by stephanie nelson

the brewton standard

Escambia County property owners should have received their annual property tax notices, said Tax Assessor Tim Pettis.

Bills were mailed Oct. 1 and are due by Dec. 31, he said.

Some $14.66 million is set to be collected after this year’s appraisals. Tax notices are for real property, meaning land and homes/buildings, as well as for personal property, which is equipment used by businesses.

“That’s a slight increase of $131,000 over last year’s figure,” Pettis said. “Interestingly, the amount is for the same number of parcels, so there were some adjustments made over the year.”

The bulk of the increase, he said, was the loss of homeowner’s exemption status.

There are a number property tax exemptions available to those who qualify, such as the homestead exemption and an exemption for the disabled and one for property owners over 65 who own and live on property.

Those who wish to apply must do so in the office.

To qualify for the homestead exemption, property owners must have resided in the property since at least last September.

If one qualifies, one must pay 10 percent the assessed value of the property, Pettis said.

In addition to property taxes, his office is also collecting fees for manufactured/mobile home registration, which is due from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30.

Those who do not pay by the Dec. 31 deadline will face a 3 percent penalty as well as other fees in January.