By Dan Moffett

    Gulf Stream consistently ranks among the state’s most affluent communities, which helps explain how the town has been able to absorb a stunning increase in budget expenses that few other municipalities could.
    Over the last two years, residents have watched their tax rate soar about 42 percent — from $3.497 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2013, to $3.90 in 2014, to the current proposed rate of $5 per $1,000.
    This comes at a time when the town’s property values have been soaring, too — up 14 percent in 2014 over the previous year and up another 10.6 percent over that this year to $965 million. The town’s total budget has almost doubled from about $3.1 million three years ago to the $5.8 million proposed for the next fiscal year.
    Where has all the new revenue gone? Most of it is going to legal bills, which now account for close to 20 percent of the entire budget. Gulf Stream officials blame two litigious residents for the exploding numbers: Martin O’Boyle and Chris O’Hare.
This years’s budget includes $1 million to cover the anticipated legal fees the town will incur from defending itself against dozens of lawsuits O’Boyle and O’Hare have filed against Gulf Stream, its commissioners and its employees.
    At the July 10 town commission meeting, O’Hare called the legal bills and budget numbers “distressing” and said commissioners should change their approach, stop fighting in the courts and work for a settlement with the two men.
    “The $1 million in legal fees is a burden on the 500 property owners that pay taxes here,” O’Hare said. “It only takes three commissioners to change the direction this ship is heading.”
    “Why don’t you dismiss all your lawsuits?” Mayor Scott Morgan asked him. “It would save the town so much money … I think the entire town would love that. Why don’t you give that some thought?”
    Because of the legal expenses, homeowners will get no break from their rising property values. The current rollback rate — the millage at which tax revenues would remain the same as 2015 — is $3.63 per $1,000, meaning taxpayers, under the proposed budget, will be charged 36 percent more than what they paid last year despite the robust real estate appreciation. And all this comes while the town also is paying for a multiyear $5.4  million project to move its utility lines underground.
    Town Manager William Thrasher said his budget proposal will generate enough revenue to replenish the town’s dwindling reserves with an infusion of about $672,000. Thrasher said that will provide a cushion against emergencies. Beyond legal expenses, close to 25 percent of the total budget, roughly $1.5 million, goes to Delray Beach for fire-rescue, water and building services.
    Gulf Stream’s taxpayers can take some solace from knowing that their town’s budget methodology is well-regarded within its peer group. The Chicago-based Government Finance Officers Association honored the town with its Distinguished Budget Presentation Award this year, giving officials high marks for the budget as “a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide (and) a communications device.” It is the only national awards program in government budgeting.
    The GFOA recognized Rebecca Tew, the town’s accountant, for her work on the budget, and the Town Commission gave her a round of applause at the July meeting.

Gulf Stream
Proposed tax rate: $5 per $1,000 of taxable value
2014-15 tax rate: $3.90 per $1,000 of taxable value
Change in property value: 10.6 percent increase
Total budget (operating and capital): $5.8 million
Public hearings: 5:01 p.m. Sept. 11 and 22 at Town Hall

    We make mistakes. We try really hard not to, but they happen.
    Sometimes we can’t fit all of the information into a story that people think we should, and sometimes the way we say things makes readers think one thing when that’s not what we were trying to say. We’ve heard both of these complaints this past month.
    Putting words together in a compact and readable way, forming stories out of interviews, trying to find the facts behind hints and innuendo can be tricky. We do the best we can and hire several different people to look at all the words before we publish. We try not to make mistakes. Really we do.
    But sometimes our fingers simply hit the wrong keys on the keyboard. And sometimes we miss these typos before they get into print. That’s what happened with Woody Gorbach’s name in a photo caption. Twice. Once it was Horvath then it was Gorbath.
    Here’s my explanation: My husband is an excellent photographer, but a lousy typist. He claims he had to take typing class twice in high school.
    But don’t we have copy editors you ask? Yes, we do. And normally we watch caption information very closely, but the first time around with Mr. Gorbach’s name, we just missed it.
    My husband was so upset by his first mistake that we published a correction and I didn’t double-check behind him. If you’ve been married for a while, you probably know what a minefield it can be to second-guess your spouse’s work. Right?
    So, we made a mistake — again. Unfortunately it was on the name of an elected official who is also a decorated war hero. Embarrassing.
    Mr. Gorbach has been a good sport about these mistakes and we’ve promised him a copy of the photograph as an apology. That’s the least we can do.
    And we’ll try not to do it again. But if we do, please let us know. If the mistake we make is factual, we’ll do our best to correct it. Even if it’s a typing error.
— Mary Kate Leming,
Editor

... But here’s something we got right

    We won several awards at the Florida Press Association’s Better Weekly Newspapers contest July 24 in  Orlando:
    Cheryl Blackerby received two first-place awards for environmental and outdoor writing.
    Dan Moffett won second place for local government reporting.
    Willie Howard won second place for outdoor and recreation writing.
    Mary Thurwachter took second place for community history.
    Scott Simmons, Jerry Lower and Mary Kate Leming received second place for overall graphic design.
    Third place winners were: Mary Hladky, business reporting; Ron Hayes, community history and Emily J. Minor, feature profile.
We are very proud of our award-winning team.

    As a co-defendant in the town of Gulf Stream’s recent RICO lawsuit, I would like to set the record straight. The town initiated this action for one purpose — to censor, intimidate and silence its critics.
    I have been very careful to make sure my legal complaints against the town were thoughtful, valid and worthy of the court’s time. Mayor Scott Morgan labeled them all “scandalously malicious and frivolous.”  Now the town’s RICO complaint has apparently been determined to be frivolous. How ironic.
     Mayor Morgan, using the town’s outside counsel, attorney Robert Sweetapple (previously my attorney), first offered to exclude me a year ago from this RICO complaint if I agreed to drop all my lawsuits against the town. I did not take him up on his offer.
Last October the mayor and attorney Gerald Richman assured the other commissioners that the RICO threat would make me withdraw all my complaints and cause me to stop asking for public records. Additionally, the commission anticipated that a RICO judgment would get them all their legal expenses back three times over.
     Perhaps naively, I thought my right to free speech was more important than the inconvenience of defending against a RICO claim. I had no idea just how debilitating and costly that defense would be.
     This experience has been very stressful for my family and me. The financial strain of defending myself, the uncertainty of a possible devastating outcome and the shock of being falsely accused have taken a toll. I thank God U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Marra finally put an end to it.
     I consider the mayor’s RICO lawsuit against me and his publicity campaign of “bully pulpit” comments at Town Hall meetings, his official letters to residents, town interviews on TV and in newspapers, and even a defamatory law review article by another of the town’s attorneys, all to be part of a continuing campaign of retaliation against me for speaking out. 
     I have made many public record requests about the police officer who trespassed into my home over three years ago and other questionable activities by the town. I have spoken publicly at town meetings about issues town leaders may find uncomfortable. The town wished to chill such public speech by claiming it was part of some organized crime effort. Thankfully the judge ruled otherwise.
     Rather than admit past wrongdoing, agreeing to follow state law in the future and acting like a real democratic government, town leaders instead choose to stall the inevitable by ignoring settlement offers and prolonging a legal strategy apparently intended to “save face.” 
     In July, the commission voted to appeal Marra’s decision and ask another judge to examine this expensive and unwarranted RICO lawsuit.
     Also at this meeting, the town manager disclosed that next year’s budget will allocate $1 million for legal expenses (25 percent of the town’s entire budget). Where is this money coming from? At that same July meeting the town approved a preliminary budget that raises the millage rate from 3.1 mills in 2012 to 5.0 mills in 2015. According to the town’s own estimates, when adjusted for increases in property value, this is a total increase of 73.57 percent in just three years.
     This RICO complaint may have been born more out of hubris than actual government purpose, proving to be more self-serving rather than serving the public and certainly intended to protect town leaders by punishing town critics. Consequently, the notion of fair government has been besmirched and unfortunately town residents will be stuck with the hefty and growing bill.
Christopher O’Hare
Gulf Stream

