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County tax collector warns Milton council about risks of PACE loans
Summary
Santa Rosa County Tax Collector Stan Nichols told the Milton City Council that Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans have caused homeowner losses in other counties and urged caution if the city is approached to allow assessments on its tax rolls.
Stan Nichols, Santa Rosa County Tax Collector, told the City of Milton work session that Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, financing has produced consumer harms elsewhere and urged the council to be cautious about allowing PACE assessments to be placed on Milton tax bills.
Nichols said PACE loans are marketed as government programs that put repayment on a property tax bill and that some providers have not complied with state notice and memorandum-of-understanding requirements. "With a PACE loan, they do not have to comply with truth in lending acts, so they do not have to disclose the true cost," Nichols said. He said borrowers sometimes do not realize the loan will appear on their property tax bill and that failure to pay can lead to foreclosure.
Nichols told the council he has refused to place PACE assessments on Santa Rosa County tax rolls and that the PACE Funding Agency has sued 41 tax collectors; five judges have ruled in the tax collectors' favor so far, he said. He added that local contractors may overcharge customers when work is financed through PACE.
The tax collector said Santa Rosa County commissioners have voted to keep the PACE Funding Agency out of the county and urged Milton council members to contact him or the property appraiser if PACE proponents approach the city. Nichols also said he continues to litigate against the PACE Funding Agency and does not yet have a final resolution.
Council members asked whether educational materials exist and whether PACE proponents had contacted local governments. Nichols said he had not produced materials to distribute but would look for resources and that, to his knowledge, the agency had not yet approached Milton directly.
The council did not take formal action during the work session; Nichols asked the city to consider not authorizing placement of PACE assessments on city tax rolls without the statutorily required public notice and memoranda of understanding.
