Judges: Bill McCollum, Attorney General
Filed Date: 9/24/2008
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
Dear Mr. Ansbacher,
As the attorney for the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, you and the City of St. Augustine have asked substantially the following question:
Is the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind subject to a special assessment for fire services imposed by the City of St. Augustine?
You state that the City of St. Augustine imposed a special assessment against the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind for municipal fire services in fiscal year 2007, but that the assessment has been withdrawn until resolution of the question raised.1
The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) is recognized in section
"a state-supported residential public school for hearing-impaired and visually impaired students in preschool through 12th grade. The school is a component of the delivery of public education within Florida's K-20 education system and shall be funded through the Department of Education. . . ."
The board of trustees for FSDB is statutorily created and required to act consistently with all laws and rules applicable to state agencies. While title to gifts, donations, and bequests received by the board are vested in the board of trustees, "[t]itle to all other property andother assets of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind shall vestin the State Board of Education, but the board of trustees shall have complete jurisdiction over the management of the school."2 (e.s.)
As an educational institution, the FSDB by law is exempt from taxation.3 Generally, local school districts are also protected by statute from having to pay special assessments for improvements made by local governmental entities without the school district's consent or approval.4 In this instance, however, as state-owned property, Florida courts have interpreted the law to conclude that the property of the school would not be subject to a special assessment imposed by a municipality, absent statutory authorization.5
In Attorney General Opinion 90-47, this office considered whether stormwater fees imposed by the City of Orlando pursuant to section
There appears to be confusion, however, in whether a municipality has the ultimate discretion in levying and collecting special assessments, given the provisions in section
"(1) In addition to other lawful authority to levy and collect special assessments, the governing body of a municipality may levy and collect special assessments to fund capital improvements and municipal services, including, but not limited to, fire protection, emergency medical services, garbage disposal, sewer improvement, street improvement, and parking facilities. The governing body of a municipality may apportion costs of such special assessments based on:
(a) The front or square footage of each parcel of land; or
(b) An alternative methodology, so long as the amount of the assessment for each parcel of land is not in excess of the proportional benefits as compared to other assessments on other parcels of land.
(2) Property owned or occupied by a religious institution and used as a place of worship or education; by a public or private elementary,middle, or high school; or by a governmentally financed, insured, or subsidized housing facility that is used primarily for persons who are elderly or disabled shall be exempt from any special assessment leviedby a municipality to fund any service if the municipality sodesires. . . ." (e.s.)
While section
Accordingly, the city may not impose a special assessment against the real property of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, as such property is titled to the State of Florida.
Sincerely,
Bill McCollum Attorney General
BM/tals