By Mary Hladky
The city’s tax rate remained unchanged in the new fiscal year that began on Oct. 1 as City Council members maintain their emphasis on keeping it low.
The rate unanimously approved on Sept. 27 is $3.68 per $1,000 of taxable property value, an amount that has held steady since the 2015-16 fiscal year.
Last-minute additions to the budget included $500,000 to start a downtown circulator system, $150,000 for a pedestrian skybridge consultant and $250,000 for more recycling receptacles downtown.
“I do believe a pedestrian bridge is vital,” Mayor Scott Singer said at a Community Redevelopment Agency meeting the day before. “I think the planning for the bridge [connecting the Brightline station with Mizner Park] is more important than actually allocating money for the cost of a bridge.”
Under the approved tax rate, the owner of a home with a taxable value of $500,000 will pay $1,840 in ad valorem taxes to the city.
Even with the stable tax rate, property owners will see higher tax bills because property values increased 12.4% this year, slightly below the previous year’s 14.5%.
The city would have had to lower its millage by 10.6% to $3.31 per $1,000 of taxable value to bring in the same amount of tax revenue as the previous year.
But Boca Raton must provide services to a rapidly growing population now numbering 99,000, resulting in the need to hire more employees, buy more equipment and pay the increased costs of materials and supplies that have risen due to inflation and lingering pandemic-induced issues.
Yet most homeowners are shielded from the brunt of higher tax bills because state law caps the taxable value increase for homesteaded properties at 3%. Non-homesteaded properties are capped at 10%.
The council also unanimously approved a total operating budget of $633 million, up from last year’s $614.9 million.
The general fund portion of it is $222 million, or 6% higher than last year.
Nearly one-third of that $12.5 million increase is due to rising costs of city employees’ salaries and benefits, especially for the police and fire departments.
City budget documents note other continuing expenses related to investments in the Boca Raton Golf & Racquet Club property that was donated to the city by The Boca Raton in 2020.
They include the cost of operating the facility and $5 million budgeted to renovate and improve it.
Another expense stems from the City Council’s decision in 2019 to keep garbage collection and recycling services in-house rather than contracting with a private company. That results in paying the cost of salaries, equipment and expansion of the city’s sanitation vehicle maintenance and storage facilities.
The city has budgeted $31 million to construct a new fleet maintenance building.
The city plans to hire 15 additional employees this fiscal year, including a fire inspector, a public safety dispatch radio technician, traffic signal technician, two building inspectors and three information technology workers.
The amount homeowners will pay for fire protection services will remain unchanged from last year’s $155. The amount for commercial and industrial properties is based on the class and size of the buildings.
Sanitation rates will increase 4%, or $1 to as much as $26.02 per month for single-family residences and 60 cents to $15.74 per month for multi-family dwellings.
Utility rates will increase 4.9%, or an average of $2 per month. According to the city, it has one of the lowest water and sewer rates in the state.
The annual beach and parks pass will increase to $85 from $75.
An updated list of all user fees was posted on the city’s website, www.myboca.com, on Oct. 1.
Steve Plunkett contributed to this story.
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