Sales tax referendum
Not surprisingly, the campaign for a November sales tax referendum in Palm Beach County is looking the worst of something from a committee.
That’s because the strategy is to get as many entities involved as possible. The county needs money for infrastructure work. So does the school district. Each has a good case. The gas tax that finances road and bridge repair hasn’t gone up in two-plus decades. During that time, cars and trucks have become more fuel-efficient. Meanwhile, the Legislature has shorted school districts on money for capital and construction projects.
But the county and school district worry, with good reason, that if each asked for money, both would lose. So the approach is one referendum. That means asking the cities to take a smaller share. It means granting the wish of the county’s cultural council to include cultural organizations. Though doing so would further decrease the share for all entities, the wider reach could increase the base of support and the chance of voter approval.
Some specifics finally emerged this week. The tax increase would be one cent—from six cents to seven cents —and would last for 10 years. The school district would get 45.5 percent, the county 28.5 percent, the cities 18.5 percent and the cultural groups 7.5 percent. Mayor Susan Haynie told me that Boca Raton’s share would be $4.8 million per year. Since the share depends on population, Delray Beach could expect about two thirds of that.
On Wednesday, the Palm Beach County League of Cities board voted to accept those percentages. The margin, though, was 8-7, reflecting the resistance in some cities to take so much less. In a straight county referendum, the cities would get 40 percent. Councilman Mike Mullaugh, Boca’s representative on the board, voted yes.
One reason Boca could be more comfortable with getting less is that the city has “no infrastructure backlog,” Haynie said. Boca has a 10-year capital improvement program toward which the money could go. If the referendum makes the ballot, all 38 cities likely would have to explain how they would spend money. The same goes for the county, school district and cultural council. Haynie said there would be an oversight committee.
As an elected official, Haynie couldn’t campaign for the referendum, but for now she has no position. “There’s a lack of information.” Boca offered no specifics at Wednesday’s meeting, Haynie said, because the city didn’t want to commit so early.
In an email, Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein said widening the reach could backfire. “I think the more hands you have pulling from the same pot, the less compelling this becomes to voters.
“Most people understand the need to reinvest in our schools, because the state is not doing enough, and in failing infrastructure. In both cases, our city would derive tangible benefits—assuming we receive our fair share of both local school spending and infrastructure dollars—and with separate pools of money specific spending is easier to understand, support and hold accountable.
“I think combining it or mixing essential services with cultural council needs will create too much confusion, and it may collapse under its own weight.”
The county commission would have to put the referendum on the ballot. County Administrator Verdenia Baker made the presentation to the League of Cities. Baker hopes to present her findings to the commission in March or April.
Real estate market status report
Though the Palm Beach County real estate market remains healthy, one area executive believes that sellers in 2016 will have to be “more careful about prices.”
Bill Yahn is the South Florida regional vice president for New York-based Corcoran Group. The company is releasing its report for the fourth quarter of 2015. Countywide, Corcoran’s sales were down 4 percent from a year ago, but sale prices increased by 11 percent—to a median of $255,000—and homes were on the market for an average of 72 days, a decline of 16 percent.
For other headlines, Yahn cited an 18 percent increase in sales of townhomes and villas, especially in Delray Beach, though overall sales within the city were down 14 percent. Corcoran listed the St. George project on North Federal Highway. Yahn said it sold 45 units “before they turned a shovel.” He expects that trend for townhomes to continue, since many new projects are nearing completion. “Anything around the Atlantic Avenue corridor,” Yahn said, “is on fire.”
Corcoran’s total sales in Boca increased 6 percent, though the median price of $210,000 was well under Delray’s $285,000. Nationally, sales of new homes dropped 9.2 percent in January. Prices, however, increased 5.4 percent from 2014, according to the Case-Schiller Index. In South Florida—Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties—the increase was 7.1 percent.
Yahn agrees that the local market is “very strong,” but he cautions that prices are at their post-recession high. He predicts that the market will be trying to “find a balance” this year, which he why he offers that advice on sale prices. It’s his real estate version of the old Wall Street saying: Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.
Short meetings
Boca Raton city council members will not want voters to single out this week when they decide in August whether to raise salaries.
