Page 15 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens- November '23

Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens, Page 15
Commissioner’s Update

Budgeting To Reduce Your Property taxes make up roughly 25 percent of the significant reserves helps us maintain a AAA rating,
which is the highest credit designation assigned to bond
operating budget and public safety takes up the largest
Tax Burden portion. Departments covering airports and water utilities issuers by rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s and
are enterprise funds, not funded primarily by property taxes. Fitch. Reserves enable us to respond to emergencies and
By Commissioner Per Florida Statutes, the other funds on the balance sheet unanticipated expenditures without chipping away at services
Maria Marino include the general fund, special revenue funds restricted or residents rely on.
Preparing a balanced committed to a specific purpose, debt service funds, capital Of the total gross budget of $7.9 billion, projected
county budget takes more projects, and internal services. total property tax revenue is $1.9 billion. Approximately
than covering expenditures With a population of just over 1.5 million, nearly half of 72 percent of the property tax revenue is for the general
with revenues. It requires a our residents live in the unincorporated area. fund to provide the budget for the sheriff and other
focus on providing essential After 11 years with a millage rate of 4.7815, the commission constitutional officers, judicial facilities and technology,
services to our residents, last year approved a reduction to 4.715, the rate applied to county departments, capital projects, agency partners who
from garbage pickup and each $1,000 of taxable property value. As new residents have assist the public, and to community development agencies
disposal, to striping roads, to continued to make Palm Beach County their home, tax revenue that reinvest in their infrastructure. The remaining 28 percent
assisting low-income elderly has increased at a rate of more than 13 percent over the past pays for fire rescue, libraries and debt service.
folks keep their utilities on, year. With more money coming into the county coffers, I Feedback from the District 1 communities has made it
to preserving our beaches and natural areas. We must use proposed and achieved unanimous consent from the Board clear that reducing the county tax rate is a trend we need to
precision to create efficiencies and eliminate any waste in to approve a further reduction in the millage rate this year to follow.
our budget in the interest of lessening the tax burden on the 4.50 mils, so that taxpayers can realize more savings. Thank you all for your continued input and please feel free
property owners in this community and helping households This reduction allows us to keep a hefty level of reserve to contact me at (561) 355-2201 or by email at mmarino@
make ends meet. funds. The county’s conservative approach to keeping pbcgov.org.

Tax Talk from page 14

effective change management and communication. All
of which are exemplified by Michelle and A.J. who
were instrumental in ensuring a complex upgrade of our
property tax software was implemented without a hitch!
Congratulations Michelle and A.J.!
The celebration does not end there, as our office
was awarded the Jurisdiction of the Year Award for our
response when COVID-19 arrived, and how quickly we
turned our in-person service model into a reservation-only
process. We were also recognized for our commitment to
deliver exceptional service by offering more convenient
opportunities for our clients to do business with us online
and enhancing the reservation-making process. It is
extremely rewarding that our agency is being recognized
for the pioneering innovations that help to deliver
industry-leading customer satisfaction results! I am so
proud that the work our team does, day in and day out, Pictured left is A.J. Balram and right is Michelle Harris Pictured right is Sue Englhardt accepting the Jurisdiction
is recognized nationally. Congratulations, Team TCO! accepting the Lisa Redding Award for Project Management. of the Year Award.

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