The Republican Agenda for Palm Beach County – Top 3 Takeaways – January 10th, 2023
- It’s a new day in Palm Beach County. I mean yes, literally too, however my top takeaway today isn’t just an obvious observation – though it is obvious to those paying attention. Today’s the day that the longtime bastion of blue hues politically has given way to the red tide which swept through this county along with most of the rest of the Free State of Florida in November. Today Michael Barnett will be sworn in as the District 3 County Commissioner placing county control in the hands of Republicans for the first time in 17 years. And as mentioned yesterday, perhaps for the first time ever with conservatives in charge. And what this means to you is potentially whatever you want this to mean to you. As in, now’s the time for you to reach out to your elected commissioner, regardless of their political party, and advocate for what you’d like to see change. Now to be clear, I love it here. This is home and this always will be home for Ashley and me. That said, there are more than a few changes that I think are worth pursuing, sooner than later. For example, gas prices. Are you tired of paying the highest gas prices in the state? I know I am. So too is Michael Barnett when I questioned him about the issue yesterday. Some factors, such as the cost of real-estate, drive gas prices higher here. Others, such as the gas tax, have been mandated here. Palm Beach County doesn’t just consistently have the highest gas prices in the state – with prices that are currently 17 cents per gallon higher than the state average. The Palm Beach County Commission has imposed the highest gas taxes allowable under state law. I’d say alleviating max gas taxes would be a good place to start. If not for the newly minted County Commission, at least conversationally for the purpose of helping all of us advocate for a more fiscally responsible and responsive county. But the reason I started with the max gas tax is that...
- It’s part of a trend. Do you have housing affordability concerns? Yes, there’s that opaque affordable housing slush fund thing we mistakenly voted for in November. Hopefully potential abuse of those funds will be mitigated, but what I’m talking about is what’s imposed on us within Palm Beach County. It’s not just that Palm Beach County has among the highest property tax rates in the state, with only Broward imposing higher property tax rates overall, we’re paying among the highest property tax rates in the country. Palm Beach County imposes a higher property tax rate than 93% of the country, a number which jumps to 95% when adjusted for median incomes. Why exactly, with a booming local economy bringing in record windfalls of tax revenues, in addition to record high property tax assessments leading to maximum property tax assessment increases for residents of the county, should we be paying what is nearly the highest property tax rate in the state and one of the highest in the country as well? Can the county not do more with more already? Did you know that Palm Beach County revenues and expenditures grew by 10.4% year-over-year? Fun, right? The county nets a double-digit increase in revenue and spends every dime of it. Did your income grow by over 10% last year? And that came after a near 5% growth rate the year before. The property and gas tax examples are just two of numerous ones in which the county commission has long been operating without any hint of fiscal restraint. It’s a new day in Palm Beach County. What would you like to see change? It’s always a good time to make your voice heard to your county commissioners. It’s an especially opportune time to do so now and if we successfully enact change, it could prove to be...
- Sustainable change. Democrats still hold a wide voter registration advantage in PBC (101k), but, it ain’t what it used to be. You could pick any number points in time to see what’s changed in Palm Beach County’s voter registration trends, but you’ll see the same thing. The Democrats’ voter registration advantage shrinking. Ten years ago Democrats held a voter registration advantage in Palm Beach County which was 38% greater than it is today. And while democrats still hold a large voter registration advantage in the county, it’s rapidly shrinking, having fallen by nearly 4,000 registered voters since last November’s Election Day alone. Like much of the state, Palm Beach County has been trending towards the right for many years, however the rate of change in Palm Beach County is actually faster than that of the state overall. And with the county having already broken for republicans last November, and now being a majority GOP-controlled county... If we’re successful in achieving meaningful change, it has the potential to being sustainable change. It’s a new day in Palm Beach County.