Editor’s Note: According to the Town of Gulf Stream, Mr. O’Hare has filed more than 1,000 public record requests with the town.

This gray fox is a frequent visitor to Briny Breezes.

Photo courtesy Marcela Viglianchino

By Cheryl Blackerby

    In early morning, a gray fox peeked out of dense foliage by the Little Club golf course in Gulf Stream and trotted with its distinctive bounce across the grass, its ears straight up and alert.
    “Look, a red fox!” exclaimed a birdwatcher looking for birds, not foxes.
    The little fox was actually a gray fox with red fur on its ears, neck and sides. It quickly disappeared into the bushes.
    Gray foxes are native Floridians that usually hide in dry forests. But as their inland natural habitats succumb to development, they are being driven into coastal communities.
    If there are increased sightings, it probably means construction has run them out of woodlands.
    “Unfortunately, their natural areas are getting bulldozed and construction is pushing animals out. They’re losing habitat,” says Ricardo Zambrano, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission regional biologist. “And we’ve lost a lot of large predators such as bobcats, panthers and coyotes that prey on foxes.”
    Urban dwellers tend to love them or hate them. But Florida wildlife experts say there’s a lot to love and admire about the foxes, particularly their choice of food — mostly rats and mice.
    “People should rejoice when they see foxes because they keep the rodent population down,” says Sherry Schlueter, executive director of the South Florida Wildlife Center, which handles wildlife rescue and nuisance calls in Palm Beach and Broward counties. “Gray foxes are highly beneficial in our ecosystem.”
    Mice in the dunes on the beach and rats along the Intracoastal are bringing foxes to the coast. “And where there are people, there are rodents,” says Zambrano.
    That foxes eat dogs and cats is strictly urban myth.
    “I’ve never heard of a fox attacking a dog or cat,” says Zambrano.
    In fact, the reverse is true. Dogs and cats left outside often attack foxes and kill fox pups.
Gray foxes and raccoons do prey on turtle nests and cause the loss of 5 to 7 percent of the nests in Boca Raton. They are the predominant mammalian predators of sea turtle nests, eating the eggs and killing hatchlings, says Kirt Rusenko, marine conservationist at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.
     “The worst thing people can do is feed the foxes as that increases their population and puts tremendous pressure on the nests in the area. South of the [Boca] inlet this year is our hot-spot so we are pretty sure someone in one of the condos there is feeding the foxes,” Rusenko says.
     But the center can keep turtle nests safe with pepper, he says. “Our use of habanero pepper powder on the nests deters them quite well. In really bad areas like south of the inlet we [also] screen the nests with a 4 by 4-foot wire mesh in an attempt to keep the foxes out of the nest.”
    Schlueter says raccoons, not foxes, are more commonly the culprit for eating turtle eggs on South Florida beaches.
    Like other Florida mammals, foxes can get rabies, but this has not been a problem in Florida, says Zambrano.
    Foxes rarely carry rabies, but can get distemper, which is not harmful to people. And the disease is generally not given to domestic animals because most pets get distemper vaccinations.
    Nuisance calls about foxes usually are from people who are frightened by wildlife or, more commonly, homeowners who have found fox pups.
    “We have already taken in 38 foxes this year, and 23 were babies,” says Schlueter. That’s a tiny percentage of the 12,000 injured, orphaned, or imperiled animals the South Florida Wildlife Center takes in annually. The center is one of the largest wildlife hospitals, trauma centers and rehabilitation facilities in the nation.
    “What often happens is that people mow their lawns and scare off the mother fox, and they find the babies and bring them in,” says Schlueter. She advises homeowners to observe the fox den from a distance to see if the mother returns before they remove the pups.
    Foxes also eat fruit on the ground — another service to humans — but  generally don’t eat vegetables in a garden.
    And they don’t usually eat garbage, says Schlueter.
    “Foxes get unfairly blamed sometimes for overturned trash cans. Remember, these are tiny creatures. In all likelihood, trash cans are  overturned by dogs,” she says.
    The dainty fox weighs only 7 to 13 pounds and has a gray coat with red around the ears, face and throat — although there may be red on the sides, which leads people to believe they are red foxes. There are no native red foxes in Florida, although there are a few red foxes on Florida’s Panhandle that are descendants of red foxes released on fox hunts.
    Foxes are shy and nocturnal. If you see a fox in the daytime, it is almost certainly a mother fox foraging for food for babies, says Schlueter.
    She warns people not to feed them or any wildlife. “There’s plenty of food for them in sunny Florida,” she says.
    Foxes should be appreciated, not feared, say the experts.
    “They are adorable, really endearing animals,” says Schlueter.
    And here’s a fun fox fact: They are the only member of the dog family that climbs  trees.

    If you find an injured or sick fox or other wildlife, contact South Florida Wildlife Center at 954-524-4302 or 866-SOS-WILD.

