By Steve Plunkett
For the fourth consecutive year, homeowners in Gulf Stream will likely pay a property tax rate of $3.67 per $1,000 of taxable value.
“Our budget is pretty much almost the same basically every year,” Town Manager Greg Dunham said while previewing his proposal for the 2026 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
The tax rate, tentatively approved by town commissioners July 11, will generate $6.99 million, up about $550,000 from the current year, Dunham said. Property values in town rose 8.5% to $1.9 billion.
The town will be entering the eighth year of its 10-year capital improvement plan, and the budget’s big-ticket item remains the road and drainage infrastructure work in the Core area. Dunham will pull $2.45 million from the general fund and $643,549 from the water fund to pay for the construction.
Gulf Stream will also borrow up to $7 million — perhaps in December — to have enough money to finish the planned capital improvements, pay for a water connection to Boynton Beach and keep a reserve fund of $4 million.
The town’s consulting engineers will begin drawing plans for rebuilding roads and water mains in Gulf Stream’s Place Au Soleil neighborhood on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Dunham again recommended that commissioners approve a 4% cost-of-living pay raise for town employees, many of whom he invited to attend the commission meeting for a public thank-you.
“It’s the same faces that you’ve seen for year after year after year. And my point is that we don’t have any turnover here and don’t have to deal with that. That takes a lot of time, administrative time,” he said. “And also … our employees enjoy working here very much. They love the town of Gulf Stream and … they make my job a lot easier.”
Under the tentative tax rate, the owner of a $1 million house would pay $3,672 in town property taxes in addition to county, school and other levies.
Commissioners can lower that tax rate, also called the millage, but not raise it at public hearings they scheduled in Town Hall for 5:01 p.m. on Sept. 11, after their 4 p.m. monthly meeting, and on Sept. 24.
Comments