County commissioners voted 5-2 against a plan offered by Commissioner Sara Baxter to lower the proposed county tax rate by 6%.
Palm Beach County commissioners have rejected a plan offered by Commissioner Sara Baxter to lower the proposed county tax rate by 6%.
Instead, the commission voted 5-2 on Sept. 9 to keep the rate at its current level of 4.5000 during the first public hearing on the 2026 fiscal year budget. Baxter urged her colleagues to adopt the “rollback rate” of 4.2413, which would generate the exact amount of money as last year even though it is a lower tax rate.
New construction worth $3.5 billion generated massive amounts of additional tax revenue for the county and keeping the rate at 4.5000 will generate an additional $89 million. A resident’s tax bill increases if their property’s assessed value increased.
Tax information was distributed to county residents in August.
“DOGE (the Florida Department of Government Efficiency) has concerns about how much our budgets have increased,” said Baxter. “I want to be able to tell our taxpayers that we can find ways to cut back on spending. It is essential for us to do that.”
Commissioner Marci Woodward voted with Baxter to adopt the “rollback” rate, saying the county could afford to adopt the lower rate considering the tax revenue generated by new development. Both Woodward and Baxter are running for reelection in 2026.
Palm Beach County budget: The case for keeping the tax rate the same as last year’s
Commissioner Bobby Powell, though, said the county has had difficulty retaining employees who are leaving for the private sector where they earn higher salaries. And that is occurring even with the commission granting 6% annual salary raises the past few years.
He said reducing the rate could affect the ability of the county to provide essential services for county residents. County Mayor Maria Marino had similar concerns.
The $4.50 tax rate will generate a tentative spending plan of $1.5 billion. But there is another $100 million budgeted for the county library system and $482 million for county fire rescue.
The total millage rate is 6.29. A home assessed at $1 million would pay the county governmenty $6,290, but the figure does not include municipal or school taxes. Homeowners in unincorporated areas of the county, generally anything west of Military Trail, do not pay municipal taxes; their services are provided by county government.
Marino said the budget funded with property taxes only accounts for about $2.2 billion of the total $9 billion county budget. And of that $2.2 billion, Fire Rescue and the Sheriff account for more than half of that figure. There is not much under the control of the commission, she said. Marino noted that it is costly to maintain the county’s infrastructure.
The second and final public hearing is at 5 p.m. Sept. 16, and the 2026 budget is expected to be adopted at that time.
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The 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.