Lynda Hunter, children’s services librarian at the Delray Beach Public Library, plays guitar

and performs sing-along tunes to a packed room on June 29. Hunter is celebrating her 30th year at the library.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

    Lynda Hunter’s first day on the job at the Delray Beach Public Library didn’t go all that well.
    A mother of two small children at the time, Hunter had noticed during one of her visits that the library was looking for someone to work part time, checking out books.
    “The first day I was really bored,” says Hunter, who has a master’s degree in fine arts education and who had taught school in one of Philadelphia’s toughest neighborhoods.
    Three days after she was hired, however, the children’s librarian resigned and the library’s then director, Leslie Strickland, asked Hunter to step in.
    Hunter has been anything but bored since getting the job 30 years ago this month and leading a vibrant children’s program focused on serving the entire community.
    A musician with years of classical piano training but who began playing folk and blues guitar during the 1960s, Hunter began incorporating music and art into children’s programming at the library.
    Realizing the library, then on Southeast Fourth Avenue, was serving mostly the children of the city’s more affluent residents, Hunter began taking her show on the road.
    “I started outreach programs at daycare centers and after-school programs to read to children who weren’t coming to the library,” she said.
    Now 68, Hunter is still taking her guitars and her books to Head Start programs, schools and summer camps, in addition to leading several story-time programs inside the library — all while running a growing department.
    During a two-week period last month, Hunter and her team of two full-time and one part-time assistants put on programs attended by more than 3,000 children.
    A self-proclaimed “old hippie still at heart” who in the 1960s hitchhiked to South Carolina to help register black voters — and later was escorted out of town by police officers — Hunter remains committed to reaching children throughout the community.
    “My goal then, and my goal still is, for every child in Delray Beach to have a library card,” she said. “Even if it is never used, it’s a ticket to anywhere a child wants to go. It’s really their first credit card.”
    Over her 30-year career at the Delray Beach Public Library — one of only two in Florida that are nonprofit organizations run by a board of directors — Hunter has reached thousands of children while at the same time earning her doctorate in fine arts education.
    “I have mothers in my programs who were in my programs when they were little,” she said. “They tell me they want their children to have the same experience they had.”
    Hunter and the library have made it a point to keep up with the changing technology that some predicted would make libraries obsolete.
    “The opposite is true,” she says, explaining that the library is packed with computers that children can use and offers a wide range of children’s programs, ranging from science and geography clubs to the Paws for Reading program, where kids read to service dogs.
    Now, Hunter is focused on making plans for a 5,000-square-foot expansion of the children’s area — funded through the library’s “Foothold on the Future” campaign — that will include a state-of-the-art computer lab for kids as well as a music production studio.
    “When you get children used to coming to the library, you have a captive audience,” she says. “The expansion is going to help create a positive learning experience. We want to help build self-esteem because when children think they can do something, they can do virtually anything.”
    Although change is coming to the library’s children’s area thanks to the expansion, there’s a good chance visitors will find Lynda Hunter surrounded by children who are listening as a story unfolds.
    “I can’t imagine not doing this,” she says.  “I believe I’m still making a difference and when I don’t believe that anymore, my days here at the library will be over.”

    In mid-July, Lantana town crews began working on a water problem along Dixie Highway, near the northern town limits. I understand it had to do with a nonfunctioning fire hydrant.
    As a result, East View Street experienced diminished water service for several days. At times, there was no water. By July 17 there was no water at all.
    The town’s crews continued to work throughout the steamy hot day. By evening, still no water.
    I spoke with the men on the job (who were polite and helpful) and they assured me that they would not leave until water was restored.
    That turned out to be true, but not before the men had worked long after dark on a Friday evening.
    They were aware, I think, that many View Street residents are elderly and the result of a prolonged drought could negatively impact their health.
    I want to commend the public service workers for their performance and dedication. This unpleasant development could have been much more serious.
    Please convey our appreciation to the workers and managers who helped us.

Ken Matthews
Lantana

By Dan Moffett

     Gulf Stream town commissioners have unanimously voted to appeal a judge’s ruling that dismisses their federal racketeering lawsuit against residents Martin O’Boyle and Christopher O’Hare.
    Commissioners also have agreed to continue their fight against O’Boyle and O’Hare in the state courts, where dozens of cases about public records disputes and other matters await resolution.
    Mayor Scott Morgan says that U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Marra’s decision in June to throw out the town’s class-action RICO suit was not a validation of the two residents’ behavior and should not diminish Gulf Stream’s resolve, especially at the state level.
    “Make no mistake. These people will be held to account for their actions,” Morgan said.
    “We have not put all eggs in the RICO basket. In fact, our actions have been ongoing in the state cases, predating the RICO action, where we’ve had success.”
    Taking the RICO case to the U.S. appellate court, Morgan says, will give the town’s lawyers a chance to argue that the federal statute should be expanded to consider the town’s allegations against O’Boyle and O’Hare.
    “The judge is a trial judge,” Morgan said of Marra. “Trial judges do not make law. This is a case of first impression. That means there is no other case like this — not in Florida, not in the entire United States.”
    Morgan said O’Boyle sent him a letter in July, urging commissioners to “have a sit-down” and enter into settlement negotiations. But Morgan said the town thought it ended the disputes with O’Boyle in 2013 when the two sides settled a lawsuit over the remodeling of his home. Within months, however, new issues arose, Morgan said, and O’Boyle filed a “new round” of lawsuits.
    “A review of history is important,” Morgan said. “We’ve done this (settlement) before, and it cost the town an awful lot of money and embarrassment.”
    The mayor said the town’s more recent attempts at finding a settlement “turned into threats, and banners and more litigation” from O’Boyle. Other commissioners agreed.
    “I fully support your taking charge of this, and I think you’re handling it the right way,” Commissioner Joan Orthwein told the mayor during the July meeting. “I like your history of it. I think there’s no way we could ever settle again.”
    “Amen,” said Vice Mayor Robert Ganger.
    O’Hare told the commission he had no choice but to take his issues with the town to court.
    “I don’t want to sound like Don Quixote, but there are democratic principles at stake,” O’Hare said. “The only way it seems to get those principles on line is by redress from the courts.”
    O’Hare accused the town of mismanagement and wasting taxpayers’ money, with a newly minted budget proposal that sets aside $1 million for legal fees in the next fiscal year, including the RICO appeal.
    “I could see the town’s millage rate going to 7.5,” O’Hare said.
    Jonathan O’Boyle, Martin’s son and a director with the family’s law firm in Deerfield Beach, has said that the blame for the legal hostilities lies with the commissioners and the town’s managers.
    “If the town were a corporation, the shareholders would demand to know how much this lawsuit cost, demand a refund, and replace management,” Jonathan O’Boyle said.  “The taxpayers deserve personal refunds from their leaders.”
    Morgan stands by the town’s RICO assertion that O’Boyle and O’Hare used public records to “intimidate and extort, by means of misleading and fraudulent behavior, money and changes in action from municipalities” in a conspiracy that reached across the state.

