Stet NewsWelcome back. For you today, insight into your tax bill, city sees no tortoises, saving Jonathan Dickinson State Park and take a walk with us.
💸 The money flows: Local governments to collect $4.6 billion
It’s property tax time in Palm Beach County and we at Stet News thought it would be interesting to find out how much money landowners pay to run local governments.
Take the anticipated county collection of $1.4 billion. Add in the $2.2 billion raised by school district taxes and mix in your city. Combined, 37 cities expect to raise more than $1 billion. (Two towns, Cloud Lake and Glen Ridge, collect no property tax.)
Why it’s important: That’s $4.69 billion in payments from local homeowners, owners of second homes, office building landlords and retail giants. It’s 7 percent more than those same government bodies collected last year, the agencies’ Truth In Millage reports to the county property appraiser reveal.
- Seven percent is more than two times the rate of inflation, pointed out Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida Tax Watch.
“It’s only adding more inflationary pressures to the hardworking taxpayers of Palm Beach County,” Calabro said. “When people say inflation is the problem, the one place they can look is at their own governments.”
Yes, but: It’s hard to provide police and fire services, garbage pickup, parks and libraries without keeping up with inflation, city managers say.
“An important thing for people to understand is that the property tax is a significant way to pay for the services that cost a lot of money,” said Palm Springs Village Manager Michael Bornstein.
Final tax rates must be set before Oct. 1, when the new tax year begins. Bills will be in the mail in the fall.
Read more about your local tax bill here.
— Joel Engelhardt and Mary Rasura
🐢 In defense of gopher tortoises
Paul Cameron, a daily visitor to the nature trail in the Gardens North County District Park, was among the first to notice in August when city contractors shut down the trail and started leveling the 14-acre forest on the park’s western edge.
He worried about the dozen gopher tortoises that he saw on his daily walks. And the bald eagles that he said nested in the trees.
Why it’s important: After he voiced his concerns in a Stet News story last week, critics on social media voiced alarm that the clear-cutting may have harmed protected wildlife.
Yes, but: No tortoises were harmed, City Manager Ron Ferris said in a presentation to the City Council Thursday, because a licensed city inspector in March had detected no gopher tortoises in that portion of the park.
- It’s possible, City Engineer Todd Engle said under questioning from Ferris, that tortoises are living in the 22 acres of preserves that ring the 82-acre regional park site.
But the city and a state wildlife officer met during construction, Engle said. The officer was “satisfied” that all regulations had been met, he told the council.
Ferris said he held off on publicly sharing information about the city’s park plan, first reported by Stet News Thursday morning, until after the council’s vote Thursday night to spend $8 million to build a fieldhouse there. The council approved the expense.
Last year, Ferris said, the council set aside $7.5 million, bringing the city’s cost for the final phase of work at the county-owned regional park to $15.5 million.
For five years, Ferris said he worked with potential private partners to build the fieldhouse at “someone else’s cost, which is always my favorite thing to do.”
But the city broke off talks both times when the private partners could not meet the city’s financial expectations. The first of those potential partners, the Palm Beach North Athletic Foundation, has since moved its proposal for an ice-rink complex to Plant Drive Park east of Military Trail.
- The ice-rink complex is meeting opposition there.
What they’re saying: “There is no reason that I can fathom that that fieldhouse that you’re going to contemplate and the ice rink that you’re forcing on Plant Drive cannot be compatible on that same site (at the district park),” former Mayor Mike Martino told the council Thursday.
This is not the whole story. You can read more on the city manager’s defense of the clear-cutting of 14 acres in the Gardens North County District Park here.
— Joel Engelhardt
🌳 3 strategies to preserve Jonathan Dickinson State Park
The abandoned plans to build golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park have galvanized a grassroots movement to preserve the park in Martin County.
What’s happening: Joe Capozzi reports on the options under consideration to protect the popular 10,500-acre park known for, among other precious natural resources, the Loxahatchee River, Florida’s first federally designated wild and scenic river.
1. Jonathan Dickinson National Park
Jupiter Island Mayor Penelope Townsend has asked U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, whether it’s time to consider making Jonathan Dickinson a national park, a move that requires an act of Congress.
Yes, but: “Changing Jonathan Dickinson State Park to a National Park would be a Band-Aid,’’ said Hobe Sound resident Benji Studt, a conservation biologist who helped fight the latest plan by posting fact-checking videos questioning the merits of the state’s proposal.
“It would do nothing to address the larger problem that has just been highlighted and would actually decrease access for the local community of park users,’’ he said.
2. Enact tougher legislation
Still, many residents and park users are frustrated with what seems to them like a constant battle to fend off state-sponsored attempts to add golf courses.
They feel the only solution is to enact laws bolstering park protections.
“The recent assault on the mission of the (state) parks service is a clear indication that we need to pass legislation that reiterates in law the state’s commitment to that mission and clearly defines exactly what uses are permitted in our state parks,’’ said Studt.
State Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, said she plans to file a bill to protect state parks when the 2025 Legislature convenes March 4. Her website includes a link to sign a petition to support the bill.
3. Conservation easement
But laws can be changed. A better option might be a third-party conservation easement, said former Palm Beach County Commissioner Karen Marcus, founder and president of the nonprofit Sustainable Palm Beach County.
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement that protects the natural resources of a parcel of land by permanently restricting any future development on it. The easement is recorded with the property’s deed and transfers to all future landowners.
To find out what it would take for a third-party conservation easement, keep reading at ByJoeCapozzi.
🧃 The juice
🗳️ The League of Women Voters has published its synopsis of the six proposed changes to the Florida Constitution on the Nov. 5 ballot. (League of Women Voters Ballot Guide)
🔄 Manalapan Town Commissioner Cindy McMackin resigned her seat, only to be sworn back in the same day, to avoid an unreachable quorum call to approve the town’s budget on time. (The Coastal Star)
🏗️ Development in Palm Beach, particularly efforts to block 37 residential units on a 5.8-acre parcel at South County Road and Royal Palm Way, is the focus of a story that touches on other stalled developments in the town and West Palm Beach’s embrace of growth. (The Real Deal)
💚 561 insider: Walk with NAMI and us
At Stet, we believe in mental health for all.
What’s happening: For the second year, we’ve formed a kind and competitive Stet News team to participate in NAMIWalks Palm Beach County.
Why it matters: The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness.
- We’re proud to say Joel serves on the NAMI PBC board.
NAMIWalks 2024 promotes mental health awareness, raises money for NAMI’s free, top-rated programs, and builds community by letting people know they are not alone.
- Plus, we plan to have fun.
Zoom in: All the money raised in Palm Beach County stays in Palm Beach County.
We invite you to join our team or make a tax-deductible contribution to NAMI PBC.
- Last year, you helped Team Stet raise more than $4,000 for NAMI making us a top 10 PBC team.
Details: The walk starts at 9 am Saturday, Nov. 2, at John Prince Park west of Lake Worth Beach.
- Reply to this email or write to stet@stetnews.org if you would like to walk with us.
💟 A Stet welcome to the hundreds of readers who have joined us since our relaunch last month!
And a heartfelt thank you 💟 to the new and continuing donors to our nonprofit local news startup.
Your support helps us fulfill our mission to provide accurate, fair and unbiased news and information that helps you hold public officials accountable and reflects the rich diversity of Palm Beach County.
We’re also thrilled to announce that Stet News has received its first grant from a local foundation.
- The Meredith B. Trim and James L. Robo Fund of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties has entrusted Stet with money to use for general operations.
- The grant will power journalism to help fill the gap in Palm Beach County coverage.
Thank you for joining us. We’re just getting started.
