Maximum Millage Adopted

Yesterday, the County Commission set the county-wide maximum millage at 4.7815, unchanged in four years. Reduced payments on county debt have very slightly reduced another line item called the “voted debt” millage, and they are trying to claim a slight reduction by combining the two rates, but I am sure you are not fooled. (See: Rate to ensure tax hikes for many in the Palm Beach Post, and Palm Beach County holds the line again on property... [Read More...]

Maximum Millage to be Set on July 22

Tomorrow, July 22, the County Commission will set the maximum millage rate for FY2015. Staff is proposing the countwide rate stay at 4.7815 – which would be the fourth consecutive year at that rate. Judging by its position in an otherwise crowded agenda (Item 5-I-1), they do not expect much public comment on the action. The maximum rate is the do-not-exceed rate, and the final millage can be set lower than that in September (as it has been... [Read More...]

2015 Budget – Flat Millage, what’s not to like? PLENTY!

The Palm Beach County budget proposal, published this week, is quite remarkable. Not since the bubble years, when inflated valuations drove out of control spending, has there been a budget proposal of this size. Rising valuations should allow a modest return to the taxpayer through lowering the millage. This proposal, while holding millage flat, clearly notes that there are areas whose levels of funding they think are “unacceptably low”. By... [Read More...]

Another Go at the Sales Tax on Tuesday

The proposal for a county sales tax increase is back on the agenda, Tuesday March 11, postponed from the December 17 meeting by a 4-3 vote. (See Item 5G1.) In December, there was consensus that the proposal was a “potpourri” or grab-bag of small projects lumped togther to utilize the $110M a year that a .5% increase would bring. It’s reincarnation is still a grab-bag of small projects, but they are limited to infrastructure and spending... [Read More...]

Another Attempt to Raise the County Sales Tax

12/13/13 Update: This proposal now seems to be in disarray – the School District has requested the county administrator to remove any reference to them in the proposal. In a letter to County Administrator Bob Weisman, Superintendant Wayne Gent said: So that there is no misunderstanding, I am taking this opportunity to clarify the School Board’s position at this juncture on the subject of a joint referendum. We have not taken any formal... [Read More...]

County Commission votes to penalize West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach over Inspector General Lawsuit

In a clever but unusual move, County Administrator Bob Weisman last night proposed $916K in additional spending over the July budget package that specifically excluded amounts requested for West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach by $70K and $50K respectively. This was a direct response to those city’s refusal to pay their share of the Inspector General budget. The proposal included additional spending of $916K – $400K for the YECs, $175K for... [Read More...]

County Tax Trends – Some Perspective

After several years of calling for flat millage, it is time to shift our attention to the tax dollars themselves. Budget Hearings Monday, 9/9 at 6:00pmMonday 9/23 at 6:00pm There is an old saying that “nobody washes a rental car”. When you own, it is more in your interest to maintain the value of your asset. Similarly, if a third party is paying for something that benefits you, you may not think about the “value proposition”... [Read More...]

County Proposes No Change to Millage, $23M Tax Increase

The July budget line item is included in the next scheduled BCC Meeting on Tuesday, July 16, which starts at 9:30am. It is item 5G-1 on the agenda and will likely be the last item of the morning session. The first county budget proposal for fiscal year 2014, presented at the June 11 meeting, called for a millage increase to 4.8164 (up from the current 4.7815) and $25M in new ad valorem tax revenue – mostly to fund new spending proposed by the... [Read More...]

Determining County Budget Growth – Why the Baseline Year Matters

For the last few years, whenever the county budget has been presented, growth has been charted based on the year 2003. Numerical comparisons were made to 2007 though, and this year even the charts are based on 2007. Does this make a difference? What do the two baseline years tell us about the growth in spending and how the county staff wants you to look at it? As you may remember, the middle of the last decade saw a real estate “bubble”,... [Read More...]

County Proposes $25.3M tax increase

After leveling off last year following 4 years of decline, property values seem to have turned a corner and have ticked up 3.7% this year, easing pressure on county and municipal budgets. As the county has cranked up the millage rate as the valuations fell, will they now start to decrease them? Apparently not. The June budget package, to be discussed at the first hearing next Tuesday at 6:00pm, proposes an increase in the millage from 4.7815 to... [Read More...]

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