Palm Beach County studies slightly larger cut in property taxes

Palm Beach County studies slightly larger cut in property taxes

A proposal to cut property taxes by 2% has been upped to a proposal to cut by 3% bby Commissioner Mary McCarty, with residents with homestead exemptions having no change in their county tax bills. The 3% tax rate cut would offset the rise in property values, with homeowners paying $4.30 for every $1000 in assessed values instead of the current $4.45.

Public hearings on the budget are set for July with voting in September. The 2006 budget was $3.9-billion; the 2007 budget calls for a $4.3-billion spending plan.
With a 21% spike in property values, about $100-million in extra revenues was created, even after McCarty’s proposed tax rate cut. Property value growth is expected to slow in 2007 due to a softened real estate market.

The Economic Council of Palm Beach County submitted a letter saying the tax rate reductions being discussed aren’t enough, considering the county has benefited from a soaring real estate market in recent years.
A 9% property tax cut was voted on for Broward County, although new projects proposed there might eat deeply into that tax cut.

Grants Received for Planting New Trees

Four Boynton Beach areas have received grant money to replace trees destroyed in hurricanes Frances, Jeanne and Wilma. A contractor hired by the non-profit environmental grant group, Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful, Inc., will do the planting, and recipients will maintain the trees.

Brighton Lakes, a 124-home development on Military Trail north of Woolbright, lost pines, oaks and palms, and received nearly $10,000 from the 30 new trees will be planted at it’s Military Trail entrance. As a result of recent hurricanes this community has borne a heavy price for tree loss. Hurricane Wilma resulted in loss of new trees that had been planted after previous hurricanes.

Boynton Beach High School received 21 new trees in early 2004 from the group,
Some of which were lost in the hurricanes, so the school applied for a $10,000 reforestation grant to put new trees throughout the campus.

Forty-one trees will be planted at a passive 2 ½ acre park under construction at State Road A1A and Woolbright Road in Ocean Ridge where Hurricane Wilma destroyed or damaged strangler figs and palm trees.

Funds were also received for new trees along the Federal Highway medians in Boynton Beach. The City, as well, is contributing $11,970 for 31 new trees along the medians.

Glenda Hall, forestry and grounds manager for Boynton Beach, said the planting must go on. "You have to continue forward like it's OK," said Hall, who added that trees aren't only for looks. They clean and cool the air and break up wind so that it doesn't hit buildings with full force, she said. "People don't realize that trees are a benefit when it comes to hurricanes," Hall said.As part of its $150,000 Hurricane Reforestation Program, to provide 460 new storm-tolerant trees in publicly visible areas of the county, the group chose 16 locations throughout Palm Beach County to receive money to restore tree canopy. Each project will total $10,000 or less.

Pets Get Shelter from Hurricanes in Palm Beach County

County officials on Thursday said the West Boynton Recreation Center on Jog Road would be the safe haven for 300 people, 240 dogs, 400 cats, 250 birds and small "pocket pets" (e.g., gerbils) during a storm. The county's original plan was to pair owners and their pets at schools, which serve as hurricane shelters, but the School Board rejected it because of concerns about sanitation and sickness. Pets and their owners would stay in separate areas of the 22,000-square-foot recreation center. Estimates show there are about 450,000 pets in the county.

The shelter will be available primarily to county residents who live in mandatory evacuation zones or mobile homes. Pet owners living outside evacuation zones would be allowed to stay if there were space.

The county is spending about $170,000 for shutters, a generator and other supplies for the recreation center, said Vince Bonvento, assistant county administrator. It should be ready sometime in July, but it is not considered a long-term solution. County officials, plan to prove how smoothly a pet shelter can be run. The county is ordering cages in case owners show up without them, or bring the wrong size for their pets, Bonvento said.

County Commissioner Addie Greene, herself a dog owner, was pleased the county found a facility just as hurricane season revs up. "It's perfect timing," she said. "I'm really thinking about senior citizens. They can't just pick up and leave like younger people can. They don't know where to go and have enough on their minds than to worry about their only friend."Plans call for owners and pets to leave the shelter after the storm passes. People whose homes are uninhabitable would be given some consideration."We'll take a look on a case-by-case basis," she said.