By Jane Smith

    Delray Beach is undergoing a cultural shift where departmental silos are breaking down and city employees are working together in hopes of saving taxpayers money.
    The enthusiasm of city staff was palpable when department heads talked about their budgets before the City Commission in mid-July. But staff at two of its agencies — the Downtown Development Authority and Community Redevelopment Agency — feverishly reviewed their budgets, knowing they would have to justify expenses.
    “It’s a very good news story,” said Jack Warner, the city’s chief financial officer, when talking about the 2015-16 budget. “But we are not finished yet.”
    From its $110.3 million budget, the city spends about 62 percent on personnel and an additional 10 percent goes to its CRA and nonprofits. With those restrictions, Warner recommended keeping the operational rate flat, while the debt service rate fell by 9 percent, to give taxpayers an overall reduction of 0.4 percent.
    Because property values rose this year by 10.2 percent, most taxpayers will pay more under the $7.44 rate approved unanimously by the commission. Public hearings will be held in September, when the commission may lower the tax rate.
    Commissioners wanted to be able to give residents reasons for not reducing taxes.
    “There are a lot of ideas thrown out there on how to reduce our millage. Some people say stop funding nonprofits, some people say get rid of the CRA, some people say consolidate the Fire Department with the county and some people say charge for parking,” Commissioner Jordana Jarjura said. “It would be helpful to know the cost of each of those and then the residents would say, ‘You know what, I am comfortable paying the 7.1 percent (without debt service) because I want to keep all those things.’ ”   
    In May, a divided commission voted 3-2 against adding downtown parking meters, which would have generated $3.6 million annually.

CRA pays for nonprofits
    The CRA board selected Munilytics Inc. on July 23 to analyze the effect of losing tax increment revenues in each of its eight areas, as requested by the City Commission. The results are expected in October.
    For the next budget year, the city asked its CRA to pay the total cost of the revamped Clean and Safe program at $2.3 million, a 27 percent increase, and cover an additional $100,000 of the Delray Beach Public Library operating budget, or slightly more than 20 percent. The agency is limited by a 25 percent cap for nonprofits. It also will donate $275,000 (18 percent) to the Creative City Collaborative, the group that runs the Arts Garage.
    EPOCH, the organization that runs the Spady Museum, will receive 25 percent, or $59,425, of its operating budget from the CRA. Delray Beach Center for the Arts, which runs programs at the Old School Square complex, will receive $289,900, or 14.5 percent, of its operating budget. The Delray Beach Historical Society ­—included for the first time — will receive $45,000, or 21.8 percent, of its operating budget.
    The CRA has a proposed $28.2 million budget next year, which includes $8.9 million in city tax increment revenues, $6 million from the county tax increment revenues and $5.6 million in carry-over money for projects that are unfinished.
    The leftover projects aggravated CRA board members because they pay $97,557 for a project engineer who is part of the city’s Environmental Services Department.
    “We are carrying 20 percent of our budget because nothing gets done,” said CRA board member Paul Zacks. He wants to meet the engineer the CRA pays for, “call him into the principal’s office.”
    Instead, Randall Krejcarek, his supervisor and department director, will be asked to attend the CRA August workshop.
    The agency’s top capital improvement item weighs in at $2.8 million for the Arts Warehouse construction.
    The CRA tallied the amount it will pay for city projects, services and nonprofit programs to be $14.7 million, nearly $5.8 million more than it receives in city tax revenue.
    “How could they survive without us?” incoming CRA Chair Reggie Cox asked at the group’s budget meeting on July 22.
    The agency will borrow from a $6 million line of credit if it can’t sell the former library and chamber site to the iPic developers. The iPic project will come before the City Commission on Aug. 18.

DDA proposes tax increase
    The DDA presented its proposed budget of $759,929 to the City Commission on July 14. Commissioners agreed to the proposed tax rate of 1 mill, which would give the DDA $689,989 in tax revenues. The tax rate can be lowered in September. The city is surveying property owners and renters in the district; results will be given in August.
    The proposed budget includes $15,000 for West Atlantic to do a small research project on the target audience and how to reach it. The DDA initially had budgeted $5,000 before hearing a presentation from a West Atlantic consultant on July 13.
    That increased allocation pleased Vice Mayor Shelly Petrolia. “The branding was brought out in the Delray Meets Delray event,” she said. “It’s very important and so key to what is happening in West Atlantic.”
    In other action, commissioners asked the city manager to explore the cost of constructing a prefab facility on city land to store its 100-foot Christmas tree, instead of spending $1 million to buy a replacement tree.

Delray Beach
Proposed tax rate: $7.44 per $1,000 of taxable value*
2014-15 tax rate: $7.46 per $1,000 of taxable value*
Change in property value: 10.2 percent increase
Total budget (operating and capital): $110.3 million
Public hearings: 7 p.m. Sept. 3 and Sept. 15 at City Hall
*Debt service included.
2015-16 tax rate may be lowered, but not raised at the September hearings.

The city will have another public meeting Aug. 13 to gauge community support for allowing dogs on part of the public beach.

2014 file photo

By Rich Pollack

    Pet owners, who for years have been pressing for a designated dog beach in Delray Beach, found a glimmer of hope last month when the city’s Parks and Recreation director conducted the first of at least two meetings designed to gauge community support for the idea.
    During the initial meeting, Suzanne Davis explained that she and her department have spent months looking into the feasibility of a pilot project in which a portion of the city’s public beach would be designated as a recreation area for dogs.
    The goal, she said, will be to present the collected information, including best practices from other cities, public comments and suggestions to city commissioners soon.
    “We want to get as much information as possible,” she said. “We want to present the pros and cons that will help the commission make an informed decision.”
    Davis said one idea under consideration is to designate a portion of the recreation area at the extreme north end of the city’s public beach as a dog beach. She said there is a recreation area at the south end of the public beach, near Atlantic Dunes Park, that could also be used as a dog beach.
    Currently, the city does not allow dogs on any portion of the public beach.
    While dog owners attending the meeting appeared optimistic, Davis cautioned that more needs to be done before the idea could be presented to the City Commission.
    “This isn’t going to happen overnight and if it does, it probably is only going to be a pilot project,” she said.
    As part of the fact-gathering process, the Parks and Recreation Department researched how other cities, such as Boca Raton, have successfully implemented dog beaches and conducted an online survey prior to last month’s meeting.
    The survey, completed by more than 500 participants, showed overwhelming support for a dog beach, with 82 percent saying they were in favor of the idea. Those responding — as well as those attending last month’s meeting — were often split, however, on specifics such as whether the dog beach should have limited hours, whether there should be a fee and whether dogs should be required to be on leashes.
    Most agreed that those using the dog beach should have to register and present proof their pets had all required vaccinations. They also agreed that rules — including requiring owners to pick up after their pets —  would need to be in place.
    During the meeting many residents, as well as Tony Chapital of Responsible Dog Owners Group of Delray Beach — who helped organize the gathering — suggested that a dog beach could have a positive financial impact on the city as well as on tourism-related businesses.
    Chapital said many local hotels now accept pets and having a dog beach would be an added benefit to out-of-town and seasonal visitors. Others at the meeting said the city could use the fees collected at the dog beach as an additional revenue stream.
    Among those attending the meeting was Andy Katz, vice president of the influential Beach Property Owners Association, who encouraged Davis to conduct additional meetings where anyone who opposes a dog beach could also be heard.
    Calling the first meeting “an echo chamber” in which most of the comments were in support of a dog beach, Katz urged organizers to seek out a balance of opinions.
    “We haven’t taken a position on this but we want the process to include everyone,” he said. “We have to figure out how all the users of the beach can work in cooperation with one another.”
    Davis agreed that more voices need to be heard and has arranged for another meeting aimed at getting public input, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at the Delray Beach Community Center.

