Excerpts from the Lake Worth Herald editorial dated May 29, 2014 (Re-Post)

Two editorials from two newspapers serving the Lake Worth community. First, three excerpts from the Lake Worth Herald editorial titled, “For The Future of Lake Worth” dated May 29, 2014:

One, “Lake Worth is at a crossroads, the taxpayers have a big decision to make come August. Do we improve the city for the future or do we continue to allow the infrastructure to crumble. The City Commission will soon set the ballot language for the bond referendum to finance the rebuilding of Lake Worth's infrastructure. This is an effort to correct the many years of infrastructure neglect by previous commissions.”

Two, “The taxes in Lake Worth are higher than West Palm Beach, that's a fact. Comparing taxable values is not comparing apples to apples. There is an extremely large difference the number of properties paying taxes in West Palm Beach when compared to those in Lake Worth. These comparisons only serve to confuse the issue of whether or not to improve Lake Worth.”

Three, “Properties will increase in value [if the bond referendum passes] and some will jump the threshold of not paying taxes into the pool who does. With moderate success, the 2020 plan will bring more taxpayers to the table, easing the burden on those who currently pay.”

From an editorial in the Palm Beach Post titled, “Lake Worth can’t wait any longer to rebuild itself ” dated May 11, 2014, which there have been previously supplied links:

“Lake Worth residents will likely be asked to make one of the most important decisions in the city’s history, one that will set its trajectory for decades to come. On a mundane-sounding question about whether to let the city borrow millions to make infrastructure upgrades, voters would be asked to decide, essentially, whether to leave this waterfront city mired in its impoverished past, or make the investments necessary to unlock its potential.”

[then later in the editorial]

“The stakes are these: Lake Worth, despite its considerable amenities and rising reputation, is mired in poverty. Among Palm Beach County’s 38 cities, only Belle Glade’s residents are poorer. Years of neglect and mismanagement have left this city of 35,000 behind as its neighbors prospered.


The city is so underdeveloped that miles of streets in its poorest neighborhoods have never been paved. Children grow up in houses several blocks from the nearest fire hydrants or sidewalks. The city’s industrial zone, the Lake Worth Park of Commerce, has too few roads and utilities and, consequently, virtually no industry. Even streets around the city’s downtown center are so corrupted by potholes and cracks that they present hazards to cars and pedestrians evocative of the Third World.”