Tax hike to smooth city streets
A year ago, Boynton City Manager Lori LaVerriere said raising Palm Beach County’s sales tax by a penny on the dollar would give the city more than $3 million a year. She described it as a “dream come true.”
LaVerriere’s description is understandable. As city manager, she’s responsible for making things happen. And she needs money to do that.
The city about a month ago received a $376,000 check for what the sales tax increase produced for Boynton in January. Jan. 1 is when customers started paying the increase. Staff expects to receive about $3.2 million by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. How will the city use it? Street and sidewalk maintenance. If there was no sales tax increase, the city planned to spend only $150,000 on street repairs Alexandra Seltzer and $130,000 for fixing the sidewalks. As LaVerriere said, dreams are coming true.
“It’s a good start to catch us up,” said Jeff Livergood, the city’s director of public works and engineering.
Would this happen without the sales tax money?
“Not a chance,” Livergood said.
Palm Beach County voters in November approved the increase, which raised the sales tax from 6 cents to 7 cents on the dollar. The increase is expected to generate about $2.7 billion over the next decade. Half the money will go to the School District of Palm Beach County. The county will receive 30 percent, and the cities will get the final 20 percent.
Here’s what’s in store in Boynton:
■ Asphalt overlay, pavement patching and striping of certain streets
■ Replacing faded street signs, stop signs and speed limit signs
■ Repair of broken side- walks
■ Making sure ramps are installed where necessary
To the north in Palm Beach Gardens, city officials hope to use the money for a variety of projects that include building a new soccer complex and expanding the baseball facilities. Officials at other municipalities, such as Jupiter, are still compiling a list of possible places to spend the money.
In Boynton, residents will see some construction beginning in mid- to late May, with the majority of it happening in mid- to late summer.
The city commissioners will decide in July how to spend next year’s money.