see the results of what I'm talking about in about 18 months.
I thought the idea of letting the City go first to see how they make out
was wise, but then I heard you will make a determination after watching
the City for 3 months. That's not enough time when you consider what I
said above.
I know you are busy and don't have time to read foolish emails, but I
couldn't speak about this at the last meeting.
If you've gotten this far in this letter maybe it will or maybe it won't
give you something to consider, going forward, but either way I feel I'm
in the clear because I've told you.

Thank You
Anthony Johnson

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