Commissioners Tentatively Okay FY-2010 Budget

	The 150 available seats filled quickly, and overflow seating was provided outside the chambers and in the first floor lobby. « Previous | Next »

At an evening public hearing on September 8, the Board of County Commissioners tentatively approved County Administrator Bob Weisman’s recommended rollback millage rate of 4.344 mills for the proposed FY-2010 county budget.

If approved at a final public hearing on September 21, the owner of a home valued at $250,000 with a $50,000 homestead exemption would pay $868 in county property taxes next year. The figure does not include taxes levied by other entities, such as the School Board, municipal governments and special taxing districts.

Watch Video

Some commissioners favored a slightly lower millage rate of 4.29 mills, which would shave approximately $7 million from the proposed $1.1 billion operating budget. But it would be at the expense of several programs, including the sheriff’s drug farm. Dozens of citizens, many of them sporting green and yellow T-shirts, voiced support for the drug and alcohol criminal rehabilitation program. After about three hours of public comment, commissioners agreed to keep the drug farm in the budget.

The board also approved $262,000 to fund the Palm Beach County Cultural Council, and they decided to trim only $45,000 rather than the recommended $90,000 from the Business Development Board’s budget.

Further budget adjustments could be made at the final public hearing on September 21. It will begin at 6 p.m. in the sixth floor commission chambers. Citizens are encouraged to attend, or they may follow the discussion live on PBC-TV Channel 20 or on this Web site.