News

By Sallie James

    Boca Raton homeowners will pay a slightly lower total property tax rate this year under a $625 million 2015-2016 budget that includes 70 new employees, several generous allocations to nonprofit organizations and some user fee hikes.
    During a Sept. 17 final budget hearing, council members unanimously approved a total property tax rate of $3.68 per $1,000 of assessed value, down slightly from the current rate of $3.71. The total tax rate includes an operating tax rate of $3.42 that stayed the same from last year, plus the debt service rate of 26 cents, down from 29 cents last year.
    Council also approved the 2015-2016 budget, which includes a $142 million general fund and a $372 million operating fund.
    Under the approved tax rate, the owner of a $300,000 single family home will pay $1,103.97 in municipal property taxes. The city fire rescue assessment fee is holding steady at $85 per household.
    While the total tax rate will be slightly lower, taxable property values rose 7.6 percent in the most recent valuation.
    During the final budget hearing, much discussion focused on recreational user fees for nonresidents participating in Boca Raton sports programs.
    The city had proposed raising an existing $40 user fee for nonresidents to $75 per sport, per season, per child, but revised that sum to $55 after many parents said children may be forced to drop out of the sports leagues because of cost. The fee had not been increased since 2009.
    One mother choked back tears as she begged city officials to reconsider the sum, saying the 87.5 percent increase with little notice would make the local sports leagues unaffordable for many children.
    Deputy recreation services director Buddy Parks said the $75 sum was based on costs associated with maintaining the city sports fields. Boca Raton residents do not pay a user fee to participate in league sports in the city, he noted.
    “Is there a more equitable way for us to do this?” asked Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie. “I think the $40 to $75 is a lot of sticker shock. How did you come up with that figure?”
    Parks said annual maintenance of the city’s 30 sports field costs $3 million, about $100,000 per field. He agreed there is no simple way to equitably recoup the costs.
    Haynie suggested the proposed fee be lowered to $55.
    Council member Scott Singer also opposed hiking the fee to $75.
    “We’re not a business. We’re not expected to recoup every dollar,” Singer said. “What concerns me is the lack of notice.” He suggested an even lower amount of $50.
    Council members ultimately agreed to $55.
    For nonprofits, the council unanimously approved $30,000 for building repairs at the Boca Raton Children’s Museum, including installation of ramps for improved accessibility.
    The council allocated $50,000 to the Boca Raton Historical Society to help fund a welcome center and additional programming.
    Other budget details include:
    • A 1.2 percent increase in water/sewer fees, totaling about 55 cents for the average user.
    • A 1.2 percent increase in the stormwater utility fee, effective June 2015.
    • A decrease in the false alarm fee from $110 to $28 for both police and fire.
    • A 1.2 percent increase in golf course and cemetery/mausoleum fees.
    • An increase in annual permit fees for beach entry from $55 to $57.
    • A 2 percent increase for all residents and nonresidents for camp program fees.
    • A $50 increase for downtown library community room rental for residents.
    • A $200 increase in the fee to rent the Spanish River Library lakeside patio (the nonresident fee is twice that for residents).