Palm Beach County keeps tax rate the same
Rising property values will put an extra $52M in government coffers.
Palm Beach County commissioners are keeping this year’s tax rate the same for the eighth consecutive year, a move they expect will generate about $898 million — $52 million more than last year — thanks to increasing property values.
Residents of the county’s unincorporated neighborhoods will pay $4.78 for every $1,000 in taxable property value. That excludes fees for services such as fire-rescue, libraries and garbage collection.
The owner of a $255,000 house with a homestead exemption will pay about $26 more in 2019 than in 2018.
The commissioners voted for the final time Monday night on the tax rate and the $4.8 billion budget for fiscal 2019, which starts Oct. 1.
Balancing a massive budget is a heavy lift every year, but county staff has told commissioners to prepare for what could be an even tougher act next budget cycle. If residents in November pass ballot question Amendment 1 — another homestead exemption for homes assessed at a certain value — the county could see a $27 million decrease in tax revenue in 2020.
To prepare for the potential loss, County Administrator
Verdenia Baker boosted the reserves this year to a total of $131 million from last year’s $108 million. Money in the reserve fund can come into play to cover hurricane debris cleanups, unexpected costs when President Donald Trump comes to town and to bolster the county’s bond rating.
The county’s biggest expense in the 2019 budget is personnel. The $1.2 billion for employee-related costs is about 26 percent of the budget. This year’s budget calls for 144 additional positions including 18 for engineering and public works, 19 for Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and 57 for the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office. Personnel costs also account for a 3 percent raise for employees.
The Sheriff ’s Office is also a big expense. This year’s bill is about $663.6 million, includ- ing personnel costs. That’s despite PBSO scaling back its initial request by about $30 million but still getting $33 million more than last year.
Other major increases this year include: an additional $3 million to maintain the county’s natural areas; $1.2 million more for housing and homelessness, which includes $650,000 for affordable housing in the Glades area; $3.2 million extra for Community Redevelopment Agencies; and $632,000 more to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner.
County residents asked commissioners to allocate more money in this year’s budget to Palm Tran and Animal Care and Control. Bus riders called for service on holidays, and animal lovers asked that the dog kennels be cooled with air conditioning. Staff is researching both requests before officials make a decision, which likely won’t happen for a few months.