Penny Sales Tax to be Considered by the Palm Beach County Commission

This coming Tuesday, the Palm Beach County Commission will be deciding whether or not to put a 1 cent sales tax on this coming November's ballot. It will have a life of ten years. The revenue from the increased sales tax would go to fund certain School Board needs, infrastructure improvements and repairs, along with some additional funding for tourism and cultural institutions.

The important part for Lake Worth is that the revenue created would be allocated to all the municipalities in Palm Beach County. This would be based upon each individual city's total taxable value. It is estimated that would mean an additional $2 million per year for Lake Worth, based upon current figures. That money would be used for many road projects less the Park of Commerce. It would also allow the city to aggregate the future revenue stream into a lump sum at the beginning.

Since part of the burden would be placed upon tourists visiting Palm Beach County, a portion of the money generated would go to tourism and cultural institutions in order to make the area even more attractive.

Please contact all of your County Commissioners about the need to put this item on the ballot in November. The concern is that if the County Commission chooses not too, the Palm Beach County School Board would go after the same 1 cent increase. That could leave us paying the same amount and not getting the infrastructure improvements needed in the municipalities.

Here are some of the cities that want this to proceed to the ballot: Atlantis, Belle Glade, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Greenacres, Highland Beach, Jupiter Inlet Colony, Lake Clarke Shores, Lake Worth, Lantana, Loxahatchee Groves, Pahokee, Palm Springs, Royal Palm Beach, South Bay, South Palm Beach, Wellington, and West Palm Beach.

There are 7 county commissioners in all. The City of Lake Worth and surrounding areas are represented by Commissioner Shelley Vana. If you would like to contact her about this issue use this link and look on the right-hand side of the web page.