Palm Beach Town Council approves property tax rate reduction for upcoming fiscal year

Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News
·2 min read
At the second of two budget hearings Thursday, the Town Council adopted a final millage rate and budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
At the second of two budget hearings Thursday, the Town Council adopted a final millage rate and budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

The Palm Beach Town Council has given final approval to a lower property tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year.

During the second of two state-required public budget hearings Thursday at Town Hall, council members voted unanimously to adopt a proposed millage rate of $2.69 per $1,000 of taxable value.

The property tax rate constitutes a 7% reduction from the current rate of $2.89 per $1,000 of taxable value.

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The new rate represents a $113 reduction in taxes per $1 million for homesteaded properties, and a $66 increase for non‐homestead properties based on the 10% cap, as defined by state law.

It will generate $2.5 million more in tax revenue, for a total of $65.4 million.

During a budget workshop in July, the council agreed to use that additional tax revenue for public safety improvements that the town has been pushing for, Town Manager Kirk Blouin said.

Those improvements include the installation of smart traffic signals and crosswalks and other enhanced technology throughout the town.

Smart traffic signals gather information from sensors placed at intersections and regularly update light timing based on actual conditions. Light cycles can be adjusted remotely through this system, which is designed to reduce the amount of time that cars spend idling.

North County Road from Royal Poinciana Way looking north Sunday, March 21, 2021. In the background, to the left, is St. Edward's Catholic Church, built in 1926. In the foreground is the intersection of North County Road and Royal Poinciana Way, which then was known as Flagler Avenue and later as Main Street. BRUCE R. BENNETT
North County Road from Royal Poinciana Way looking north Sunday, March 21, 2021. In the background, to the left, is St. Edward's Catholic Church, built in 1926. In the foreground is the intersection of North County Road and Royal Poinciana Way, which then was known as Flagler Avenue and later as Main Street. BRUCE R. BENNETT

During Thursday's hearing, the town council also adopted a final operating budget of $97.2 million for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. That figure is 9% larger than the current $89.1 million budget, with most of the increase going to cover additional personnel, salary, contractual and inflationary increases; increases to the transfer to the coastal protection fund; and public safety capital improvements.

The spending plan includes the addition of 9.6 new full-time positions, all in the public safety sector. With those additions, the town's workforce would grow to nearly 363 employees.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach reduces property tax rate for fiscal year starting Oct. 1.