Palm Beach County commissioners adopted a budget that is expected to raise county property taxes for most taxpayers.The reason taxes will increase: Property values increased by 9% in 2023.The budget also provides for a 6% pay increase for county employees.County commissioners adopted, as expected, a budget on final reading that is expected to raise county property taxes for most taxpayers despite keeping the millage rate at $4.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value.The reason taxes will increase: Property values increased by 9% in 2023.Commissioners had cut the tax rate the past two years, dipping into reserves or surplus revenue. Last year, the cut was 4.6%, enough that most homesteaded property owners did not see a tax increase. The only larger percentage reduction in the millage or tax rate in the past 31 years was during the Great Recession in 2008.Commissioners approved an overall spending plan of $7.6 billion, which also includes revenue from non-property tax sources. The $7.6 billion budget provides funds for the county library system, Fire & Rescue and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO). The overall millage rate of $6.30 generates a tax bill of $1,890 for a home assessed at $300,000 and $6,300 for one assessed at $1 million. Property taxes for the operation of county government typically account for 25% of the overall county tax bill.For the second consecutive year, the budget provides for a 6% pay increase for county employees. The highest paid employee is County Administrator Verdenia Baker, who will earn $463,312 as of Oct. 1.The new budget also sets aside $124 million for capital construction projects, an increase of more than 30% from the current year.The budget vote was 6-1 with Sara Baxter the dissenting vote.Palm Beach County’s market value is second highest county in FloridaThe county’s market value, the second highest in Florida, now exceeds $500 billion for the first time; its taxable value is $316 billion. State law prevents assessments from rising more than 3% on homesteaded parcels; non-homesteaded properties can increase by no more than 10%. Not included in the county’s tax rate are school boards and municipalities, which will set their own rates.The owner of a rental property in West Palm Beach, who asked not to identified, complained to The Post that he pays $22,000 a year in property taxes on a single-family home he rents out on Wilson Road, noting: “I need to charge nearly $2,000 a month in rent just to pay my taxes. And then there are all the other costs. Those taxes are killing us. Landlords have no choice but to raise rents to pay our bills.”New rules:Palm Beach County tries to get a grip on astronomical rent increases from landlordsHe used to live in the house that he now rents until 2020. The most expensive part of his tax bill is for schools. There is no 10% cap on school taxes. His tax bill in 2020 was about $6,000 and once he moved out and the homestead benefit was removed, his assessment more than tripled to $1.3 million, resulting in his five-digit tax bill.Another tax cut this year would again have likely reduced the reserves in the county budget. Baker had opposed the move for the past two years, noting that the county’s percentage of reserves or surplus was lower than most counties of similar size.Reserves serve as a rainy-day type of fund. They are also designed to pay for unforeseen expenses.Why commissioner aides will be getting higher salariesAs for the 6% pay increase for county employees, officials have complained there are far too many vacant positions and that it is difficult to retain employees who leave for higher pay in the private sector. The budget funds 89 new positions, a two-thirds increase over the year before.In a Sept. 17 meeting before the budget was adopted, county commissioners approved a plan to pay their aides more money, a move that could cost taxpayers as much as $210,000 annually. County Commissioner Sara Baxter has been urging her colleagues to increase the salaries of commission aides, arguing they are grossly underpaid. She said she has already lost two aides who left to take higher-paying jobs.“These people are vital to us helping the residents of this county,” she said. “I’m down staff weeks at a time.”Your taxes:Palm Beach County cuts tax rate cut by 4.6%, the largest since Great RecessionUnder the plan adopted, each commissioner can continue to have three aides. Currently, new hires receive a salary of $57,994. Baxter claims the existing salary structure penalizes new commissioners like her.The starting salary for a new hire will increase from $57,994 to $67,549. And after two years, it will rise to $72,450, an increase of nearly 20%. Any county aide who has been on the job for four or more years will receive a 10% increase, bringing the salary to nearly $94,000. Aides will no longer be labeled aides; they will either be a chief of staff or a deputy chief of staff.Baxter was initially pushing a plan to give $260,000 to each commissioner to distribute however he or she wanted. Maria Marino opposed it, arguing that there were no guardrails to prevent excessive salaries from being awarded to aides essentially doing the same amount of work. She envisioned the plan causing a lot of issues for county commissioners.The new budget will take effect Oct. 1.Mike Diamond is a journalist atThe Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
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