By Steve Plunkett
Briny Breezes’ quest to leave the Palm Beach County Library District and save town taxpayers a collective $57,000 in library taxes is over.
Town Attorney Keith Davis announced Aug. 28 that it legally cannot be done.
“There are a number of municipalities in Palm Beach County that are not taxed by the library district because those municipalities have a comparable level of taxation for their residents. At the municipal level they have their own municipal libraries which are taxed at comparable levels,” Davis said.
“The county is of the opinion that yes, Briny Breezes has a library; no, it is not funded to the level that will allow or would make the county interested in entering into … an agreement with Briny Breezes. If they’re not going to enter into that agreement, then there’s nowhere else to go, because you can’t opt out if the county is not willing.”
Town Manager Bill Thrasher first suggested seceding from the county’s library system on June 26. The Town Council directed Thrasher and Davis to confer with the library about how to withdraw. Davis had said it may be possible to challenge rules the district has about leaving its system.
The county library sends its Bookmobile to Briny every two weeks. Residents can get free library cards, and they have access to the system’s electronic resources and to cooperating libraries, which include Boynton Beach’s and Delray Beach’s. The town also has its own library with a volunteer librarian, Donna Clarke.
Only 56 Briny residents have county library cards, according to County Library Director Douglas Crane. He also said 119 residents have Boynton Beach privileges, and 36 have Delray Beach cards.
Seven residents emailed the town opposing any move to leave the county system.
“The fact that the PBC Library offers the mobile unit is a blessing, it is an extremely important service for those who do not drive and would not be able to avail themselves to these services,” wrote Kathleen Strank.
“The Boynton Beach Library is a wonderful facility with so many opportunities for classes, seminars & research,” Marla Guzzardo’s email said.
Mayor Ted Gross also opposed the idea, saying early on that paying county library taxes is similar to town residents paying Briny Breezes Inc. for the shuffleboard courts whether they used them or not.
He had also dismissed the town’s library as being “jigsaw puzzles, books and some movies. It’s nothing compared to what we’re talking about, the resources, the Bookmobile.”
Seceding from the county library would not have benefited the town’s budget directly, but Thrasher was looking for ways to reduce residents’ overall tax burden as he increases the town’s property tax rate to gather matching funds for grants won or envisioned to improve Briny’s stormwater system and sea walls.
The town’s proposed tax rate is $6.75 for every $1,000 of taxable value, up from the current $3.75 per $1,000 rate.
He spent part of the Aug. 28 meeting showing how his proposed tax rate of $6.75 per $1,000 of taxable value would affect librarian Clarke’s total tax bill.
Alderman David White said the corporation decided to reduce what it collects from co-op owners by $6 a share. A single mobile home has multiple shares depending on size and location.
“It’s not, for me at least, a wash,” White said, but it does change the total payout.
The council has scheduled public hearings in Town Hall for the tentative $6.75 tax rate at or after 5:01 p.m. Sept. 11 and for the final tax rate at the same time Sept. 25. The council can lower but not raise the tentative rate.
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