DeSantis pledges property tax relief for Hurricane Ian victims
At Fort Myers Beach appearance, governor announced executive order to delay tax payments for those whose homes were uninhabitable due to Hurricane Ian
Standing in front of a mound of debris in front of Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille on Fort Myers Beach where restaurant partner Marty Harrity announced he intends to reopen by Thanksgiving, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that he would sign an executive order extending the deadline for the payment of property taxes for property owners whose homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by Hurricane Ian.
DeSantis pledged Thursday at the San Carlos Island restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf that he would give homeowners a break on their property taxes that he would seek to make permanent through the state legislature. DeSantis said the state would, in turn, have to compensate the local municipalities affected by the property tax rebate.
“The debris is there, we can’t put that back together and pretend it didn’t happen but we can make it as easy as possible for people to get back on their feet,” DeSantis said. DeSantis said the executive order would delay payment dates and then the state legislature can act to provide property tax rebates to property owners. DeSantis said he expects the state legislature to hold a special session before the end of the year to make the tax rebates permanent “particularly those who had a total loss for their home or their business.”
Asked if the state would be making efforts to aid the town and county in its debris removal, DeSantis said that Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, would be addressing that.
Dane Eagle, executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said the decision to grant the property tax relief was a result of input from leaders of the local business community at a roundtable discussion held last week in Cape Coral.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy said he spoke with DeSantis to ensure the state and Federal Emergency Management Agency will be able to cover the expense of the removal of debris.
Harrity, who attended the meeting, was happy with what he heard from the governor.
“Every time he comes here it’s more enlightenment and enthusiasm to keep moving forward,” Harrity said. He called DeSantis a “can-do guy” and called the state’s efforts to build a temporary bridge to restore access on the Sanibel Causeway “miraculous.”
Harrity said he hopes to have his Fort Myers Beach eatery, named as TripAdvisor’s “Best Everyday Eats” restaurant in the nation last year, open by Thanksgiving.
“It won’t be for a lack of effort,” Harrity said. “We want to rock and roll.”
Standing in front of a large pile of debris that was extricated out of his restaurant after Hurricane Ian and sitting in the middle of the restaurant’s parking lot, Harrity said “I need this parking for Thanksgiving. … Whatever it takes, I need it out of here.”
Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce President Jacki Liszak helped give DeSantis a tour of the town and its businesses.
“We talked about the struggle businesses are going to have in the future,” Liszak said.
Liszak said if the state were able to give property owners a break on their property taxes, it would be make a big impact for those struggling to pay bills for the repairs on their homes. “That’s huge,” Liszak said.
Liszak said debris removal was “way better than it was last week.”
Debris removal remains a top concern for residents. Lee County took over the management of contractors handling the debris removal from the town but there are questions if enough trucks are available to handle the debris as some residents have stated that little to no debris removal has been done on their streets, three weeks after the hurricane struck.
According to the Town of Fort Myers Beach, more than 120,000 cubic yards of debris has been collected though much more remains stacked along town streets.
According to Lee County Government’s Public Information Office, there were four to five trucks pulling trailers (eight to 10 collection units) on Estero Boulevard and road right-of-ways on Wednesday. Lee County Solid Waste Department employees were providing oversight and guidance of the project. Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Roger Hernstadt said the town has requested more resources from the contracts, and if necessary, more contractors may need to be hired.
Murphy said the removal of debris was in the county’s hands. “If they can get more (debris trucks), the more the merrier.”