Set - Spike - SCORE! Seated Volleyball has been a huge hit at LEX. 
Join the fun on Thursdays from 11:10am-12:45pm.

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Welcome to The Lealman Voice

Welcome to the Lealman Voice!

The Lealman Voice is all about keeping our community connected and informed. Each issue highlights local programs, events, and the people making a difference right here in Lealman. If you have neighborhood updates, upcoming activities, or success stories to share, we’d love to hear from you. Together, we can keep the Lealman community strong, engaged, and moving forward.

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Pinellas County increases mosquito control to limit spread of Dengue Fever

VIA Pinellas County

Pinellas County Mosquito Control is expanding its response to reduce mosquito populations and urging residents countywide to take precautions. 

According to the Florida Department of Health’s latest Arbovirus Surveillance Report, there are more than 30 confirmed cases of locally-acquired Dengue Fever in the Tampa Bay area. Pinellas County is currently under a mosquito-borne illness alert from the Department of Health -Pinellas. 

Pinellas County crews are focusing ground inspections and dawn fogging in the Palm Harbor and St. Petersburg areas. While these areas are our focus, we’re urging residents countywide to protect themselves and prevent mosquito breeding around their homes. Pinellas County Mosquito Control continues to work closely with the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas for surveillance, education and treatment in the impacted areas. 

“Dengue does not stop at county lines,” said Alissa Berro, director of Pinellas County Mosquito Control. “The mosquitoes that transmit the virus generally stay within a relatively small area, but people travel throughout the Tampa Bay area every day. When someone infected with Dengue enters a new area, a local mosquito can bite that person and later spread the virus to others. As cases rise across the region, so does the potential for additional local transmission in Pinellas County.” 

Our residents are the key in prevention and protection. 

The mosquitoes that spread Dengue Fever are active during the day and thrive in as little as a bottle cap of water. These species seek out standing water for breeding in household items like plastic toys, buckets, plant saucers, tires, etc. Because these items are typically found on private property, traditional adulticide treatments and aerial larviciding treatments are not effective. 

Mosquito control will continue daytime backpack fogging treatments, daily surveillance and door-to-door inspections to reduce populations. Because of the prevalence of these mosquitoes on private property, door-to-door inspections are particularly important. We encourage residents to allow our technicians the opportunity to identify and eliminate breeding locations on their property. 

To protect themselves and reduce mosquitoes around their home, residents need to: 

• Dump out any standing water around their property. 

• Dress in light-colored, long-sleeved clothing with closed-toed shoes when outside. 

• Defend themselves using an insect repellent with a CDC-recommended ingredient such as DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, or Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus. 

If you believe you have a mosquito-borne illness, please immediately contact the FDOH in Pinellas County at (727) 824-6932.

What's Happening @ LEX

5175 45th Street North - in the 💙 of Lealman

View more events on the LEX Community Calendar!

Lealman Nights Brings Families Together at Raymond H. Neri Community Park

The St. Petersburg Foundation is rebranding the Lealman Farmers Market, previously held during the day, into Lealman Nights, an evening market and movie event at Raymond H. Neri Community Park. The change is designed to give Lealman families more opportunities to gather, connect and build a sense of belonging in their neighborhood.

Lealman Nights will take place the second Saturday of each month from October through May, 6 to 9 p.m., at the park located at 4300 Duval Park Blvd. in Lealman. Each event will pair a free outdoor movie, shown on a 33-foot screen, with local food vendors & makers.

Admission and parking are free. Attendees are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket for the movie. Outside food and alcohol are not permitted.

The market is part of ongoing programming at the Lealman Exchange, a public-private partnership between Pinellas County and the St. Petersburg Foundation dedicated to building a better tomorrow for Lealman residents through community programming and Needs Navigation support.

Each Lealman Nights event will include:

• A free outdoor movie
• Local food and treats
• Local vendors and makers
• A family-friendly community atmosphere

The series opens Oct. 10 with “Minions and Monsters” and continues Nov. 14 with “A Minecraft Movie.” The remainder of the lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.

Partner Programs @ LEX

TRIM notices: Did your taxes rise but your home value fall?

Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices were sent out from the Pinellas County Property Appraiser, hitting mailboxes across the city. For some property owners, they brought stark, confusing news: their property value decreased, but their taxes increased.

Officials in the Pinellas County Property Appraiser office say this confusion is the most common questions they receive from the public, so here’s what it means if you’re paying more in taxes but lost property value:

In Florida, property taxes use three important numbers: Just/Market Value, Assessed Value and Taxable Value; and Market Value is what the Property Appraiser says your property was worth as of Jan. 1 every year.

Assessed value differs in that, under Florida Law, it can be capped. It’s capped through instruments such as the Save Our Homes legislation (which is for homesteaded properties) or through a 10% cap (for some non-homestead properties). Taxable value is the assessed value after exemptions are taken out.

And here’s where it gets weird and why your TRIM notice may have homeowners scratching their heads. A property’s market value can fall while its capped assessed value still goes up.

As an example, take one Pinellas County TRIM notice (pictured above). The property’s market value dropped from $215,319 in 2025 to $171,917 in 2026, a loss of more than 20%. But its assessed value for city and county taxes went the other direction, increasing from $64,423 to $70,865, a nearly 10% increase.

How? The property’s assessed value was already far below its market value because of Florida’s non-homestead 10% cap. Even after the market value fell to $171,917, the capped value was still only $70,865. Meaning that the market value was coming down, while the capped value was still catching up. This rule is commonly referred to as “recapture.”

How the rabbit/hunter metaphor plays out with figures is as such: if a property is worth $300,000 but has a capped assessed value of $150,000, there’s a $150,000 gap between the two. If the market value falls to $270,000 next year, the capped value could still rise to $165,000.

The house lost $30,000 in market value. But the value being taxed increased $15,000. That doesn’t happen to every property. A property with an assessed value already close to its market value could instead see both numbers fall. Homesteaded properties also operate under different assessment limitations than non-homesteaded properties.

For homesteaded properties, the same basic concept can apply, but under a different cap. Florida’s Save Our Homes benefit limits annual increases in assessed value to roughly 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. So a longtime homeowner whose assessed value remains well below market value could also see their assessed value and taxes rise even as their home’s market value falls, because the market value remains higher than the assessed value.

Hello Lealman