News

By Dan Moffett

    Concerns about cost have stopped six coastal communities from moving forward with a plan to create a barrier island fire district.
    Robert Finn of Texas-based Matrix Consulting Group, which completed a feasibility study on the idea last spring, said he has no meetings planned with representatives of Gulf Stream, Highland Beach, Briny Breezes, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge and South Palm Beach.
    Gulf Stream Town Manager William Thrasher, who organized the group, said the plan stalled over the higher costs the towns would have to pay to provide their own fire-rescue services. Several town managers who participated in the study initiative said they could not support anything with a higher price tag.
    “It seems like it’s dead to me,” Thrasher said. “Every formula that we came up with causes a situation where some would have to pay more money. That immediately eliminated the probability of this thing.”
    It came down to taxable values, several group members said. Towns with high valuations were capable of moving forward with the plan but those on the other end of the spectrum couldn’t afford it. Consider that Highland Beach’s tax base is roughly 50 times that of Briny Breezes and seven times that of South Palm Beach. Gulf Stream and Manalapan have valuations that are about three times that of South Palm and 25 times Briny’s.
    Thrasher said all six communities would have to participate for the plan to succeed. But the numbers wouldn’t allow it. South Palm Beach and Briny would be dealing with an “almost impossible rate increase,” he said, no matter what formula for participation was used.
    “I think the district is a great concept that serves a great purpose,” he said. “But it deals with entities that have different parities of taxable values. Your hands are tied as to what you can do when your revenues are so restricted.”
    Besides cost, there were worries from public safety officials about the difficulties of having first responders in position to efficiently cover a district that would be about 20 miles long.
    “There were a lot of things that are potential problems besides financial problems,” Thrasher said. “There are a lot of moving parts.”
    Finn said he expects the six town managers to discuss individually his 130-page report with elected officials. The study cost the group $39,000.