Some of the homeless people camped out at the Volusia County Administration Center in Daytona Beach are expected to leave.

The Salvation Army is opening an emergency shelter Monday and will take at least 46 homeless people from the county building on Beach Street to that shelter.

Last week, the county appraiser’s office closed its Daytona Beach location at that building. The property appraiser said an employee felt intimidated by a homeless man.

The county building provides services like tags and titles, as well as permits.

But because of the growing group of homeless people camping out at the building, Volusia County is closing the facility for the safety of its government employees.

"Well that would be a disaster,” said Daniel Perkins, who came to the building Monday to file for a homestead exemption. “There's too many people locally here that need this location."

Perkins said it was inconvenient to drive to the county's other offices.


Daniel Perkins reads the letter on the door of the Volusia County Property Appraiser's Office.

County Councilman Josh Wagner says the closing of the appraiser's office signals that employees feel they are working in an unsafe environment, that people who use services in Daytona Beach could feel intimidated as well and the liability is too great.

"We'd have a liability for our own employees under worker's comp,” Wagner said. “And then we'd have a liability from a personal injury standpoint as far as the general public coming to renew their tag or something along those lines if they were accosted."

Council Chairman Jason Davis hopes the Daytona Beach offices will re-open after the county and cities can figure out a way to build a long-term homeless shelter.

While the Salvation Army is taking in some of the homeless for now, there will still be many left without a place to go. Last week it was estimated well over 100 homeless people were camped out on Beach Street.

That means Perkins and others accustomed to visiting the Daytona Beach offices will have to go the county's offices in New Smyrna Beach, Orange City or Deland.

The county is still figuring out when the rest of the offices at the administration center on Beach Street will close.