- The Nov. 6 meeting also saw Town Council President Bobbie Lindsay update residents on the latest in the town’s search for a new potable water supplier.
- Town Manager Kirk Blouin spoke about the state of traffic in town, and the variables that have led to ongoing congestion.
If the Florida Legislature were to move forward with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to eliminate local property taxes, it could spell disaster for Palm Beach, Deputy Town Manager Bob Miracle told an audience on Nov. 6.
Doing away with property taxes would be especially problematic if it left the state’s sales tax as the only means for funding local governments, Miracle said during the Palm Beach Civic Association’s 82nd annual Welcome Back Community Forum.
Unlike property taxes, sales tax revenue is collected and administered by the state rather than lcoal counties, Miracle said.
“Those revenues are going to be distributed to local governments, and usually, it’s by population,” he said. “We don’t have a very large population, but the services that we provide are way greater than any other 10,000 (-population) municipality in the state.”
About 100 people attended the event at the Mandel Recreation Center in Midtown.
The warning came as Miracle spoke about how Palm Beach funds its various town initiatives. He pointed to the large amount of revenue collected each year through property taxes.
According to his presentation, the portion of the town’s budget funded by property taxes for the new fiscal year is $85.8 million. That budget will allow the town to deliver over $56 million to fund its emergency services, alongside other key initiatives, including the municipal coastal-protection program and public-works initiatives, Miracle noted.
Also of concern, he added, was the federal government’s warning that the hurricane season that ends Nov. 30 may be “the last season they might provide financial aid to (local) governments in the event of a natural disaster.”
Such a move would mean Palm Beach would have to carry the financial burden of disaster recovery, he said.
Miracle said it’s still too early to tell whether the Florida legislature would push forward DeSantis’ proposal.
The legislative session begins in January, and there have been multiple bills filed targeting property taxes. They range from House Joint Resolution 201, which would immediately end the distribution of revenue collected on homesteaded, primary residences to all government entities except schools; to HJR 207, which would increase the amount of homestead exemptions.
If Florida does move away from property taxes, Miracle said, the measure would amount to yet another state-level attack on municipalities’ right to self-govern, “because (municipal budgets) will all be dictated by the state legislature.”
The civic association’s event also saw Town Council President Bobbie Lindsay update residents on the town’s search for a new water supplier. Currently, the town receives its potable water from West Palm Beach under a contract set to expire in 2029.
But Lindsay said the town will have to decide by 2027 whether to have West Palm Beach continue as the provider or to jump ship and join Lake Worth Beach’s potable water system.
That decision rests on whether West Palm Beach can implement a membrane-filtration system similar to the one Lake Worth Beach uses. The system allows water to pass through a plastic membrane that filters out contaminants from a water source at the molecular level.
“Our staff and elected officials believe that clean, good-tasting water — free of both regulated and unregulated contaminants — is an important public-safety issue,” Lindsay said. “Only membrane technology can provide a reliably contaminant free system.”
Town Manager Kirk Blouin updated residents on traffic problems and the daily effort of town staff to curb them.
He noted that traffic flow and congestion are not issues Town Hall can solve by itself. The problems also require active engagement between local elected officials and multiple outside agencies on issues related to bridge openings, roadwork on segments of State Road A1A and the U.S. Secret Service’s closure of South Ocean Boulevard when President Donal Trump is in residence at The Mar-a-Lago Club.
The traffic picture is complicated by the increased number of visitors to Palm Beach each year and the recent boom in population growth throughout Palm Beach County, which also affects the town’s traffic, he told the attendees.
All those factors have created a scenario where the volume of cars heavily outweighs the capacity of the town’s roadways, he said.
Other panelists who spoke during the event included Town Engineer Patricia Strayer and Town Attorney Joanne O’Connor. Planning, Zoning and Building Department Director Wayne Bergman and Assistant Director James Murphy also gave presentations. Civic association Chairman and former Town Council President Michael Pucillo moderated the panel.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
