Opinion ID: 1839902
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Rural Lands Included in Municipality

Text: Plaintiffs contend that the Charter is invalid because the municipal corporation extending throughout the county includes rural lands. The answer to this is found in the third section of the Jacksonville Consolidation Amendment which permits the Legislature to determine what portion of the municipality is a rural area for homestead purposes. Certainly, it would be improper to tax rural property for services which do not benefit the rural areas. State ex rel. Landis v. [Town of] Boynton Beach, 129 Fla. 528, 177 So. 327 (1937). That is the apparent reason for the determination of the Legislature to divide the county into a general services district and several urban services districts. Under the scheme of the Charter, as contemplated by the Jacksonville Consolidation Amendment, the county is classified for tax purposes in accordance with the services actually rendered by the city to each particular area, and the taxpayers in each area bear the cost of only those services which are furnished to them. If the Legislature had not classified the areas of the city into districts, plaintiffs' contention might have merit. It is not persuasive in the context of the Consolidation Amendment and the present Charter.