By Steve Plunkett

In a surprise move, Briny Breezes Town Manager Bill Thrasher has dropped his proposal to raise town taxes 98% and instead is seeking to keep the property tax rate the same as this year, at $3.75 per $1,000 of taxable value.

Thrasher had been talking for months about a rate of $6.75 per $1,000, detailing the proposal at Town Council meetings and on the Briny Breezes in-house TV channel.

But on Sept. 3, he received an email from the town’s consultants on its sea wall and stormwater system upgrades “informing me that the town's loan will not occur in (Fiscal Year) 26 or perhaps only late FY26.” 

“The state revolving loan fund will not accept construction loan application before August 2026,” Thrasher continued. “This may change to an earlier date, but the uncertainty caused the change.”

In short, he said, if the town doesn’t take out a loan, it doesn’t need to raise taxes to pay for one.

As recently as the Aug. 28 Town Council meeting, Thrasher gave a PowerPoint slide presentation demonstrating that the $6.75 rate would have raised one resident’s overall tax bill by $394 — or 18% if all other taxing agencies kept their rates level and the resident’s property appraisal stayed the same.

But the town’s assessed property values rose 10%, one of the top increases among municipalities in south Palm Beach County.

Even keeping the same $3.75 per $1,000 rate will raise taxes the town receives 9.97% more than the so-called rolled-back rate. That levy, $3.41 per $1,000 of taxable value, would give the town the same tax revenue as this year, except for taxes from new construction.

Public hearings are scheduled in Town Hall for the tax rate and budget at or after 5:01 p.m. Sept. 11 and for the final tax rate and budget at the same time Sept. 25.

Though the preliminary tax notices that went out to property owners in August list the tentative tax rate as $6.75 per $1,000, the agenda posted on the front of Town Hall for the Sept. 11 meeting says the tentative rate is back to the current $3.75 per $1,000 rate.

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