West Palm Beach could keep same property tax rate

Jeri Muoio
Jeri Muoio

The City of West Palm Beach is exploring the possibility of bucking a nationwide trend to avoid a property tax increase for the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

Typically, cities try to set a “not to exceed” tax rate higher than what is deemed necessary in order to create a cushion, but the West Palm Beach staff recommends the city go no higher than where the existing maximum rate is. This was to be presented to commissioners on Monday.

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Should the tax rate recommendation be accepted, the cap is expected to be equal to today’s rate of $8.35 per every $1,000 of taxable property value, according to the Palm Beach Post. The commission would also set a rate of 18.4 cents for debt service on $1.55 million from a parks bond. The actual tax rate for residents should end up at $8.54 for every $1,000 of taxable property value.

Encouraging news came out of the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s office last month. The appraiser forecasts a 6.7 percent West Palm Beach property values from $8.3 to $8.9 billion. That makes the city’s recommendation even more important to Mayor Jeri Muoio, who can focus more on her vow to give city employees a 2 percent pay increase, replenish reserves and address capital improvements. [Palm Beach Post]Andy Kent