Monday’s meeting of the council acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board lasted 15 minutes. So did the council workshop that followed. Tuesday’s regular council meeting was a comparative marathon at one hour and 40 minutes.
But there’s always a rebalancing. And as the council members would point out, other meetings also demand their time. As referenced earlier, Mayor Haynie and Councilman Mullaugh were at Wednesday’s Palm Beach County League of Cities meeting.
Taxi cab compnaies
On Tuesday night, the Boca council took what likely is not its last vote regarding taxis and limousines.
Three cab companies are licensed to operate in Boca. Two have 50 cabs. The third has 20 and sought to add 30, but lost at an administrative hearing. The company appealed to the council, which by a 3-2 vote upheld the hearing officer’s denial. Jeremy Rodgers, Scott Singer and Robert Weinroth were in support, with Mayor Haynie and Council Mullaugh dissenting.
The hearing officer found that the third company had not shown that the city needs 30 more cabs. Actually, there’s no way to know how many drivers for hire work the city, given the current market. Uber, Lyft and other so-called transportation network companies (TNCs) operate illegally in Boca Raton and many other places. The Legislature is seeking to craft statewide rules that would pre-empt city and county regulation, but the House and Senate versions remain different with about two weeks left in the session. The mass murder in Kalamazoo, Mich., by an Uber driver could affect the debate in Tallahassee.
Ultimately, the solution could be zero regulation, which might produce chaos, or much stronger regulation, which the TNCs would ignore, leaving local governments to enforce it. I see this issue coming back to Boca Raton.
Cooper getting some pushback
The formal evaluation of Delray Beach City Manager Don Cooper won’t come until late spring or early summer, but he received an informal one two weeks ago in which the city commission expressed its collective frustration.
It came at the end of the commission’s Feb. 9 workshop meeting. Mitch Katz led off the complaints about the agendas for regular meetings. Jordana Jarjura complained that the backup material from staff is “not sufficient.” While acknowledging that she might be “one of the problems” taking up time—Jarjura regularly meets with Cooper on the Tuesdays of regular meetings—she said the material on which commissioners must base their decisions leaves “too many questions. We’re not hitting it.”
Cooper actually agreed that there’s too much “information at the last minute,” whether it’s from him to the commission or from staff to him. If information gets to Cooper belatedly, items can’t get on the agenda. That delays action by the city.
Apparently, the commission has the right read on this management issue. Cooper meets with department heads to craft the agenda. That scheduling process, he said, is “painful” and “not in satisfactory condition.” Cooper singled out the purchasing and planning departments as being late to provide information. Decisions on items from those departments comprise much of the agenda.
“We need some leadership here,” Commissioner Mitch Katz said. Cooper admitted that he may have been “trying to be too accommodating” of staff weaknesses. Al Jacquet said that while Cooper shouldn’t be “a bully,” he should be more demanding. Mayor Cary Glickstein repeated his complaint that too many administrative questions come to the commission as policy questions.
Shelly Petrolia used examples to show how management breakdowns frustrate the commission. Delray Beach wants to reduce the number of street festivals that require road closings. Petrolia was told at one point that options would be ready by last October. Cooper said “stakeholders”—festival organizers—have been late responding to requests for information.
The other example was the fire-rescue contract with Highland Beach. The town is mad because Delray Beach wants to charge more in a new contract. Highland Beach officials now believe that Delray wants to make a windfall from the contract. Meanwhile, Delray commissioners are peeved because Cooper presumed that they want to keep providing the service. In fact, there had been no such policy decision. “The whole matter,” Glickstein said, “was not handled professionally.”
Cooper sent a letter of apology to Highland Beach two days after the meeting. The contract is on the agenda for Tuesday night’s commission meeting. Cooper will get the direction that he admits he should have sought earlier. It is clear that the commission respects Cooper’s ability. It also is clear that the commission is impatient.
About the Author
Randy Schultz was born in Hartford, Conn., and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1974. He has lived in South Florida since then, and in Boca Raton since 1985. Schultz spent nearly 40 years in daily journalism at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, most recently as editorial page editor at the Post. His wife, Shelley, is director of The Learning Network at Pine Crest School. His son, an attorney, and daughter-in-law and three grandchildren also live in Boca Raton. His daughter is a veterinarian who lives in Baltimore.