By Jane Smith

    The Atlantic Crossing project continues to plod through the Delray Beach approval process.
    The 9.2-acre development, slated for the northeast corner of North Federal Highway and East Atlantic Avenue, already has its site plan approved but it is awaiting certification.
    The latest snag concerns the type of access road off Federal Highway into the development. Should it be a two-way road, similar to Atlantic Court, which no longer appears on its site plan? Or should the entry lane from Federal Highway go directly into the underground garage?
    City commissioners agreed in June that they are not traffic engineers and hired Simmons & White from West Palm Beach to review the two options at a cost not to exceed $12,500. Rob Rennebaum, the firm’s president, said to the commission in early July, “The developer offered up the road options to make the project better.”
    He reminded commissioners that the project sits in a traffic concurrency exemption area — meaning it is not subject to traffic studies and any resulting required road improvements outside the development itself.         “The policies were developed to promote this kind of development in the downtown core,” he said.
    His firm determined the second option of the one-way road was preferable. The first option would lead to “internal conflicts in the central core,” he said.
    But after repeated questions from Mayor Cary Glickstein, Rennebaum said the one-way road was “just slightly better when considering all of the factors, including neighborhood concerns.”
    His firm’s report called the two-way surface road a “back alleyway.” At the meeting, he said, “Delray Beach has a clear grid system of streets without mid-block connections anywhere. During the public comments, people said they want it to be more of a street, but it’s not. It’s a kind of a mid-block alley.”
    At the June 16 special meeting when the east-west road was discussed, the developer’s planner said, “If you have to create a road that will support that kind of weight, the only thing you can do is make the parking garage deeper. Part of the flaw in the previous plan with Atlantic Court was that the parking garage was well below the water table, which opened another logistical issue of how you build it.”
    During the public comment period at the July 7 meeting, a letter from Bruce Leiner, president of nearby Harbour House condos, was read into the record. His residents want a fully functioning east-west road able to handle the weight of commercial vehicles. “Anything less is not really a road,” Leiner wrote. He added his association is considering intervening on the city side in a lawsuit filed by the developers against the city.
    Also on July 7, City Attorney Noel Pfeffer revealed the city was not properly served with that lawsuit, but he expected proper service by the end of the week. The city was served July 9 and it has 40 days to respond.
 In late July, Pfeffer explained that he has been staying in touch via the telephone with the Atlantic Crossing team and at the same time is working on a response to the developer’s lawuit, which he hopes to file in mid-August. The response is due Aug. 18.
    Atlantic Crossing, a joint venture by area resident Carl DeSantis and the Edwards Companies of Ohio, will have 80,000 square feet of restaurants and shops along with 79,000 square feet of office space and 356 luxury condos and apartments when finished. The $200 million project received site plan approval in January 2014.
    In other actions on July 7, the commission voted 3-0 to:
    • Rescind and rebid the contract for the beach gazebos after Republic Construction discovered a bid error and wanted to pass.
    • Table amending the historic structure relocation ordinance until Aug. 18, and
    • Approve the amended historic structure demolition ordinance.
    Commissioners Shelly Petrolia and Jordana Jarjura did not attend the meeting.

By Dan Moffett

    Ocean Ridge taxpayers appear likely to be charged at least $50,000 to cover Commissioner Richard Lucibella’s legal fees for defense against the failed recall movement that sought to remove him from office.
    Fort Lauderdale attorney Sidney Calloway has sent the town invoices for about $80,000 in services for Lucibella, much of it at $485 per billable hour.
    “I could not say that the number of hours was excessive or extreme,” said Town Attorney Ken Spillias, who reviewed the charges. “Generally, the time put in appeared reasonable to me.”
    The town is covered by insurance, but the policy has a $50,000 deductible. And the carrier has been reluctant to pay anything because one Ocean Ridge official (Lucibella) ended up suing another official (Town Clerk Karen Hancsak), an unusual twist the company claims exempts it from writing a check.
    Spillias believes that Florida case law comes down on Ocean Ridge’s side, and the town has a good chance of recovering the $30,000 above the deductible. Spillias’ argument to the insurance company is that the town had a public interest in intervening in the case and an obligation to reimburse an elected official against a legally flawed recall. Also, Lucibella had no choice but to defend himself against the recall group’s charges of malfeasance and had no choice but to sue the clerk because the position is charged with handling the  petitions.
    The town’s premium for legal liability insurance for the commissioners will be going up about $2,000, or 19 percent, in the next year’s budget.
    “They have not stated that the increase was due to the recall,” Town Manager Ken Schenck said of the carrier, “but my guess is it didn’t help.”
    The recall effort fell apart after a five-hour trial when Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Gregory Keyser ruled in June that the petitions didn’t satisfy statutory requirements and were legally insufficient. The 10-page decision ended a five-month campaign against Lucibella that began when he played a key role in forcing out Chris Yannuzzi as police chief in January.
    “Anyone who read the statute and was thinking with their head would have looked at the petitions and said that’s not going to fly,” Lucibella said during the July 6 town commission meeting.
    Beyond the cost of attorneys, Lucibella and his supporters believe the recall dispute has taken a heavy toll on public service in Ocean Ridge. Lucibella said that, going forward, residents will be less likely to run for office, and he blames his fellow commissioners for some of that. He said the town had a responsibility to see that the recall organizers followed proper procedures and also followed the law. Lucibella said because the commission didn’t act against the “sham of a recall,” his only alternative was to go to court and stop it himself.
    “We didn’t play hardball on this,” Lucibella said of his court fight. “We went and protected ourselves. We went and protected future commissioners of this town. We got really damn little help from the current commission. I have really no hard feelings about that. You’re trying to protect the town’s best interests. But that was a pretty bad move. Because that’s going to cost the town’s taxpayers a minimum of $50,000.”
    Former Mayor Ken Kaleel also criticized the commission for not supporting Lucibella early on.
    “This commission should have taken a harder stance on this recall,” Kaleel told commissioners.  “We need those fees reimbursed for this town, for the sanctity of future commissions. That recall was a joke. And it never should have gotten past first base. But it did. And this commission sat back and did absolutely nothing.”
    In other business, at the July 21 budget workshop, commissioners unanimously voted to keep the town’s tax rate at $5.35 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The rollback rate — the rate at which tax revenues stay the same as last year — is $5.08 per $1,000.
    Next year’s proposed budget has a deficit of about $180,000, but commissioners hope that shortfall can be reduced by a $129,000 windfall from code violation fines collected from owners of a property at 40 Hibiscus Way.

