The Weltons challenged Oklaloosa County Property Appraiser Timothy “Pete” Smith’s assessment of their homestead property because the increase in the assessment from the 1994 tax year to the 1995 tax year exceeded the limits set forth in Article VII, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution, also known as the Save Our Homes Amendment.’ The property appraiser included 15,000 square feet of improvements on the 1995 tax roll that had mistakenly been left off the tax roll since the Weltons acquired the property in 1972. In so doing, Smith relied on Florida Statutes Section 193.155(8), which provides that [e]rroneous assessments of homestead property assessed under this section may be corrected in the following manner:
(a) If errors are made in arriving at any annual assessment under this section due to a material mistake of fact concerning an essential characteristic of the property, the assessment must be recalculated for every such year.
If back taxes are due pursuant to s. 193.092, the corrections made pursuant to this subsection shall be used to calculate such back taxes.