PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. — A massive $535,000 disability tax exemption once attached to a Fort Pierce home owned by Pembroke Park Mayor Geoffrey Jacobs and his wife is no longer listed in St. Lucie County property records, a change that comes after a Local 10 News investigation into the mayor’s residency.
County records previously showed Jacobs and his wife, Angela, were receiving a Service-Connected Total and Permanent Disability Exemption on the $565,000 home they purchased in December 2024.
That exemption, one of the most significant tax benefits available under Florida law, reduced the taxable value of the home by $535,000. Based on St. Lucie County’s tax rate, it was worth approximately $10,000 to $10,400 per year in property tax savings.
It has now been removed from the property appraiser’s website.
Under Florida Statute 196.081, a veteran who is honorably discharged and determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to be totally and permanently disabled due to service is entitled to a full exemption on the assessed value of property if the property is the veteran’s homestead, meaning their permanent residence…