News

By Tao Woolfe

    Taxable property values in Palm Beach County rose an estimated 8.7 percent overall in the past year — and upward of 10 percent in some coastal municipalities — according to just-released preliminary figures from the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office.
    The county’s taxable values have increased steadily over the past four years, but the 8.7 percent increase is the largest jump in more than a decade.
    “It shows that Palm Beach County has left the recession behind,” says John Thomas, director of residential appraisal services for the county. “At the end of a strong economic cycle like a recession, there are ripples in values that occur in the real estate industry. These numbers show that those ripples have calmed.”
    Among the municipalities with the largest jumps in taxable property values was Delray Beach with a 10 percent increase, and Lantana, with at 10.1 percent bump. Boca Raton, Highland Beach, Ocean Ridge, and Gulf Stream all stayed below 7 percent.
    Thomas says the lower numbers generally indicate that cities have a lower level of new construction and a higher percentage of the population claiming a homestead exemption. The higher percentage of homesteaded properties, which enjoy a reduction in taxes based on year-round residency, reflects a more stable population and less extreme fluctuations in property values.
    In Boca Raton, for example, 53 percent of the property owners claim their homestead exemption. In South Palm Beach, which is made up almost entirely of condominiums, only 31 percent of the property owners claim the exemption, since many are seasonal residents.
    The dramatically higher taxable value percentage increases are most often attributed to new construction, Thomas says.
Boynton Beach saw about $77 million worth of new construction and that is reflected in its 9.34 percent increase in taxable value.
Delray Beach, too, experienced new construction and expansion, adding more than 1,000 units of residential and commercial property in its newly designated Sofa District (South of Atlantic), said Mark McDonnell, the city’s assistant director of planning and zoning.
    “We’re experiencing development and redevelopment and people want to move here,” McDonnell says. “We have a vibrant downtown, an active nightlife, concerned, caring citizens and an unparalleled level of service from city employees. Delray Beach has come of age.”
    So what does it all mean to taxpayers?
    It means that the 38 municipalities throughout the county could have extra revenue to fund capital improvement projects such as street repaving and bridge repair.
    It’s too early to tell whether the increases will also mean an increase for taxpayers. The individual municipalities, and the county, are working on their budgets and tax rates, and will continue throughout the summer.
    An updated tax roll will be released in July, and the final numbers won’t be available until October, the appraiser’s office said. Throughout the fall, property owners have the chance to contest the appraiser’s valuation of their homes and businesses.
    The taxable value is the keystone to the cities’ budgeting efforts, which is why the appraiser’s office releases the preliminary data at this time of year. But the individual cities can choose to give the money back to taxpayers by reducing the tax rate.
Cities can choose to draw taxes at last year’s rate — keeping the tax rate the same for taxpayers.
    Most city officials haven’t decided about tax increases — or decreases — so early in the process, but they know they’ll have a little extra spending money.
    Highland Beach Finance Director Cale Curtis estimates that about $490,000 will be added to the town’s revenue as a result of the increase in property values if commissioners keep the current 3.95-mill tax rate.
    In Lantana, the Town Council wants to keep the tax rate unchanged, says Town Manager Deborah Manzo, but officials there are delighted with the 10.1 percent increase in taxable value. The total taxable value for the town is estimated by the appraiser’s office at $799.3 million.
    Manzo attributes the increase, in part, to the $15 million sale of the A.G. Holley site to a Boca Raton developer. The 73-acre former tuberculosis hospital grounds had been leased for recreational use. Now that it’s privately owned, it’s on the town’s tax rolls.
    “There are new developments, and commercial activity  coming onboard,” Manzo says. “Our growth has been slow and steady. We’d like to get back to the $1 billion valuation mark.”

Rich Pollack contributed to this story.