Palm Beach County approves 2.6 percent property tax hike

Palm Beach County commissioners today agreed to raise the countywide property tax rate by 2.6 percent, but will investigate ways to reduce it over coming months, they said. The decisions marks a turnaround for commissioners, the Palm Beach Post reported, who had said they planned to hold the tax rate flat.

At the $4.88 rate, the county would generate $607 million in property taxes in 2012.

It “is a starting point,” Commissioner Burt Aaronson said. “We now know where we are. We have much information. We can go back and pare it down. Everything is on the table.”

Commissioner Shelley Vana said the board needed to prioritize more effectively instead of cutting services.

“I don’t particularly accept the premise that the only way we can get to where we want to go is by cutting services that we need,” Vana said. “I would hope that we look at all those things before we get back here in September.” [Palm Beach Post]