Ocean Ridge
Proposed tax rate: $5.35 per $1,000 of taxable value
2014-15 tax rate: $5.35 per $1,000 of taxable value
Change in property value: 6.6 percent increase
Total budget (operating and capital): $6.13 million
Public hearings: 5:01 p.m. Sept. 10 and 17 at Town Hall


    The commission tentatively signed off on giving the Police Department three new cruisers at a cost of about $120,000 and upgraded radio equipment for $80,000.

By Jane Smith
    Delray Beach is reopening discussions with Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue to combine services.
    Under the mayor’s direction, City Manager Don Cooper has talked with his county counterpart, Assistant County Administrator Brad Merriman.
    “It’s in the preliminary stages,” Cooper said. He asked Merriman to find out what could be different this time.
    Cooper expects to bring a rough plan to the City Commission in August.
    In June 2014, Delray Beach commissioners rejected joining forces with the county after the city’s finance director said the contract, while projected to save $2.1 million in the first year, could be more costly in future years.
    Merriman said the county’s fire chief is preparing the plan.
    The full-cost methodology proposal is no longer on the table, according to County Fire-Rescue Chief Jeff Collins.
    Instead, the county would like Delray Beach to join its municipal service taxing unit where property owners pay a flat rate of $3.4581 per $1,000 of taxable value, Collins said.
    “It would be safer for the employees and for the citizens,” Collins said.
    He is preparing the county’s proposal, which would cover city fire-rescue employees (who will have the option to join the Florida retiree system for their pensions), staffing levels, response times, equipment to buy or lease, fire stations and other items.
    “Fires would still be put out, rescue calls still made,” said Danielle Connor, Delray Beach fire chief. “It’s just a change in ownership.”
    She said she had no opinion on the consolidation.
    “The issue is not the highest priority in the city’s current three-year plan or in FY 2016 budget, as approved by commission in April and July,” wrote Jack Warner, Delray Beach chief financial officer in an email. “Unlike many other components of city services and capabilities, fire service is not currently ‘broken.’ 
    “The county’s long-term objective is consolidation of municipalities’ fire services. The  opportunity for Delray will continue to be available if we do not decide this year; therefore no urgency.”
    Delray Beach provides fire-rescue services to the towns of Gulf Stream and Highland Beach. Those contracts expire next year.

By Jane Smith

    The Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency selected a Davie firm to analyze taxable values in each of its eight subareas.
    Munilytics was picked on price and time. It had the lowest price of the three bidders, coming in at $59,000 and estimated time of two months.
    “We rely on GIS [geographic information system] info, that is why our costs are low,” said Chris Wallace, a Munilytics director. He brought along Will Allen, a retired Davie redevelopment administrator, who has since joined Munilytics. He also is consulting with Davie. Other than Allen, Wallace said, he would need only clerical staff to get the work done on time.
    CRA Chairman Herman Stevens asked Wallace how he would evaluate which parts to cut.
    By marginal returns in each subarea, Wallace said. He added, “I like CRAs. Area 1 is good, so you could move over to another area.”
    Stevens finished that thought by saying “and use that money in other areas waiting their turn.”
    The analysis will be done in three parts.
    Part A will include these tasks: Establish a base year value of each subarea when the CRA was formed in 1980; establish current year value; project values for each subarea for the next 30 years; interview city and CRA commissioners and staff; interview the CRA bond and legal counsel and present report and findings to the CRA board and to the City Commission.
    Part B covers comparative analysis of CRAs in other Palm Beach and Broward county cities, including date started, annual budget, expected sunset date and taxable value.
    Part C calls for an economic analysis of the CRA contribution to the Delray Beach economy from CRA investments, demographic data, property values, jobs created and other similar items.
    The other bidders also were from Broward County: PMG Associates of Deerfield Beach and RMA Associates of Pompano Beach.
    PMG’s price was $79,600. The firm also would include a progressive computer model that CRA staff could be trained to use. The model would account for tax rates, inflation rates, property values and the like.
    RMA Associates of Pompano Beach has principals with more than 50 years of redevelopment experience, said Kim Briesemeister when making the pitch. She used to be the director of the West Palm Beach CRA; now her firm runs it on a contract basis. The other principal is Chris Brown, a former director of the Delray Beach CRA.
    The firm bid between $112,500 to $152,500 depending on whether each property record would have to be pulled or whether it could just do a random selection of 15 percent to 25 percent.
    RMA would assign 12 people to work on the three-part project that would take approximately 30 weeks, Briesemeister said. Not only would they review the property records, but they also include what she called “nuances. You need that extra step of why that happened. What is LIBOR, what is the interest rate?”
    Chuck Ridley, a community organizer for the West Atlantic Redevelopment Coalition, called the presentations great.
“This decision you are making will affect the city for generations, particularly the Northwest and Southwest neighborhoods,” he said. “It needs to be understandable by me and my grandmother.”
    Briesemeister also said, “The CRA has been in existence so long that you have to go back to the microfiche” to get a base value. The county property appraiser has only one fiche reader, she said.
    That prompted CRA Commissioner Bill Branning to ask what Munilytics would do in that case.
    “When the data does exist but it is not convenient, we will do it by tax rolls,” Wallace said.
    CRA Commissioner Paul Zacks was captivated by Briesemeister’s presentation. “She read between the lines and knew what we wanted,” he said. “As Mr. Ridley stated, this is an important process that will affect Delray for decades. I’m switching my vote to RMA.”
    But RMA wasn’t part of any motion. CRA commissioners voted twice and were deadlocked 3-3 with Cathy Balestriere absent.
    Finally CRA Commissioner Reggie Cox, who initially liked PMG because of its model, made a motion to hire Munilytics. It passed 4-2, with Zacks and Joseph Bernadel voting no. They both preferred PMG, recommended by CRA staff.

