Beachfront property owners beaches to be cleaned on taxpayers dime

With red tide still looming around Southwest Florida beaches, residents start to wonder who is responsible, and who pays for the dead fish cleaning up along the coast.

“There’s dead fish up and down the entire coast. Big ones, little ones, you name it,” said Naples resident Erin Wisler.

Collier County confirms that, in the case of fish kill, tourism taxes go toward beach cleaning.

But, when the new law that gives beachfront property owners the right to keep their part of the beach private goes into effect on July 1, who is responsible then?

MORE: New Florida law affects public access to private beaches

Collier County says that won’t change how they clean up the dead fish. This means taxpayers will continue to pay for beach clean up on beaches they can’t even stand on.

“As a taxpayer here, if I can’t get access to that beach, then I shouldn’t be paying for it to be cleaned up,” said Naples resident Adrian Marsh.

After the law goes into effect July 1, beachfront property owners will be able to determine how much land they own based on their appraisal.

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