Cindy Austino
By Mary Thurwachter
The Lantana Town Council is losing its sole female voice. Vice Mayor Pro Tem Cindy Austino, who has served on the council for five years, announced at the close of the Aug. 27 meeting that she would be leaving very soon. “I’m going to move and will be resigning within the next month or so,” a teary–eyed Austino said.
“This is hard for me. I have very much enjoyed serving on the council. It’s been a good learning process.” Austino, 52, an occupational therapist, was born at Bethesda Memorial Hospital and grew up on her grandparents’ dairy farm at the intersection of Lantana and Jog roads. A resident of Lantana since 1988, she was elected to the Group 2 council seat in 2008.
Austino and her husband, Art, will be moving to Berrydale, a small town north of Pensacola, where they have family and friends. She lived in the Panhandle for several years and graduated from high school in Pensacola. Later she graduated from Palm Beach Community College. Mayor Dave Stewart praised Austino for her “dedication and sometimes bullheadedness.”
“You are going to be missed,” he said. Austino encouraged the council to appoint Rosemary Mouring, a resident who has been active in many community organizations including the historical society and the Casuarina Womens Club, to the soon-to-be-vacant post.
Stewart said the council could discuss that at a future date, or the position could remain vacant until the March election. In other business, the council announced it will hold its first public budget hearing at 6 p.m. Sept. 10, before its regular meeting. The town will not raise taxes (and hasn’t for 11 years). The tax rate will stay at $3.24 for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
Property values dropped from $693 million to $682 million, so keeping the tax level the same will mean some sacrifice — it may mean cutting one lifeguard position and making one full-time position in the police force a 30-hour-a week-job. The budget has an anticipated $140,000 general fund deficit, but the town also has a healthy surplus in reserves. Plans call for town employees to get a 2.5 percent cost of living adjustment. This will be their first raise since 2007.
Lantana
Current tax rate: $3.24* per $1,000 of taxable property
Proposed tax rate: $3.24*
Public hearings: 6 p.m. Sept. 10 and 7 p.m. Sept. 19.
*Does not include Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue service tax rate
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