News

By Jane Smith

    City homeowners will enjoy a slight reduction in next year’s property tax rate under a $110 million budget passed on Sept. 20.
    A Delray Beach owner of a home valued at $550,000 with a $50,000 homestead exemption will pay $50 less in property taxes next year under the plan.
    The current property tax rate is $7.06 per $1,000 in property value, and for the next budget year the rate will slide to $6.96 per $1,000. The tax rate needed for debt service also fell slightly, to 25 cents.
    The assessed value used for the debt service is $3.3 million higher than the $8.8 billion value used for the operating budget. The difference comes from the tax exemptions the city gives for improvements on historic properties. The exemptions apply only to the city’s operating budget.
    Even so, at $6.96 per $1,000 in property valuation, the proposed tax rate is higher than the rollback rate of $6.53 per $1,000 by 6.36 percent. At the rollback rate, the same amount of property tax revenue would be generated as during the prior budget year.
    Two commissioners, Mitch Katz and Shelly Petrolia, wanted to reduce property taxes even more.
    Katz worked with the city manager to devise a plan to reduce the tax rate another 0.1 percent. The city coffers were strong in August, allowing Delray Beach to pay in cash for two fire engines needed and passing the $300,000 saving to property owners.
    But City Manager Don Cooper did not recommend changing the budget. He wanted to keep the money in his contingency budget for emergency expenses.
    The two other commissioners and the mayor agreed.
    “We gave marching orders to our staff in October at the goal-setting session,” Mayor Cary Glickstein said. “If those sessions are to have any meaning, we need to stand behind our staff.”
    He also asked his colleagues to remember the need for revenue when the parking meters expansion comes up next year. “That is a game changer that doesn’t penalize residents in the way property taxes do,” he said. “You want to park for convenience, you pay for convenience.”
    The commission also took the following actions:
    • Approved historic property tax exemptions for improvements on three historic homes: a 1937 frame vernacular-style single-family home in the Marina Historic District, a 1941 single-family home in the Nassau Park Historic District and a 1950 ranch-style single-family home in the Nassau Park Historic District.
    The exemptions are for the improvements and last 10 years regardless of who owns the property.
    • Renewed an agreement with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that calls for a city police officer to work on a DEA Task Force to disrupt the illegal narcotics traffic in South Florida. The city will pay for the officer’s salary, benefits and overtime.
The DEA, subject to availability of money, will pay up to $17,753 in overtime.
    • Approved purchase of 65 bulletproof vests for fire-rescue personnel to use in the event of a mass shooting.
The vests, at a cost not to exceed $79,000, will be purchased from Municipal Emergency Services Inc. at the state’s contract price.
    • Approved stainless steel showers and drinking fountains made by Most Dependable Fountains as the city standard and approved purchasing them for the beach master plan in an amount not to exceed $138,000.
    • Agreed to pay $200,000 to Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. consultants to determine whether the city’s streets and sidewalks are wheelchair accessible.