Delray comissioners set tax rate at 7.19

By David Sedore, Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — Now it can be carved in stone. The property tax rate for Delray Beach for the budget year beginning Oct. 1 is 7.19 mills.

That translates to $7.19 for every thousand dollars in assessed value — a 12.5 percent increase over the present rate of 6.39 mils.

Delray city commissioners approved the rate by a 4-1 vote Tuesday evening, and approved the accompanying $96.6 million budget by the same margin. Commissioner Fred Fetzer, as expected, cast the lone negative vote. Fetzer wanted to maintain the present rate and had voted against proposed rates that were higher in July and again earlier this month.

“The economy is poor and no one wants higher taxes,” Commissioner Adam Frankel said. “While I’m not happy with the number (7.19 mils), I feel it’s fair and equally balanced.”

Frankel made the motion to approve the rate, and he called it a compromise between the city, its employees and taxpayers, with each sacrificing something to make the budget work.

Many residents won't feel the pinch because of lower property values. However, those who have owned their homes for many years will end up paying more even with declining property values because of a quirk in the Save Our Homes Amendment voters passed in the mid-1990s.

Most residents who spoke out on the budget during the public hearing were against the rate hike.

One resident said with the jobless rate over 10 percent, many people are living on the edge; a tax hike at this time could push many over into foreclosure or short-selling their homes. He said commissioners need to cut as deep as necessary to avoid raising taxes.

“I don’t think it’s anywhere near drastic enough,” he said of the budget. “You’re telling (city residents) to go eat cake.”

Said Shelly Petrolia, a realtor who ran for city commission last march, “The consensus here is that we need relief and we need it bad. I’m not sure you’re getting the message.”

Mayor Woodie McDuffie said the city would have had to cut $10.3 million out of the budget in order to avoid a tax hike.

“That would have been an incredibly fiscally irresponsible thing to do,” McDuffie said. “The layoffs would have been enormous.”

As difficult as putting together this year’s budget has been, next year is likely to be worse. Declining property values were the major cause for this year’s budget headaches. They’re expected to continue to fall next year.

 

      

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