I got this from Claiborne Youngs website. Save Florida Marinas and Boatyards - Vote YES on Amendment 6 Friday, 24 October 2008 The following announcement comes to us from Boat/US.
Help Preserve Florida's Working Waterfronts Dear BoatUS Member, In recent years dozens of Florida wet-slip marinas, waterfront dry stack storage facilities and boat service yards have been squeezed out of business by huge increases in real estate taxes, leaving you and your fellow boaters with fewer and fewer places to keep your boats and higher slip fees and storage costs. Why is this happening? Because the current property appraisal system in Florida forces counties to apply "highest and best use" value to waterfront business property, not current use value. That means the businesses we boaters rely on are taxed as if they were high-end condominiums or waterfront resorts. You can help change that at the polls on November 4th: A "Yes" vote on Amendment 6 will bring down the property taxes on the following marine working waterfronts to reflect the property's current use: Marinas and docks open to the public for water access and recreational uses; Public vessel launches into navigable inland and coastal waterways; Commercial fishing facilities; Water-dependent marine manufacturing facilities; Marine vessel construction and repair facilities. BoatUS supports Amendment 6 and we hope you will too on Nov 4. We need your help to get the 60% voter approval required to pass this very important amendment. For more information: www.saveourwaterfronts.com Please feel free to share this with your boating and fishing friends. Margaret Podlich Vice President of Government Affairs Subject: Florida boater voters Message: Florida boater voters should all get behind Amendment 6. This Nov 4 ballot item in Florida will fix a problem in the tax codes that really hammers marinas and boat repair facilities, fuel docks and even fish houses. The glitch allows local tax assessors to tax waterfront business property at what is grossly called \"best use\" levels. Thus, if a mom and pop boat yard could actually support 100 hi-rise condos, the tax assessor can levy the property tax at that level, rather than the current use of the property. This is forcing many small marine facilities to sell out and with it comes the loss of public access to waterfronts. Vote for Amendment 6 to help secure the future of working waterfronts. Marilyn Mower And, this from Ms. Christine Pomorski, Public Relations Manager for the National Marine Manufacturers Association: As one who has either attended boat shows or showed an interest in boating, we know that being on the water is important to you. We urgently need your help at the polls to protect key boating access points to Florida's waterways through your support of Amendment 6. Currently, Florida's waterfronts are being taxed at their "highest and best use." This means that businesses are taxed for the potential use of the land instead of the actual use. For example, a waterfront marina on a desirable piece of waterfront land is taxed as if it were a high-end condominium or waterfront resort. These high tax burdens are forcing waterfront businesses to sell their land to developers. Often, these developers do away with boat repair facilities, dry stack storage, boat ramps and in-water slips that Florida boaters depend on. Amendment 6 will directly benefit boaters by providing fair taxation to marinas, docks, and boat launches and ease the pressure on these businesses to shut down and sell their land. Local waterfronts are important to boat lovers like you and are a critical part of Florida's booming tourism industry and local economy. Boat-related businesses in Florida employ more than 220,000 people. Without Amendment 6, Florida could take a large economic hit through losses in both the marine and tourism industries. On Election Day, vote "YES" for Amendment 6. Your vote protects boaters' access to Florida's marine natural resources. For more information on Amendment 6, contact David Dickerson at 202-737-9761 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . -- It's not about the boat it's sails or rigging. It's about the freedom. http://www.slideshare.net/jacko91/these-are-my-credentials/ http://fisherhouse.org/ http://www.specialops.org/ "We are the gaurdians of a great faith. When we believe that freedom offers the best chance of peace and prosperity for all, and our desire for peace cannot be seperated from our believe in liberty." Harry J. Truman Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end. _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
