Losing veterans benefits over code violation?

A South Florida veteran gets benefits for his institution to his country but now he fears losing those benefits over a code violation So what s going on It s why he turned to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser Joseph was in the Marines joining the fight in Afghanistan for America Joseph Truscello Yes I would not change anything for the world honestly If I had to do it again I would definitely do it again When Joseph returned to South Florida he used a few of the skills he learned rappelling from helicopters and towers to start a tree business Joseph Truscello So we do tree trimming tree removal stump grinding And to honor the men and women he served with in the military the sergeant named his company Sergeant T s Tree System Joseph Truscello So that s why I demanded it to be known that they have a local veteran business that they can count on to take care of things Everything was great till a neighbor complained that Joseph parked a couple of trucks in his backyard Davie Code Enforcement cited him Joseph Tuscello They explained that I cannot keep my business here unless I have an agricultural tax exemption And that created problems In Afghanistan Joseph was injured and was granted a veterans exemption which lowers the property taxes on his house To get the agriculture exemption he would have to put a legitimate business like a nursery on his property and lose his veterans exemption on that part of the property Joseph Tuscello So I would have to basically forfeit my Veterans Affairs benefit for taxes to take on an agricultural exemption It would be devastating for Joseph to give up his veterans exemption because his property taxes would go from to a year Joseph Truscello It s gonna hurt me to the point where I will not be able to afford to live here anymore and put the house up for sale Joseph can t afford to park his trucks at a warehouse can t afford to lose part of his veterans exemption and is hoping for one thing Joseph Truscello If the town could make particular kind of exception for me and my property so that I can continue to live here Well Joseph successfully fought for his country but how can he fight his way through authorities rules Howard Howard Finkelstein First and foremost Joseph has to protect his veterans exemption and there are approaches to do it and keep his trucks on his property Two appear to be the best Give Joseph a special permit to allow him to park his trucks behind his house The city has never done it but there s a first time for everything Also Joseph narrated us he has a concrete slab in the backyard that was there when he bought the property It s big enough for his two trucks and equipment If the concrete is up to code he should be allowed to park his trucks there I contacted Davie s attorney Allan Weinthal who is also a veteran and was a great help to Joseph and me explaining what strategies had to be taken Joseph Truscello I think the town of Davie is trying to work with me on this issue Davie gave Joseph extensions to give him time to work through the situation He tore down his fence and put in a new one to come up to code He cleared the property behind his house removing yards of tree debris revealing the concrete slab big enough to park the trucks Joseph hopes the city accepts that key Joseph Truscello That would be an ideal cure I would say If Davie approves the concrete Joseph was notified he would have to sod the remaining portion of his yard at a cost of He doesn t have that money now but he conclusively has a path to save his house Joseph Truscello I really hope so because this is like my livelihood I don t know what else I would do We have been working with Joseph since February and with Davie s help he ll get through this and not be forced to sell his house Now the expenses have been piling up for Joseph and he still requirements thousands to resod his property Someone suggested a GoFundMe page Joseph recounted me he didn t want to do that He s proud He s a Marine Got a trunk full of problems Need to cut through the mess Branch out and call us We don t have military precision but we would like to chip away at a remedy With this Help Me Howard I m Patrick Fraser News CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD Email helpmehoward wsvn comReporter Patrick Fraser at pfraser wsvn comMiami-Dade - -WSVNBroward - -WSVN