Your taxes: Palm Beach County cuts tax rate cut by 4.6%, the largest since Great Recession
County commissioners Tuesday cut the tax rate by 4.6%, enough to avoid an increase in county taxes next year for most residents whose homes are homesteaded. The only larger percentage cut in the past 31 years was during the Great Recession in 2008.
The tax rate and the $1.3 billion budget were adopted following a public hearing. Even with the cut — thanks to soaring real estate prices — county budget officials will have about $85 million in additional property tax revenue to fund county operations, which represents an increase of nearly 7%.
County taxes typically account for about 25% of a homeowner's tax bill.
The budget provides for a 6% pay increase for county employees, 23 new positions funded through property taxes, a $53.8 million increase for the sheriff and a $12 million increase for the supervisor of elections.
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County Commissioner Maria Marino pushed for a reduction in the millage rate this year, noting that without a significant cut in the rate, many homeowners would pay more in property taxes as a result of higher property assessments. Marino argued that a lower rate stimulates economic growth and helps address the region’s housing affordability crisis.
The owner of a $300,000 non-homesteaded home would pay $1,350 under the new rate.
Local tax bills along with Fire-Rescue bills would be on top of the county bill. So, too, would the bill for schools.
Big budget increases for sheriff and supervisor of elections offices
The county balanced its budget by taking more out of its reserve fund. The administration expressed concerns that the move could affect the county’s triple-A bond rating. The county has the lowest reserve balance among triple-A rated Florida counties, and that it is well below the statewide average of 36%.
The budget increases the sheriff's budget by $53.5 million and the supervisor of elections' budget by $12 million, an increase of more than 50%. During the public hearing, critics of Wendy Sartory-Link again called for the commission to reject her budget, calling the increases out of line.
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But Marino defended them, noting, as Sartory-Link did recently, that they are for the most part the result of "unfunded state mandates." She suggested that the critics take their complaints to Tallahassee instead of continuing to flood commission offices with emails and phone calls questioning the elections budget.
For example, Marino pointed out that Sartory-Link's office must now monitor dropboxes at all times. Voters used to be able to put their ballots into an unmanned dropbox at any time of the day.
Other election supervisors have also had to raise their budgets. Flagler County is up 52%, Orange, 47%, Martin, 22%, Broward, 21% and Brevard, 15%.
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Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Your taxes: Palm Beach County adopts budget, cuts tax rate by 4.6%
