Max PBC Property Tax Increases Are Coming & Revealing Pride Events – Top 3 Takeaways – May 31st, 2023
- Max property tax increases are on the way (again). You love it here. I love it here. The not-so-secret thing is that most people wish they were living here. Given Palm Beach County’s ever-growing desirability – we've continued to see ever growing property prices. And with those ever growing property prices come ever growing property taxes. Taxes which are positioned to rise by the max again for most property owners in the county. The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s office has released the June 1st estimated taxable values and this year’s story looks an awful lot like last year’s story. In fact, that’s exactly what Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks had to say when releasing the preliminary tax assessments. Quoting Dorothy: The overall increase in value is similar to what we saw last year. This is driven by continued demand for properties of all types and near record new construction. And what we had last year were double-digit tax increases for all but one municipality in Palm Beach County. This year there are three (Atlantis, Lake Clark Shores & Rivera Beach). But the average increase in taxable property value in Palm Beach County is 13%. That means homesteaded property owners can likely expect to see a 3% increase in property taxes this year with non-homesteaded property owners once again facing steep 10% increases to what have often already been high property tax bills. The range across the county is an average increased assessment of 7.5% in Rivera Beach on the low end to a stunning 37.7% increase in Cloud Lake. How big were the increases in taxable value?
- Over the last year Palm Beach County properties increased by a record $23 billion dollars in taxable value. That led to all properties in Palm Beach County now exceeding $200 billion in taxable value. That’s a whole lot of value, that’s a whole lot of money. Let's hope a whole lot of families and businesses aren’t taxed out of living here. The average property tax bill in the Palm Beaches this year was $2,679, which is already the second highest in the state. That means the average property tax bill will rise, unless local governments reduce mileage rates, by $80 for homesteaded properties to $268 for non-homesteaded properties. And speaking of reducing mileage rates, with another round of record revenue on the way to local governments, responsible leaders at the county and municipal levels should be looking at reducing mileage rates. As I covered in a Q&A just over a month ago, the five-year average annual increase in spending by governments in Palm Beach County has been 8.4%, including two consecutive years of double-digit growth in spending. Totals that are greater than double the rate of income growth by residents of Palm Beach County. At some point that math stops working. So as much as we love living here, we need to do our part to see to it that we’re not taxed out of here as max property tax assessments are on the way again for most in Palm Beach County but that doesn’t mean there has to be max taxation imposed by local governments again. That’s a choice and it’s one we should hold our locally elected officials accountable for making. Now’s the time to start having those conversations.
- Well now you know. Another day, another Florida venue changing the way they intend on doing business on account of Florida’s Protection of Children Act. This time it’s Megaplex 2023. The Orlando-based convention for people who enjoy dressing up as or making art of anthropomorphized creatures has gone from being a “family friendly” event previously, to an 18 and older convention. Quoting the organizers of the event: Many have raised concerns about recent changes in Florida legislation. After reviewing Florida SB 1438 it has been decided that for legal reasons and protection of our attendees, our venue, and the overall convention, Megaplex 2023 attendees must be 18 years of age at the time of registration pickup. And for a quick refresh, what’s in the legislation again? Florida’s new law bans knowingly admitting a child to an adult live performance. And what’s an adult live performance? Any show, exhibition, or other presentation in front of a live audience which, in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or specific sexual activities. So apparently the people who like dressing up as animals in Orlando aren’t a whole lot different, or perhaps are entirely the same people, as those who like to dress up as animals in Key West. But while Fantasy Fest has always been billed as an adults only “party in paradise”, now we know what’s been happening elsewhere. Whether it’s the plethora of gay pride parades and events that have been canceled or amended to be adult only events, it’s worth pointing out that the state hasn’t forced any changes, the organizers have made the changes. And why? Because again they realize that their events have historically depicted or simulated nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or specific sexual activities. Now who thinks it’s a good idea for children to be subjected to nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or specific sexual activities. And could it be that part of the reason why we now have a generation of boys who think they are girls and girls who think they are boys might have something to do with this? Organizers of these types of events like blaming the state of Florida for the new law when in reality they have no one to blame but themselves for evidently subjecting children to depravity in the first place. Most people have never been to pride parades, drag shows, or anthropomorphized events. But now you know what commonly happens at them. Imagine your kids in the middle of Fantasy Fest. No wonder so many kids are confused. And shouldn’t this be expected when we’re talking about having “pride” in one’s sexually in the first place?