News

By Rich Pollack

    After weeks of meticulously scrutinizing a proposed budget line by line, Highland Beach Town Commissioners agreed in September to cuts that result in a reduced operating tax rate of $3.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.
    Commissioners agreed on $631,000 in cuts from the $11.3 million budget that allowed them to lower the tax rate from the previous $3.95.
    “I’m very happy with a tax rate of $3.50,” said Commissioner Rhoda Zelnicker, following a unanimous commission vote to drop the tax rate below $3.70 — the rollback rate which would have generated the same amount of property taxes collected by the town last year. “We worked very hard to make our residents as happy as possible and to be inclusive of all residents.”
    As a result of the tax-rate reduction, the owner of a home assessed at $400,000 with a $50,000 homestead exemption will pay an estimated $1,225 in municipal property taxes for the upcoming fiscal year. That’s a decrease of $158 for a home with the same assessed value last year.
    The savings, however, drops to about $70 for the year when a 7 percent increase in assessed value — the average increase for Highland Beach property owners — is factored into the equation.
    Despite the unanimous vote to lower the tax rate, two commissioners expressed concerns that the reduction might be too drastic.
    “I thought it was too steep of a drop in one year,” said Vice Mayor Bill Weitz. “I just believe in a more gradual decrease.”
    Commissioner Lou Stern echoed Weitz’s opinion, saying he would have been more comfortable with a $3.60 operating tax rate.
    Highland Beach commissioners were able to reduce the tax rate in part because of an increase in property values and through a series of budget cuts, including the reduction of what equates to one full-time staff position.
    Total assessed value of property in Highland Beach increased from $1.9 billion last year to just over $2 billion this year.
    As a result of several cuts, the town’s operating budget would drop to $10.7 million. Among the items taken out of the budget were two major capital improvements that have been placed on hold: license plate recognition scanners for the Police Department at a cost of $68,000 and enclosures for two terraces at the library with a price tag of $150,000.
    In a move that drew criticism from at least one resident, commissioners agreed to eliminate the full-time maintenance position at the town library and convert it to a 20-hour-a-week, $18.25-an-hour position.
    The 27-year employee holding the full-time position, who received a salary of about $38,000 plus more than $33,000 in insurance and benefits, will take the part-time position. In addition, the town will contract maintenance of the library with the outside firm that currently cleans Town Hall.
    “It seems you’re looking at people who provided good service and you’re penalizing them,” said resident Peter Rodis.
    Weitz said the switch made sense because it allows the town to accomplish the same goal at a lower cost while having one firm responsible for maintenance of all municipal buildings.
    “I think we’re trying to send a message that we have to be serious about financial restraint,” he said. “We have to be careful with taxpayers’ money.”