In Briny Breezes, if the proposed tax rate of $10.00 per $1,000 of assessed home value was adopted, a resident with a home valued at $170,000 would pay municipal taxes of $1,700 compared with $510 under a $3.00 rate. The town initially proposed the lower rate, but boosted it at an impromptu special meeting late in the month.
Property tax rolls rose 2.3 percent in Briny Breezes – not spectacular unless compared with neighbors like Boynton Beach, where property values sank more than 18 percent. Bennett attributed the increase to the failed deal to sell Briny Breezes. The publicity raised the area’s profile and led to higher priced home sales and therefore property values, he said.
Starting the budget season on that positive note, however, didn’t overcome rising water rates or the possibility of paying more for police protection – both currently services Briny Breezes takes from Boynton Beach. Briny Breezes calculates it’ll pay more than 60 percent higher water rates since a recent increase because it is classified as a user outside of Boynton Beach. Briny Breezes expects negotiations on the water bill early in September will shed light on what the budget line item will be.
As it stands, Briny Breezes $551,498 budget still reflects its initially proposed tax rate of $3.00. The town wanted to determine its expenses before going through the exercise of revising the budget higher.
-- Margie Plunkett
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