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Palm Beach County Commission to Rule on Children Services Council Request for Referendum on November 2014 Ballot

At its February 4^th meeting the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners will rule on the Children’s Services Council request to get the reauthorization vote on this coming November ballot. This is a terrific opportunity for Palm Beach County voters and taxpayers to make an informed decision regarding the continuation of a special taxing district.

The Palm Beach Children’s Services Council (http://www.cscpbc.org/ ) is one of 8 special taxing districts in the state (Hillsborough, Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade, St. Lucie, Okeechobee, Pinellas are the others).The Palm Beach taxing district, which levies a tax directly on Palm Beach County real estate (2012 mil rate was .7459), was authorized by Florida Statute in 1986 and created by local referendum on November 4, 1986. For the current year, $80.2 million of an approximately $100 million budget is allocated through 66 grants to 38 organizations. Ten (10) organizations receive 80% of the funds.

The Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County, the recipient of more than a third of the taxing district’s revenue, runs a school readiness and voluntary pre-kindergarten program. Based on the 2012 Annual Report the total expenditures were $87 million with the Childrens Services Council contributing about 25% of that amount.