A Port St. Lucie neighborhood almost lost their community clubhouse after a consultant engineer made a mistake.<\/p>\n
The error has led to a tax dispute between the neighborhood\u2019s homeowners association and the city of Port St. Lucie, centering around the property. <\/p>\n
City officials said their consultant engineer originally agreed with the homeowner\u2019s association that the property didn\u2019t have to pay a special assessment, but later changed their mind and reinstated the duty worth about $20,000. <\/p>\n
Kelly Finn, who is the president of the Veranda Gardens homeowners association, said the community didn\u2019t know the city reinstated the tax. She said she got a notice from the St. Lucie County Tax Collector\u2019s Office warning her about years of unpaid tax bills and a potential upcoming property sale. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very big surprise since we had a document saying that we were never going to have to pay this again,\u201d Finn said.<\/p>\n
WPTV met Finn at one of our Let\u2019s Hear It events. She shared a document showing the city of Port St. Lucie sent a letter to the county tax collector in January 2022, asking to \u201cremove all future assessments\u201d from the clubhouse and asking the tax collector\u2019s office for a refund for past payment years.<\/p>\n
WPTV also obtained copies of records from the tax collector showing the community received the refund. The records include a tax specialist from their office signing off on the refund and citing the reason as parcel entered in as error. <\/p>\n
Finn told us their neighborhood got the exemption after showing the city a state law, which shows taxing authorities aren\u2019t able to perform assessments on common elements within subdivisions. <\/p>\n
\u201cAd valorem taxes and non-ad valorem assessments shall be assessed against the lots within a platted residential subdivision and not upon the subdivision property as a whole,\u201d reads Florida code. \u201cAn ad valorem tax or non-ad valorem assessment, including a tax or assessment imposed by a county, municipality, special district, or water management district, may not be assessed separately against common elements utilized exclusively for the benefit of lot owners within the subdivision, regardless of ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n
The law defines common elements as property used for at least 10 years exclusively for the benefit of lot owners within the subdivision, properties not intended for private ownership and been dedicated to the public or retained for the benefit of the subdivision. The law also includes property required as drainage or retention ponds.<\/p>\n
Finn said these new bills total around $100,000. She said it\u2019s a hidden burden.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a big thing,\u201d Finn said. \u201cYou know this is $100,000. We\u2019re not talking $50 here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she assumed the bills were a mistake and started meeting with various government officials about the problem. Finn said she has been very disappointed with her various meetings with the city of Port St. Lucie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been incredibly disappointed with everybody I\u2019ve talked to at the government because they smile and nod,\u201d she said to WPTV\u2019s Ethan Stein. \u201cAnd they never answer the questions and explain. I asked questions to one of the finance personnel and she said \u2018I don\u2019t know, I didn\u2019t bring my laptop.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
WPTV wanted to talk with the city of Port St. Lucie about the situation. But the city declined to make anybody available to speak on camera about the situation with the Veranda Gardens homeowners association. A city spokesperson said it would only answer questions in writing. <\/p>\n
Scott Samples, a strategic communications manager for the city of Port St. Lucie, said a consultant engineer originally made the decision to exempt the property then changed its mind in June 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe City worked with its consulting engineers, who initially agreed that it could and a letter was sent to the St. Lucie Tax Collector\u2019s office requesting a refund on the parcel,\u201d Samples said in email. \u201cHowever, after further review the consulting engineer determined in June 2022 that their initial conclusion was incorrect and the assessment needed to be added back onto the parcel as agreed upon by the developer in 2015.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the city became aware of the issue in February 2025 and acknowledged it\u2019s working with the neighborhood to come to a resolution. Samples also said the city wanted to emphasize that these are not taxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, just we wanted to emphasize that these are not a tax, but rather a special assessment,\u201d he wrote to WPTV.<\/p>\n
Finn told us the property association has begun reaching out to lawyers and preparing to sue the city over the dispute.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most frustrating part is not being able to solve this problem,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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