Storage-facility owner challenges Gadsden County appraisal after multi‑year tax jump

Kenyatta Brown, the owner of a commercial storage facility in Gadsden County, told the Gadsden County Property Appraiser hearing that the county’s 2025 valuation for his parcel has risen far faster than the work he did to improve the property.

Brown said he bought the facility in 2020 for $260,000 and performed mainly cosmetic and deferred‑maintenance work himself and with family help. "The biggest thing we did overall was paint the facility," he said, adding he installed a new roof in 2023 that cost him about $5,000. Brown told the board his annual tax bill rose from about $2,800 in 2020 to roughly $5,100 in 2024, including a 35% jump from 2023 to 2024.

Gadsden County Property Appraisers staff told the board the office set the petitioner’s just value for 2025 at $406,566 and noted the county’s cost approach produced a figure of about $422,051. The appraiser said the parcel was assessed at roughly $35 per square foot on an approximate 8,000‑square‑foot footprint while certain recent sales and comparables in the region suggest much higher per‑square‑foot rates. The appraiser also told the board that the office identified tangible personal property on the parcel that had not been assessed and that a countywide tangible personal property audit of similar facilities is planned for the 2026 tax year.

Brown asked the board to roll his valuation back to the 2022 level or, alternatively, to limit consideration of the roof to a modest increase. "I think we should be looking for ways to incentivize people to improve our community," he said, describing his work as intended to reduce crime and blight.

The hearing record shows the appraiser’s office intends to request income and expense records as part of its review; the office said it had previously asked the petitioner for income documentation. No final board decision appeared on the record during the session; staff described the proceeding as a live hearing in which the appraiser’s presumption of correctness under Rule 12D‑9.0247 and Florida Statute 193.011 was presented and discussed.

The board asked for more specifics on the work performed and on revenue generated by the facility; Brown provided itemized types of repairs (fence repairs, bollards, asphalt patching, lighting, door replacements) and estimated the footprint at about 8,000–9,000 square feet and the parcel at roughly one acre. The appraiser noted photographs and permit records from 2023 documenting the roof permit prompted the reassessment.

Because the hearing record did not include a formal vote or written order at the meeting, the matter remained a contested valuation hearing with follow‑up by appraiser staff.