By Tim O'Meilia
The corporation that operates in tandem with the town council has agreed to pay one-third of the $30,000 it has been withholding from the town in a dispute over the town’s total budget.
The $10,000 payment covers June through September and the corporate board will consider the $30,000 in next year’s budget, corporation park manager Steve Best told the town council at the June 23 meeting.
The town has long supplemented its property tax revenue, its primary source of money, with money from the corporation. Town aldermen were stunned earlier in the year when the corporate board voted twice to withhold the money.
Corporation President Mike Gut said earlier this year that the town was paying too much in legal fees and that everyone was feeling the economic pinch.
“The corporation withholds funds if they don’t like what the town council does,” said Alderman Kathleen Bray, formerly the town clerk.
The corporation earmarked this years’ partial payment to pay legal fees toward a possible dispute with Boynton Beach over the cost of water, a surcharge neighboring Ocean Ridge does not pay. Briny Breezes buys water and sewage service from Boynton, while Ocean Ridge buys only water.
The town council voted to put any Boynton action, including a possible lawsuit, on hold and see whether negotiation with whoever is hired as Boynton Beach’s next manager will reduce the water charges. They also discussed possible user fees for contractor services and individual water hookups to the town’s mobile homes as ways to make up any future shortfalls if the corporation continues to withhold money.
Best said the corporation board would likely put $30,000 in the budget for next year but the board would wait to see the council’s stance with Boynton Beach first. “It’s a little presumptuous to say they we’ll be in the same position this year as we were last year,” he said.
In other business, the council:
• Voted unanimously to challenge the U.S. Census Bureau over the number of housing units in town. The census counted an even 800 mobile homes but the town only has 484 by a house-by-house count. The town will not challenge the census population figure of 601.
To challenge the housing unit count, the town will rely on documented electrical connections and the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s figures to make its claim.
• Agreed unanimously to ask its current outside auditor for a quote for next year before deciding whether to seek proposals from other firms.
The town paid Alberni, Caballero and Co. of Coral Gables about $10,000 last year for the state-mandated audit. Alderman Lowen Poock, a retired certified public accountant, said the audit should cost about $6,000. Ú
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