Candidate Parrish owes $20,723 in back property taxes, which becomes issue in GOP primary

Florida House candidate Henry Parrish owes more than $18,000 for three years of property taxes on his Cocoa Village residence and bed-and-breakfast, the Parrish Grove Inn, according to county records. He also owes more than $2,100 for one year in taxes on a nearby property.

That issue has been raised in an anti-Parrish mailing that was sent out in advance of the Aug. 28 House District 51 Republican primary between Parrish, who is the mayor of Cocoa, and Tyler Sirois, who is executive director of the State Attorney's Office for the 18th Judicial District that includes Brevard and Seminole counties.

The winner will face Democrat Mike Blake, a teacher and former mayor of Cocoa, in the Nov. 6 general election.

The mailing related to Parrish's tax issue was sent to voters by an "electioneering communications organization" called Brevard Citizens for Good Government.

The chairperson and treasurer of Brevard Citizens for Good Government is listed on the Florida Division of Elections website as Rob Feltner, who also is director of government affairs and public relations for the Brevard County Property Appraiser's Office. Feltner also loaned $25,000 to Brevard Citizens for Good Government in March.

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Parrish said he was not aware until earlier this year that the property taxes were not paid for the Parrish Grove Inn site. Parrish believed a former business associate of his was making the property tax payments during the prior years, but that proved not to be the case. 

Parrish said he plans to pay the taxes in full in advance of a pending sale of the Parrish Grove Inn at 536 Delannoy Ave.

Brevard County Tax Collector Lisa Cullen says Parrish owes $18,550.75 stemming from property tax bills sent out in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The figure does not include any taxes that will be owed after the 2018 property tax bill is sent in November.

Parrish also owes $2,172.86 related to the property tax bills sent out in 2017 for the property at 542 Delannoy Ave.

Sirois said he is not responsible for the campaign mailing about Parrish's property taxes, saying: "I am doing a positive campaign."

However, Sirois did not disavow the mailing, and said he could not control what his supporters do.

Sirois said that if Parrish "hasn't paid his taxes, that's unfortunate, but that's his business."

Sirois said he would stick to his own issues in the campaign, such as the Indian River Lagoon and vocational education.

Cullen said an investment group that holds what's known as a "tax certificate" on the unpaid 2015 taxes for the Parrish Grove Inn property has requested that she initiate proceedings for a tax deed sale of the property. The property was certified on July 10 as eligible to be sold in a tax deed sale.

Next, the Brevard County Clerk of Courts Office will schedule the tax deed sale, which is basically an auction of the property. Cullen said the minimum opening bid would be the property taxes owed of $18,550.75, plus any fees related to the sale.

But Cullen said Parrish could stop that process and retain his property at any time before the tax sale begins by paying the property taxes owed.

"Once a property has been certified for the tax deed sale, all of the taxes due must be paid to stop the sale," Cullen said. "The payoff amount for August 2018 on this property is $18,550.75. The payoff increases each month as interest accrues."

Cullen said there is nothing illegal about what Parrish has done, although "he is in danger of losing the property if he doesn't pay the taxes before the sale."

Cullen said property owners not paying their property taxes for several years and having the process reach this stage "is a pretty common thing. Some get paid. Some don't."

During the one-year period from April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, there were 1,228 properties in Brevard County that reached the point at which the Parrish Grove Inn property reached of having a request made for a tax deed sale. That equals about 0.4 percent of the 300,371 property tax accounts billed for the 2015 tax roll year. That's the tax year that applies to the Parrish Grove Inn tax deed sale process.

"It's a very normal thing to do," Parrish said, referring to property owners delaying their tax payments. "Lots of people do it." 

Parrish said he is "burned out" from his bed-and-breakfast business. He plans to sell the Parrish Grove Inn property while the real estate market is strong, so he can concentrate on another business, Parrish Redevelopment, which redevelops and manages properties. 

Parrish said his Parrish Grove Inn property is under contract to be sold, and he expect the sale to be completed by the end of this year.

Parrish said he was unaware that the tax deed sale process was in the works. He said he believed, based on prior conversations with county officials who deal with the property tax issues, he would have more time to make the payments.

Cullen's office received a public records request in June via email from a Gmail account, requesting Parrish's property tax payment records. The Gmail account was set up in a way to mask the identity of the person who made the request.

The Brevard County Property Appraiser's Office website indicates that the Parrish Grove Inn property has a market value of $299,280.

Brevard Citizens for Good Government has among its major financial backers lobbyist Guy Spearman, who is supporting Sirois' candidacy. Among the other major contributors, according to reports filed with the Florida Division of Elections, are five law firms and Victory Casino Cruises.

The mailing indicates that "Henry Parrish raised taxes in the same years he failed to pay his own taxes."

In discussing mailings being sent out by Brevard Citizens for Good Government, Parrish said he believes "the other side is getting very desperate, and will try anything to win."

Meanwhile, a mailing from Parrish's campaign says that "Tyler Sirois is a double-dipping liberal bureaucrat lying about conservative Mayor Henry Parrish," and urged voters to "reject Tyler Sirois' negative campaign."

Responding to that mailing, Sirois said: "It's ridiculous, and it's unfortunate that he's grasping at straws."

Parrish and Spearman had a run-in recently over a campaign sign Parrish placed on a vacant property between his bed-and-breakfast and a nearby building housing Spearman's offices.

Parrish contacted Cocoa police after he took a video of Spearman tossing Parrish's campaign sign to the ground. Spearman contended that the sign was illegally touching Spearman's building.

There has been no resolution to the matter.

The GOP candidates in the primary each have received more than $100,000 in campaign contributions, according to reports filed with the Florida Division of Elections.

Through Aug. 3, Parrish raised $106,501, including $4,464 in cash and in-kind contributions from himself, plus a $20,000 loan from himself. Parrish Grove Inn made a $1,000 cash contribution to his campaign. Parrish has spent $38,470 on the campaign.

The anti-Parrish campaign mailing said: "Henry Parrish won't pay his property taxes, but has $20,000 to put into his campaign account."

Through Aug. 10, Sirois has raised $103,052, including a $117 in-kind contribution from himself. He spent $62,793. 

Florida House District 51 includes all or part of Cape Canaveral, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island and Rockledge.

The seat currently is held by Tom Goodson, who cannot seek re-election because of term limits.

Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY. 

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649

or dberman@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @bydaveberman

Facebook: /dave.berman.54

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