Welcome
to the Friends of Delray
We are concerned that local media continues to
reduce coverage of Delray Beach. Residents are left
without any source for real news about our City, and
especially lacking is any investigative reporting.
Therefore, we at Friends of Delray have started the
"Delray Intelligence Report".
We hope to bring you the news that others will not.
Our information comes from involved residents who
pass us information as it is happening. We make every
effort to verify the facts, and encourage a response
if we are wrong. Over time we will probably step on
a few toes, but we aim to inform and motivate. And
perhaps add a touch of humor to the mix.
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Vincent P. Dole, Editor
Posted January 12, 2012
Just like Paul Revere, your faithful Intelligence
Report is here to inform you of important doings in our “Village
By The Sea”.
The Jan. 17 City Commission meeting is shaping up to be a
barn-burner! We’d like to call your attention to two
important issues that will be discussed during public hearings
beginning at 7 p.m.
Issue #1: A New Tax (sorry, a Fee)
You should have received a notice from the City during Christmas
week informing you of a new tax to pay for fire related expenses
(not EMS). We like the poetic sound of the official designation:
a Non-Advalorem Assessment Fee. As reported in earlier editions
of the Intelligence Report, the city hopes to raise $3.3 million
via a new levy on all properties in Delray Beach. This would
be a separate bill from your property taxes.
When the plan was originally discussed, it was suggested
that the new revenue would allow the City to reduce the millage
rate (and the taxes on real estate). It was argued that basing
the tax on the square footage of a property was fairer than
basing it on the market value. It would align the revenue
to the cost of providing service. On this basis the City Commission
moved ahead. But the devil as they say is in the details.
After the City Manager unveiled how the tax would be structured,
two Commissioners said they opposed the tax as now presented.
That would be Tom Carney and Adam Frankel.
Mayor Nelson “Woodie” McDuffie and Commissioner
Jay Alperin are said to be in favor. If true, that leaves
Vice Mayor Angie Gray as the swing vote. Commissioner Gray
says that she has received little feedback from the public
and is waiting to hear from residents.
The fate of the new Fire Fee is important and raises several
questions:
What happened to the original idea of reducing the millage
rate to compensate for the new revenue?
Is it a problem that this new Fee is a regressive tax? (Lower
value properties will have a larger percentage increase in
their tax burden than higher value properties.)
On the other hand, there are many properties that pay little
or no property taxes. Shouldn’t they pay for fire service?
Since Commissioners “balanced” the budget by
including the new revenue, what happens if it is defeated?
(And how could the Commission anticipate the revenue before
the vote?)
How will the new tax impact commercial property owners and
Delray’s ability to attract businesses? Commission candidate
Christina Morrison has raised this issue at Commission meetings.
The Delray Chamber of Commerce has been oddly silent on this
issue.
Delray resident and accountant Ken MacNamee has been active
on the issue. He recently wrote the following to one Commissioner:
“Delray operates inefficiently. The numbers don't
lie. If the Fire Tax passes as proposed, we will have incurred
a "de facto" 21.9% millage rate increase in 3 years
of 'tough economic times'.”
He points out that the current proposal alone amounts to
the equivalent of a 7% increase in the millage rate.
He has also observed, “See what happened to the new
Boca Raton fire tax. It started at $20 per household in 2007
and has increased $10-$20 each year and is now $80”.
We believe that the pressure to increase revenue comes in
part from large expenditures voted by the Commission this
past year, including a commitment to spend $350,000 per year
for 20 years for a new tennis tournament and hundreds of thousands
of dollars for a new press box/concession stand at Pompey
Park. This at a time of declining property values and declining
income to the City. Hence the new revenue will come without
a reduction in the millage rate.
Commissioner Gray says she wants your input in order to
make a decision next Tuesday night. She is up for reelection
in March, so this is a good opportunity for you to weigh in.
You can send her and other Commissioners your opinion using
the email links below:
graya@mydelraybeach.com
mcduffie@mydelraybeach.com
carney@mydelraybeach.com
alperin@mydelraybeach.com
frankel@mydelraybeach.com
Issue #2: Extension of Commission
terms
It seems an odd time for politicians to be asking for an
extension in the length of their terms, but that hasn’t
stopped our Commission from proposing to lengthen term limits
from a maximum of 6 years to 9 years, nearly a decade. If
approved, it would take effect in the 2013 election, and it
would apply to 3 of the current 5 elected officials.
In 1991 and again in 2001, the city commission established
a citizen’s charter review committee to look at the
entire charter and suggest changes, revisions etc. Last year,
despite suggestions to seat a similar committee, the commission
decided against a citizen’s committee, but agreed over
the holidays to lengthen elected terms from the current maximum
of 3 two-year terms to a maximum of 3 three-year terms –
a 50% increase.
This action has caused a stir in the community and charges
of the commission being “self- serving” which
the commission has steadfastly denied. (Two of the current
elected officials will not run again. Two others say that
they would get only one additional year in office. One would
get an additional two years.)
DELPAC (Delray Economic Leaders Political Action Committee)
has come out against the idea, urging the Commission to establish
a citizen’s review process that would encourage public
input, enable further study of terms and allow for other sections
of the charter to be reviewed. That call has failed to move
the Commission.
The Commission meeting of January 3rd was one to remember.
Your Editor was in the audience. He has never seen the number
of political heavyweights at one time in the Chamber. Lined
up to oppose the extension of term limits were former Mayor
Tom Lynch, former Mayor Jeff Perlman, former Commissioner
Gary Eliopoulos, Chairman of Planning and Zoning Commission
Cary Glickstein, Chairman of DELPAC and P&Z member Connor
Lynch, and Commission candidate Dr. Vic. Many other notable
residents were in the audience, and made clear their opposition.
At a workshop on the issue on January 10th, the public was
admitted but not allowed to speak, angering many residents.
Luckily, the voters will have a final say on the issue which
will appear on the March ballot—if the commission, as
expected, approves the extensions at the Jan. 17 meeting.
Why the rush? Well…in order to appear on the March
ballot, the commission has to vote Tuesday night and get the
question to the Supervisor of Elections office immediately
for printing purposes.
We first informed our readers of this surprising proposal
to change the City Charter in an email in December. It has
created more anger and feedback than any other issue we have
discussed. Many of our loyal readers see no justification
for increasing maximum terms to 9 years. Others think that
it is bad form for Commissioners to vote to extend terms that
would apply to themselves, regardless of the number of extra
years. We will have a more detailed analysis in a future issue
of the Intelligence Report.
At the same meeting Commissioners voted to reduce the number
of signatures required to run for office, but that’s
another story for another time.
Bottom Line: On January 17th the Commission will vote on
whether to increase our taxes by over $3 million. Then they
will vote to recommend that Delray residents extend the maximum
time in office to 9 years for elected officials. It will be
an interesting meeting. You might consider attending.
One thing everyone agrees on: it’s never dull in Delray
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