Higher taxes won’t cover Lake Worth’s $31 million budget plan | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

The budget is still a work in progress, but the City Commission has set the millage rate the same as last year, but it can be approved at a lower rate depending on additional adjustments. There are some new festivals planned under the Recreation Department, which were a bit surprising. Click title for link. This article is on line and not in the printed edition of today's paper.

Thanks to rising property values, the city expects a $527,000 increase in property taxes next year. The city’s taxable value, as of Jan. 1, increased to $1.2 billion from $1.1 billion.
But the city gets only 22 percent of its money from property taxes. Another big source is money from the city’s utilities.
Commissioners voted Tuesday to set next year’s tax rate at no more than the current rate of $5.49 for every $1,000 of taxable property. They can still lower the rate but it can’t go higher.
Since property values went up for most homeowners, they would pay more even if the tax rate is unchanged. The owner of a $100,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption would pay $8.24 more in taxes, based on a required 1.5 percent property value increase.