By Margie Plunkett
Local lawmakers may wish they could forget this 2009/10 budget-crunching season, but in September they put their stamps of approval on financial plans that will be a constant reminder for the next year.
For many residents, the result is rising taxes and sometimes, declining services. Plummeting property tax revenues and rising costs forced government leaders to look at options, including seeking other revenue, cutting services and salaries, dipping into reserves, and in many instances, boosting millage rates from last year.
Residents tax bills are made up not only of municipal taxes, but several taxing authorities, including the county. Palm Beach County boosted its tax rate by 14.9 percent to fund its $999.8 million general fund — part of a $4.1 billion overall budget — setting it at $4.34 for each $1,000 of assessed property value. That increased from $3.78 previously. The county cut hundreds of jobs, among other things.
Here is a snapshot of municipal results in The Coastal Star’s area:
Delray Beach
Delray Beach approved a millage rate* of 7.19, compared with a rollback rate — the rate that would bring in the same amount of dollars as the previous year — of 7.3833, and a $96.6 million budget, $2.1 million lower than last year.
Faced with a 14.4 percent decrease in taxable property value, the city cut funding for 14 positions, resulting in two layoffs, and froze two vacant code officer positions and eliminated animal control. Facility schedules were altered, including at the Pompey Park pool, and after-school field trips were eliminated, among other things.
Vocal Delray Beach residents turned out for the city’s public hearings on the budget, equally divided between those imploring commissioners to spare residents from tax increases and those defending against budget cuts. Commissioners’ views also represented the extremes, with Adam Frankel, for instance, supporting the proposed millage rate of 7.3833, equal to the rollback rate, to avoid hurting city employees and residents. He wanted to explore more cuts and tap the reserves. On the other end, Commissioner Fred Fetzer wanted the millage rate to stay at last year’s level of 6.39 and hold the line on taxes. He wanted to explore more cuts as well as tapping the reserves.
Other viewpoints were somewhere in between. “Delray is a product; we can’t cut the investment in the product,” said Commissioner Gary Eliopoulos, who added that reserves should be preserved for catastrophic events like hurricanes. He favored a millage rate lower than the rollback.
Mayor Woodie McDuffie said cutting back is the simple thing to do, but said it is reckless to cut back to last year’s millage rate.
Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream left its 2.8655 millage rate the same as last year, but lower than the 3.0437 rollback rate. Commissioners approved a balanced general fund budget of $2.6 million and a water fund budget of $865,000.
Considering a 5.9 percent decrease in taxable property value, and a fire services rate increase of 84 percent, Mayor William F. Koch Jr. said, commissioners did a pretty good job to keep a healthy budget for their residents.
Briny Breezes
Briny Breezes voted unanimously for a proposed rate of $10.0 per $1,000 of assessed value, more than triple the initially proposed rate of $3.00. It approved a budget of $555,193.
The approved tax rate compared to a rollback rate of $2.70 and last year’s rate of $2.76.
Mayor Roger Bennett had earlier said the final rate was likely to be much lower, but ultimately factors including rising police costs, dissipated reserves and a citizen’s initiative that could cap tax revenue in the future kindled support for the $10.00 rate. Reserves were tapped to lower taxes when the deal to sell the town was still alive, Bennett said.
Even with the county's only taxable property value increase — 2.3 percent — Town Council expressed the sentiment that Briny Breezes has been cheap for a long time and with no sale in the works, it’s time to begin building funds to assure the town’s existence. While public comment was light, Sue Thaler of Briny’s corporate board said residents had questioned whether raising the park’s assessments was more equitable to the taxpayers since it would be raised per share, not based on tax rolls.
“We’re going to pay one way or another,” Alderman Nancy Boczon said.
Ocean Ridge
Ocean Ridge passed a $5.4 million budget with a millage rate of $5.40, lowering it from the previously proposed $5.50 rate. With a 13.3 percent drop in taxable property value, the town will turn to reserves to fully fund the budget.
While $5.40 is below the rollback rate, it still increases from last year, which equates to an increase of about 7 percent, according to Commissioner Terry Brown. But going with the lower millage rate still means keeping the reserve level at about $2 million, commissioners said in their September meeting.
Manalapan
Manalapan approved a $2.80 tax rate, 8.839 percent under the rollback rate of $3.07, and a $3.6 million budget. A divided commission voted to freeze wages for town staff and turned to reserves, among other measures, to make up for lower tax revenues.
Commissioners Peter Blum and Marilyn Hedberg, proponents of a 2.7 percent cost-of-living increase for the staff, proposed boosting the millage rate to the same level as last year to fund it.
But Mayor Tom Gerrard and Commissioners William Bernstein and Robert B. Evans noted their businesses had to make difficult adjustments to staffing in the past year, necessary in this economy.
At the second public hearing, police officers protested the inequity of a freeze in the step plan that determines promotions and retirement, claiming only a few unfairly shoulder the burden of the freeze. While Manalapan did not alter the freeze for budget purposes, it told officers it would review both the step system and alternate cost savings offered by the police chief.
Lantana
Lantana voted to keep its existing millage rate of $3.24 during its preliminary public hearing on the proposed $14.8 million budget. $8.5 million of which is for the general fund.
The budget reflects lower than anticipated liability and workers compensation costs — but rising health insurance and a 13.3 percent decrease in taxable property value.
Employees will forego cost of living increases as well as merit increase this year.
Town Manager Mike Bornstein praised the town staff and thanked them for their sacrifice.
Mayor David Stewart told Bornstein he did a good job, adding: “I hope it doesn’t shoot us in the foot down the road. I hope it doesn’t tie us terribly to where we can’t function in the long term.” He listed several entities compelled to raise taxes, including the county that boosted the tax rate by 14.9 percent.
South Palm Beach
Council approved the $3.06 million budget and a higher tax rate by a 3-2 vote. “I did vote for the budget for four years in a row,” said Mayor Martin Millar, who opposed it this year. “I should have asked more questions and I didn’t.”
South Palm Beach, which saw taxable value fall 17.1 percent, cut its budget 4.5 percent from last year’s $3.17 million. The tax rate was increased to $7.65, up 16.4 percent from last year.
The town’s 13 full-time employees will get no raises and a part-time, $12,000 clerical position will be cut. Town Manager Rex Taylor also eliminated a $5,000 short-term disability policy, saying it was adequately covered by the current sick-pay plan. Actual dispatching costs will fall by $26,000 as the town of Lantana takes over that task.
The council will dip into reserves for $217,000 to pay for the town’s $175,000 share of a beach-renourishment design plan and $42,000 for radio communications modifications.
*Each mill equals $1 in taxes for each $1,000 of the taxable value of a home. And the rollback rate is the figure required to generate the same revenue as the prior budget, using the new assessments of the current year.
— Mary Kate Leming and Tim O’Meilia contributed to this report
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