By Dan Moffett

    Manalapan town commissioners are moving forward with changes that will place new regulations on swales in Point Manalapan neighborhoods.
    Town Attorney Keith Davis is drafting a new ordinance that will restrict the types of trees and vegetation that homeowners can plant on swales. Mayor Pro Tem Peter Isaac proposed the restrictions because he believes too much planting, or use of the wrong plants, has contributed to the drainage problems Point Manalapan has experienced in recent years.
    Davis is modeling the town’s ordinance on similar laws enacted in Ocean Ridge and North Palm Beach.
    Town Manager Linda Stumpf said the commission plans to consult with an arborist to determine what plants do not cause drainage problems and should be permitted.
    Commissioners also are working on new rules for parking on swales to accommodate domestic help and visitors to residences.
    The town’s current law limits swale parking to four hours. Residents have complained that housekeepers often have to work longer and guests want to visit longer.
    Commissioners at the July 28 meeting gave tentative approval to extending swale parking to eight hours. The change would not apply to construction workers. Commercial service providers, such as landscapers and appliance repairmen, would be required to park in front of the home they are servicing and move their vehicles within the four-hour limit.
    Mayor David Cheifetz offered a suggestion for workers who need more than four hours to finish their jobs. “We all have driveways,” he said. “They can park there.”
    
    In other business, commissioners gave unanimous approval to a new three-year contract for Stumpf, effectively taking her out of the running for town manager openings in South Palm Beach and Ocean Ridge. Both towns had expressed interest in interviewing her.
    Stumpf will earn $123,300 next year and $126,300 for the two years after, with a $400 monthly car allowance. The commission also approved giving her a 2 percent bonus for 2015 that Cheifetz said “should have been done in March but slipped through the cracks.”
    • Drawdy Construction of Lake Worth, contractor for the Audubon Causeway bridge replacement, has told the commission that it can’t begin work on the project until September, instead of August. The delay means the bridge construction, which is expected to take about 10 months, will run through the entire tourist season.
    The consensus among commissioners was that it was better to start the project in September and deal with the aggravation, rather than ask the contractor to postpone work until after the season.
    Fellow commissioners agreed when Commissioner Ronald Barsanti said: “I think we have to move ahead and for a couple of months people are going to need to put up with some noise.”
    • The commission gave unanimous tentative approval to a 2015-2016 budget that keeps the tax rate at last year’s level of $3.03 per $1,000 of assessed taxable value. The rollback rate, the level that would maintain tax revenues at their current levels, is $2.85 per $1,000.

Manalapan
Proposed tax rate: $3.03 per $1,000 of taxable value
2014-15 tax rate: $3.03 per $1,000 of taxable value
Change in property value: 7.7 percent increase
Total budget (operating and capital): $4.3 million
Public hearings: 5:01 p.m. Sept. 15 and Sept. 22 at Town Hall

    Lantana’s plan to convert two side-by-side lots on North Lake Avenue into a kayak park advanced on July 27 when council members awarded a contract to develop the park to Rosso Site Development.
    The Lake Worth firm will receive up to $153,255 to turn the lots, on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway, into Lyman Kayak Park — a name the council chose earlier this year to honor a local pioneer family.
    In December 2011, the town used money from its reserves to buy the lots at 106 and 122 N. Lake Drive for $1.2 million after a residential development fizzled, a victim of the economic slump. The same property sold for $5.3 million in 2006.
    The plan calls for a kayak and canoe launch accessible to the disabled, an observation deck, fences, sidewalks, a parking lot for up to 31 cars and a parking kiosk. An existing pier will be upgraded.
    The town secured a $250,000 Florida Inland Navigation District grant to develop the park.
— Mary Thurwachter

By Jane Smith

    The Boynton Woman’s Club will be able to restore most, if not all, of the windows and doors in its historic headquarters on Federal Highway in Boynton Beach. The club recently received a $140,000 state grant from the Florida Division of Historic Resources.
    The club will put that money with a $50,000 grant from the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and $10,000 in donations.
    “It’s fantastic news,” said Warren Adams, Boynton Beach historic planner. He helped two club members prepare the state grant application.
    Last summer, the club completed emergency restoration of several French doors and transoms in the second-floor ballroom. The building has 41 openings, including double French doors, transoms, casement windows with and without transoms, and a variety of single windows and doors.
    The club will hire an architect to look at each opening and determine the restoration cost. “It’s very difficult to say with older buildings whether (the money) will cover the restoration cost,” Adams said. But it should cover most of them, he said.
    Last fall, when the club received the Boynton Beach historic site designation, club President Michele Walter said, “We appreciate the cooperation and the assistance from the CRA and City Commission in restoring our windows and doors. We are happy to be part of the revitalization of Boynton Beach.”
    The state grant will allow the club to continue with its restoration work, “but much more work needs to be done to bring our building back to its former glory,” Walter said recently.
    The clubhouse, on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979, was designed by famed architect Addison Mizner. He did his design “pro bono” because the building would cost more than $50,000. It contains classic Mizner features, such as a barrel-tile roof, arched windows, turquoise trim, pecky cypress trusses on the ceiling and French doors.
    From the lobby on either side, two wide wooden staircases curve gracefully to the second floor, which is large enough to seat 400 people. The building opened in the fall of 1926.
    Weddings, private celebrations and meetings take place there.
    The club will remain open during the restoration.

    Starting in September, beach-goers who drive to Oceanfront Park in Boynton Beach will pay $10 to park their cars on holidays and weekends year-round and $10 daily in the winter months, defined as Nov. 16 to April 30. The $5 daily rate in the summer months will not increase.
    Ocean Ridge and Boynton Beach residents can buy an annual parking pass, starting Sept. 1. The pass price will increase in September to $50 from $40.
    “The parking lot closes 130 days out of the year because it is full,” Wally Major, Parks and Recreation director, said on July 20 when Boynton Beach held its budget workshop.
— Jane Smith

