Okaloosa County approves tax exemption for Talking Parents Expansion

In Brief:

🏢 Talking Parents received a 10-year tax exemption for a $16 million expansion project in Fort Walton Beach.
💼 The company has pledged to create 30 high-wage jobs, with salaries averaging $75,000.
📈 The project is expected to deliver $45 million in annual economic impact, according to analysts.

CRESTVIEW — Talking Parents, a locally founded tech company serving separated and divorced families, has secured the backing of the Okaloosa County Commission for a major expansion that includes a new headquarters and a promise to create dozens of high-wage jobs.

The Board voted unanimously on July 1 to grant Monitored Communications LLC, doing business as Talking Parents, an ad valorem tax exemption of $479,116 over 10 years. The company plans to build a 50,869-square-foot Class A office building at Freedom Tech Center in Fort Walton Beach and invest $16 million in capital improvements and equipment.

“It’s a pleasure to be before you today with another exciting economic development opportunity for our community,” said Nathan Sparks, Executive Director of One Okaloosa Economic Development Council. “Talking Parents is a software-as-a-service technology company that was founded right here in Okaloosa County, spun out of Bit-Wizards in 2012.”

The company currently has 64 employees and has pledged to add 30 more full-time positions by the end of 2028, with an average salary of $75,000 — 132% of the county’s current average wage.

“Talking Parents has completed the required documentation for the program,” Sparks told the commission. “The property appraiser’s office has evaluated the plan improvements and further equipment purchases to determine the company’s real and personal property ad valorem tax liability.”

The exemption will apply only to new tax revenue generated by the improvements — $19,420 for tangible personal property and $459,696 for real property — and not existing tax streams. After 10 years, the new property and equipment will become fully taxable.

The company’s impact is expected to go beyond tax savings. A report from the University of West Florida’s Haas Center estimated a $45 million annual economic impact from the expansion, including $15 million in new personal income, with a projected 10-year return on investment for the county of 164%.

According to the TalkingParents website, the company was founded by attorney Stephen Nixon in 2010, addressing a problem he frequently encountered in family court: disorganized and disputed communication between co-parents.

Frustrated after one especially chaotic hearing, Nixon partnered with a friend to build a platform that created a single, complete, and unalterable record of communication for co-parents. The platform was designed specifically for use in court proceedings.

After early growth, Nixon joined forces with Bit-Wizards founders Vince Mayfield and Louis Erickson in 2012 to rebuild and scale the platform.

Together, they formed Monitored Communications LLC, which now operates Talking Parents and has expanded to include a mobile application and a growing team of professionals.

Speaking briefly at the hearing, Mayfield, now CEO of Talking Parents and Bit-Wizards, thanked the commission for their support.

“I just wanted to come today and express my gratitude for your kind consideration for this expansion, which I think is beneficial both for us and for Okaloosa County,” Mayfield said. “Thank you for making Okaloosa County a great place for us to grow business and to give back to our local area.”

The tax exemption is tied to a performance agreement that requires annual documentation of job creation and investment milestones. If the company fails to meet those benchmarks in any year, it becomes ineligible for the exemption during that period.

“This is one reason that more than 70% of county voters approved renewing this program this past November,” Sparks noted.

A final decision from Talking Parents regarding the project’s next steps is expected by July 7.