Discuss West Palm Beach Budget at an upcoming Budget workshop


It’s budgeting time over at City Hall and the City has set up budget workshops to allow citizens to give input and ask questions to the team.

Here is a link to the City’s budget website

Budget workshop will be held in the following locations

  • District 1 – July 23, 2018 @ 6:00 pm – Community Workshop – Fire Station #3 5050 Broadway
  • District 2 – July 25, 2018 @ 6:00 pm – Community Workshop – Fire Station #5 500 N. Congress Ave
  • District 3 – July 26, 2018 @ 6:00 pm – Community Workshop – City Hall Flagler Gallery
  • District 3 – August 1, 2018 @ 6:00 pm – Community Workshop – UB Kinsey Community Center 720 8th St
  • District 4 – July 31, 2018 @ 6:00 pm – Community Workshop – Fire Station #7 8011 Okeechobee Blvd
  • District 5 – August 2, 2018 @ 6:00 pm Community Workshop – Fire Station #2 4301 S. Dixie Hwy – District 5

If you’re interested in last year’s budget here is the full 357-page document, and here are the highlights:

  • The City’s certified taxable property values increased $879 million, or 7.98%, to reach $11,894,514,378
  • New construction projects added to the tax roll amounted to $89.5 million.
  • Maintained millage rate at 8.3465 mills levied on every $1,000 in taxable property value.
  • Fire Department increased $4.4 million due to one new position, employee raises, increased pension costs, and costs for sixteen Firefighters no longer funded through grants, and overtime for events offset by revenue.
  • Police Department increased $0.2 million due to employee raises, lease payments on police vehicles, and costs for ten Police Officers no longer funded by a grant. The increases were offset by a reduction of expenditures due to twenty fewer mandatory retirement payouts.
  • Mayor’s Office increased $1.4 million due to two new positions, employee raises, a student intern program, strategic initiatives, and economic development to support job creation and emphasize business expansion and retention.
    Parks and Recreation increased $1.1 million due to four new positions, employee raises, Youth Empowerment Center programs, capital funding for a new bus, two dump trucks, five new vehicles and a boat dock downtown for use by Police and Fire departments.
  • Public Works increased $0.8 million due to additional Heavy Equipment leases, offset by $0.4 million additional revenue from garbage, recycling and hauling fees.
  • General Government decreased $(2.9) million due to a reduction of $(4) million in transfers for capital projects, reduction of $(2) million for contingency funding, $(1.6) million reduction for Fire Chapter 175 pension contribution, and increases of $1.1 million for a one-time contribution to the City’s self insurance fund for estimated costs of claims. An increase of $3.5 million for Police Pension Bond 2016A Principal and Interest, $0.5 million increase for Capital Bond payments were also included.
  • The City utilized a $2.5 million carryover from FY 2017 to balance FY 2018.
  • A net of thirty-six new Full-Time Equivalent (FTE’s) positions were added to the General Fund bringing the total General Fund employees to 1,100.

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