By Steve Plunkett
Boca Raton property taxes will go up no more than 3.8 percent for the coming year and might come down.
City Council members unanimously approved City Manager Leif Ahnell’s recommendation July 9 to set the maximum rate at $3.72 per $1,000 of taxable property, the same as this year. But property values rose an average of 3.8 percent over the past year, which means most property owners would pay 3.8 percent more.
“I believe that will support the goals and projects that the council supported at the goal-setting session,” Ahnell said.
Council members can lower the tax rate but not raise it during budget hearings in September.
If the rate stays at the maximum it would be roughly four times the increase in the region’s consumer price index. Ahnell told council members in June that prices rose 0.9 percent in the latest U.S. Department of Labor report.
Ahnell did not elaborate on what the fiscal 2014 budget will fund, and council members adopted his recommendation with little comment. He will unveil his budget proposal at an Aug. 8 Chamber of Commerce breakfast.
The city will spend $4,300 for the breakfast at the Via Mizner Golf and Country Club, which is expected to draw 250 to 300 chamber members. Council members declared the annual event serves a public purpose after the county’s inspector general office questioned the expense in an audit.
The maximum tax rate includes $3.42 per $1,000 for operating expenses and 30 cents per $1,000 for debt service.
Ahnell recommended not raising Boca Raton’s fire assessment fee, which is $85 per residence and a sliding scale for businesses.
The first budget hearing is tentatively set for 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at City Hall.
The property appraiser sends notices of proposed taxes in August. But Ahnell needed council consent early because under its abbreviated summer schedule the July 22-23 and Aug. 12-13 meetings were canceled. The council next meets on Aug. 26.
Comments