The reduced tax rate would reduce the city’s expected tax revenue by almost $5 million. How the city plans to offset this loss of revenue is still unclear.
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- The Delray Beach City Commission has voted to cut property taxes, which could potentially negatively impact police, fire, public works, and parks and recreation budgets.
- The new tax rate of $5.9063 per $1,000 of assessed property value would be a rollback of the city’s current tax rate of $6.3611.
- The Commission will meet again on Tuesday 13 August at 6pm to discuss further details of the new tariff.
DELRAY BEACH — City officials want to reassure residents that despite the decision to reduce property taxes, which could potentially impact police, fire, public works and parks and recreation budgets, details of the upcoming general budget have not yet been finalized.
Mayor Tom Carney, one of three members of the five-member commission set to approve the new tax rate on July 25, said cuts to services were not essential to passing the city’s tax rate. As Oct. 1 — when the new rate would take effect — approaches, those who voted for it remain confident that other cuts can be found that do not jeopardize the city’s public safety or other levels of service.
Carney said he supports the city’s proposed $187 million budget.
“We have incredibly well-trained first responders,” Carney said. “They’re also extremely professional, so I know they’re not going to just sit there and not respond to a call.”
If approved in September, the new tax rate would increase to $5.9063 per $1,000 of assessed property value, a reduction from the city’s current tax rate of $6.3611. The year before, the rate was $6.4611. That means residents would save about $67 per year for every $300,000 of taxable property value.
Carney, Vice Mayor Juli Casale and Commissioner Tom Markert – all new to the commission in March – voted for the rollback rate. The lower rate is something Carney promised voters during his mayoral campaign this year. Markert also campaigned for it.
Deputy Mayor Rob Long and Commissioner Angela Burns voted against the new rate. Long said it would impact the city’s level of service in several departments. However, commission members who favor the lower rate say no one wants to take away the city’s services and that won’t happen.
For example, Casale has proposed monetizing the city’s beach parking. If each of the city’s 431 parking spaces were filled at least once a day, it could generate $5.5 million annually, she said. That would be more than enough to fill the gap. But to avoid cuts to services, she said, creativity is needed.
The proposed tax rate would reduce expected tax revenues by nearly $5 million
Since real estate prices have risen throughout Palm Beach County, even keeping tax rates at last year’s level brings in more money. However, cities also have the option to lower tax rates, and Delray Beach has chosen to do so.
The tax rate, which would generate the same tax revenue as last year, is commonly referred to as the rollback rate – it was proposed and approved at the July 25 commission meeting. That rate would cost the city nearly $5 million in anticipated tax revenue, according to a city budget presentation. But how the city will compensate for that lost revenue is still unclear.
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Since the July 25 vote, where the funds to implement the setback rate will come from has been a point of contention among city leaders. At the meeting where the rate was approved, the police chief, acting fire chief, heads of the public works department and parks and recreation departments discussed how their budgets might be affected. That doesn’t normally happen, but City Manager Terrence Moore arranged the presentations before the vote.
The police chief mentioned that they may be pressured to cut services to their department, and the acting fire chief talked about possibly having to limit ambulances to two people instead of three, which is the industry standard in South Florida. However, Florida Law 401.27 states that the standard is two people in an ambulance.
The commission will meet again on Tuesday, August 13th at 6 p.m. to discuss further details of the new tariff. Public hearings will then be held on Tuesday, September 3rd and Monday, September 16th to review the city’s overall budget.
Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @jasminefernandz. Support our work. Subscribe today.
