The Village of North Palm Beach issued the following announcement on July 23.
How does the Village budget process work?
The Village annual budget is a financial document that accounts for public money coming in and being spent during the fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30. It shows how money will be allocated for police and fire rescue, sanitation, street maintenance, parks and recreation, the Village library and more.
Each summer, a proposed annual budget is developed that follows Village Council goals to meet the needs of Village residents. The public’s desired level of services is considered, as well as staffing levels, technology needs, equipment and capital improvements.
TRIM notices
The rate at which properties are taxed is called the millage rate. The Village’s budget process complies with Florida’s Truth-in-Millage law, called TRIM. TRIM requires disclosure to the public of the rates and amount of taxes that will be assessed in the upcoming year.
Every Village department works throughout the summer to establish the proposed budget, which shows all the sources of income the Village receives, and the expenses expected in the next year.
During the process, the Council sets a tentative maximum property tax rate and sends that information the County Property Appraiser, who in turn notifies Village property owners of the proposed rate and the dates of two required hearings, at which the rate will be accepted, rejected or lowered. This way, citizens have time to calculate how property tax rates will affect them, and they can publicly share their thoughts at the two hearings held in September.
At their July 22nd meeting this year, Council members reviewed Village finances and set a proposed millage rate of 7.1 mills per $1,000 of taxable property valve. This is the maximum rate the Village can charge for next year and it is the amount that will be on Truth-in-Millage notices that will be mailed out. The Council will continue revising the budget plan through August and September as they hear details from departments about cost of projects and programs, and they will set the final millage rate at two public hearings in September.
The tentative millage rate adopted in July can be lowered before the final hearing, but it can’t be increased without an additional notice to each taxpayer.
The TRIM notices also include the proposed rates for every other local governmental entity that collects property taxes. In fact, two-thirds of the total taxes typically paid by Village property owners go to other government entities, such as the School District and Palm Beach County, which also work throughout the summer to determine the millage rates they will charge.
All budget-related meetings and hearings are open to the public. The dates for the hearings to finalize the 2022 property tax rate are Sept. 8 and Sept. 23, both at 7 p.m. in Village Hall.
See the current budget for Fiscal Year 2021
For more information, contact:
Ed Cunningham
Communications Manager
Village of North Palm Beach
(561) 904-2138
Original source can be found here.
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