VOLUME 1 ISSUE 31
February 2 Groundhog Day
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JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 4, 2021
Eviction moratorium sets stage for homelessness “tsunami” By Carlos Medina Ocala Gazette
W
hile the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently extended its order halting residential evictions until March 31, an Ocala legal aid attorney worries when the ban is eventually lifted, a flood of people will be left homeless. “It’s like a building tsunami,” said Magda Lanza senior manager for Public
Interest & Housing Law with Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida. “If the moratorium expires, then we’re going to be seeing a substantial increase in evictions not only in Marion County, but everywhere. A lot of people will probably be facing homelessness,” Lanza said. And while the moratorium stops some evictions, others continue. “The moratorium is based on non-payment due to a tenant’s ability to pay being affected by
COVID due to lost income or otherwise being affected economically,” she said. Landlords are free to not renew leases or evict for other reasons including violation of lease terms or due to criminal activity. And landlords can still seek an eviction for nonpayment of rent. It’s up to tenants to provide landlords with a declaration swearing their ability to pay rent was affected by COVID-19. Some people are not aware of the steps they need to take. That’s where
organizations like Lanza’s come in. “The person would be attesting they do not earn more than $99,000 per year, have been affected by coronavirus and have made their best effort to get government assistance, unemployment and rental assistance,” said Lanza, adding that a tenant has five days to file the declaration with the court in an eviction proceeding. A review of eviction filings with the Marion County Clerk of Court
Back in the saddle
showed eviction filings running higher than the previous year. In October, the court received 158 eviction filings comparted to 129 in 2019. November showed a similar pattern with 171 filed compared to 115 the year prior. In December there were 141 filings compared to 110. The federal COVID-19 relief packages included money for rental assistance, but in at least on case locally, disbursement of $1 million See Evictions, page 16
Burning questions remain The city may have to refund millions in illegally collected fire service fees By Carlos Medina Ocala Gazette
I Thoroughbreds are paraded at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale Co. outside walking ring on the first day of the OBS Winter Mixed Sale on Jan. 26. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]
OBS sale posts almost $5.7 million in sales By Ben Baugh Correspondent
I
t was worth the wait. The highest-priced horse at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company winter sale was the last one through the ring. The yearling filly by Laoban sold for $175,000 to end an encouraging first sale of the year for the Ocala-based thoroughbred
auction company. “It was a strong showing and a great way to start the year,” said Todd Wojciechowski, OBS director of sales. “It was a steady market for us. We sold a few more horses this year than we did last year, which was always good.” A total of 406 horses sold for almost $5.7 million, up from 354 horses that sold for more than $4.9 million in 2020. But for those connected with
the sales topper, there also was a touch of sadness. The filly was part of the estate of Kenny LeJeune, who died in December. LeJune used to gallop and breeze for Ocala-based Nick de Meric, who bought the filly. “He was a good personal friend and a great ambassador for the sport,” said de Meric. “He was a
Health officials suspect first classroom spread of COVID-19 By Carlos Medina Ocala Gazette
H
ealth officials on Tuesday said they are trying to confirm if several cases of COVID-19 at a Marion County public school were spread in the classroom. It would be the first instance of classroom spread in the county. The news came during an update from Mark Lander,
the administrator of the Florida Department of Health in Marion County, during a Marion County School Board meeting. Until now, the positive cases in students and school workers have been traced back to contacts from outside the schools. “I know one high school specifically; we had some indication there were some See Classroom, page 14
See OBS, page 2
t’s no longer a question of if Ocala must refund millions in illegally collected fees stretching back 10 years, but rather how much and when. The latter issues remain unresolved and could take months to sort out. One thing clarified at a Friday hearing on the matter before 5th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Robert Hodges, however, is that the city is not considering bankruptcy. Instead, the city plans to use reserves combined with a loan to refund upwards of $79.4 million collected in monthly fees to pay for fire service. In a previous filing, the city brought up the specter of bankruptcy after the fee was ruled an unconstitutional tax in June. Friday’s hearing centered on how the court would determine the number of people who qualified for a refund and establish how much to set aside to pay them. The city argued only those people who paid the fee before March 2018 and after February 2010 qualified. The plaintiffs’ attorney argued those who paid through July 2020 – when the city finally suspended the fee – should also qualify. “Because there is an end date here… It would end for anyone who paid the tax until it ended on July 21, 2020,” Hodges said. It will take weeks to contact potentially thousands of people who paid the fee as part of their Ocala Electric Utility bill from March 2018 to July 2020. As it stands, there are almost 76,000 people who could qualify for a refund. Those people can opt-out of joining the class-action lawsuit, however. As for how much the city owes. That remains unknown until after a full accounting of those who seek a refund. See Fire Fee, page 3
[Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]
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County vaccine update See page 14