By Jane Smith

    The Pizza Guy won’t be coming to Boynton Beach.
    But Johnnie Brown’s might take his place.
    Sal Campanile, who wanted to buy the Little House and the Magnuson House, backed out in early July. He sent an email to the Community Redevelopment Agency leaders on July 6 that his investors were withdrawing from the project and asked for another four to six weeks.
    On July 14, the CRA board voted unanimously to terminate the contracts with Campanile’s company for the historic homes. He had offered $325,000 for the Little House, also known as the Ruth Jones cottage, and $255,000 for the Oscar Magnuson House.
    “We were more interested in his menu than his finances,” said Joe Casello, vice mayor and CRA board member. “We can’t stumble on this any longer, it’s not good for our image.”
    Campanile’s company, Ocean Ridge Hospitality, did not make the required 10 percent deposits on the contracts, which would have given him another 90 days from July 3. He said he couldn’t make the July 14 meeting because of a family obligation. He could not be reached for comment for this story.
    Documents show that the CRA staff had recommended Philadelphia real estate developer Bruce Kaplan for the Little House and the Oscar Magnuson House. His Local Development Co. offered $550,000 in the spring for both houses.
    Kaplan came to the March meeting and explained that his company would fix up the houses and then rent them, but he didn’t make the April meeting when the board chose the buyers. Some members saw that as a snub and selected Campanile instead.
    Campanile, a Boynton Beach resident who owns Mastino Wood Fire Kitchen in Delray Beach, spun a tale of growing up in Italy, describing his passion for pizza.
    He repeatedly said he had $1.5 million to invest.
    Most of the CRA board members blamed themselves, saying they had “egg on their faces.” Two tried to blame the restaurant broker who brought Campanile to their attention.
    “Maybe we should have been more vocal about vetting the clients,” said Tom Prakas, the broker who also found Kaplan and West Palm Beach restaurateur Rodney Mayo.
    “Everyone drank his (Campanile’s) Kool-Aid. He is a great pizza maker, he threw pizzas in the air. I knew this guy is not closing. He went to everyone I know in the industry asking for money, asking them to be his partner.”
    Casello asked twice, “Why did you let us drink his Kool-Aid?”
    Prakas said he couldn’t attend the second meeting because of a prior commitment. “I’d like for you to give us one more shot to do it professionally,” he said. “This time I will be more vocal about who I put in front of you.”
    The board agreed by a 5-2 vote to hire his firm for four months. Casello and Commissioner Mack McCray voted no.
    This time, potential buyers will have to provide two years’ tax returns, a credit report and an audited financial statement.
    Prakas said Kaplan is still interested in the properties, as are the owners of Johnnie Brown’s burger place in Delray Beach. The restaurant takes its name from the famed architect Addison Mizner’s pet monkey, Johnnie Brown.
    The restaurant’s father-and-son owners also once held 20 Primanti Bros. sandwich shops out of Pittsburgh, Prakas said. The chain became known for sandwiches of grilled meat, coleslaw with a vinegar dressing, tomato slices and french fries between two slices of Italian bread.
    They sold the chain to a hedge fund, Prakas said. “They want to do both of the properties,” he said.

By Dan Moffett

    The Briny Breezes Town Council unanimously approved Ira Friedman on July 23 to fill an alderman’s seat that has been open most of the year.
    Friedman, 74, is a transplant from Boston who has lived in Briny for 18 years. A longtime member of the town’s Planning and Zoning Board, he has been an outspoken critic of high-rise condo development proposals along the A1A corridor.
    Friedman, who is known for reminding Briny residents that they live on “the most beautiful 42 acres in Florida,” said friends and neighbors urged him to make his first venture as an elected officeholder.
 “People came to me and asked me to do this,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of planning and zoning on my mind. But I’m new here on the council, so we’ll see how it goes.”
    Friedman takes the seat vacated by Karen Wiggins in April. Wiggins, who moved to California, served several terms on the council, beginning in 2008.
    In other business, council members gave preliminary approval to a proposed budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year that keeps the current tax rate of $10 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
    Briny’s taxable real estate values rose sharply over last year, increasing by 9 percent to $38.6 million, according to the Palm Beach County property appraiser. In 2014, values were at $35.4 million and rose a meager 0.52 percent from 2013. Officials credit much of the increase to homeowners who are improving their lots and replacing their units. Fees for building and zoning permits have nearly tripled since 2012.
    The town’s budget has grown about 15.5 percent, from $659,732 last year to a proposed $762,170. Widening sidewalks to accommodate new golf cart regulations will cost about $75,000, but council President Sue Thaler thinks that expense can be offset by increases in fees for certain police and fire-emergency medical services.
    Council members have given up on the idea of raising revenues by increasing fines for parking violations. Town Attorney John Skrandel told the council that the $30 tickets Briny currently gives for standard violations is at the statutory limit and cannot be increased.

Briny Breezes
Proposed tax rate: $10 per $1,000 of taxable value
2014-15 tax rate: $10 per $1,000 of taxable value
Change in property value: 9 percent increase
Total Budget (operating and capital): $762,170
Public hearings: 5:01 p.m. Sept. 10 and 24 at Town Hall

By Mary Thurwachter

    Lantana has had the same tax rate for seven years and that won’t change this year. The rate will remain at $3.24 per $1,000 of taxable value.
    “That’s something the people should be proud of,” said Mayor Dave Stewart at the town’s July 13 meeting.
    Because property values increased by 10.7 percent, residents will pay more taxes this year. For example, Stewart, who lives on Hypoluxo Island, paid $1,190 in town taxes last year and will pay $1,201 this year.
    Anticipated property tax revenues for 2016 are $2.47 million, which is an increase of $236,003 over 2015.
    The town’s health insurance cost (including dental insurance) is projected to increase by 16 percent, to $1.14 million.
    Employees are not expected to receive cost of living raises this year due to a stagnant consumer price index, but merit pay raises are anticipated, based on evaluations. And, at its July 27 meeting, the town approved a one-time $1,100 pre-tax payment for employees in recognition of their dedication.
    Capital requests range from $35,000 for beach park playground replacement to $83,769 for two new police cars. Computer equipment, an air conditioner for the computer room, landscaping and irrigation projects and improvements to Sportsman’s Park projects (seawall and paving) are also on the list.
    The council will hold public budget hearings at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 16 and Sept. 28 in Town Council chambers.
    In other news:
    • The Town Council welcomed Lantana’s new director of operations, Linda Brien. Her position is a new one, created by combining the public works and utilities departments. Brien began work on July 13. She has more than 25 years’ experience in public utilities and had been program administrator for the Florida Department of Environmental Production for 12 years. Her salary is $88,071.
    • Town officials received a check for $750,000, the second of three installments to build a new sports complex to replace the prime space it occupied at the old A.G. Holley property. The new complex will have three baseball fields and two soccer fields built on 11 acres off North Eighth Street behind the former hospital site. The money came from Southeast Legacy, developers of the Water Tower Commons on the site of the old tuberculosis hospital.

Lantana
Proposed tax rate: $3.24 per $1,000 of taxable value*
2014-15 tax rate: $3.24 per $1,000 of taxable value
Change in property value: 10.7 percent increase
Total budget (operating and capital): $17.03 million
Public hearings: 5:30 p.m. Sept. 16 and Sept. 28 in Town Council Chambers
*Tax rate may be lowered, but not raised at the September hearings.