Lee County Property Appraiser
Kenneth M. Wilkinson, C.F.A.

My staff and I are at your service to answer any questions you may have concerning the Property Appraiser’s Office.  It is my goal as your elected Property Appraiser to provide fair appraisals for all properties , whether large or small. We're here to serve you.

Thank you for visiting our web-site. I am Kenneth M. Wilkinson, your Lee County Property Appraiser. Prior to becoming your Property Appraiser in 1980, I served four years in the Army with the Army Security Agency with a one-year tour in Vietnam. I returned to Florida and graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor’s Degree from the College of Business and Public Administration. I am a long-time resident having lived in Flordia for over 50 years.

My professional background was in banking and appraising before being elected to public office. It was during my time as a Professional Property Appraiser that I discovered how difficult it was to obtain property information from public records. Thus, one of my major goals when first taking office, was to develop and implement an effective system for the dissemination of information concerning the assessment process.

The Property Appraiser’s Office is your office. I have and will continue to bring about positive changes for the residents of Lee County. Many of those efforts include the following:

In 1990, I, along with the Manatee County Property Appraiser, was instrumental in getting the legislature to revise Florida Statute 119.07, inspection, examination and duplication of records, allowing for electronic access to Public Records. In that same year, we were also successful in allowing for automatic renewal of homestead exemptions.

Another statewide issue I authored and championed was “Save Our Homes” or Amendment 10, a citizen’s initiative effectively putting a 3% per year cap on homesteaded assessed values. In 1992 Florida voters approved Amendment 10 and it was enacted in 1995. In 2004, the SOH Amendment protected over 165.1 billion dollars of homeowner’s value from taxation statewide. Just in Lee County, the 2005 protected value exceeded 8.5 billion dollars.

In 1993 our office entered into an inter-local agreement with Lee County Government giving the Property Appraiser’s Office the responsibility for all phases of GIS (Geographical Information Systems). This included developing, planning and implementing the GIS hardware, and software, as well as giving support to all county departments who utilize GIS. And, in 1997, our office was the first of any state or national assessment jurisdiction to offer on-line mapping via the Internet.

Again in 1997, our office was the recipient of the International Association of Assessing Officer’s (IAAO) Most Distinguished Assessment Jurisdiction Award. And in 1999, the IAAO presented us with the prestigious Belon Award, the IAAO award on Innovations in Mass Appraisal. I am proud to say Lee County has the fourth lowest per parcel cost (annual budget divided by parcel count) of all 67 counties in Florida. And, according to a 1999 national study, Lee County ranks as the number one jurisdiction in terms of lowest cost per parcel for the United States and Canada, of all metropolitan jurisdictions.

In October, 1999, the Y2K “Bug” presented our office with yet another set of challenges putting my name and reputation and that of our office staff on the line by saving Lee County taxpayer’s over 13 million dollars “fixing” Lee County Government’s Y2K problems.

Since taking office in 1980, I’ve held to my philosophy of having an “open door” policy. I remain committed to exploring new and innovative methods to improve the appraisal process and maintaining the highest level of representation for you, the taxpayer, by always looking out for your best interests.

Respectfully,
Kenneth M. Wilkinson, C.F.A.
Lee County Property Appraiser