Palm Beach County approves nearly $6 billion budget with American Rescue Plan help
Hannah Morse
With a boost of millions of dollars from the federal government, Palm Beach County will come into its second full fiscal year during the pandemic with a balanced budget.
But County Administrator Verdenia Baker warned that the county may face difficult financial decisions in the future.
“Next year will be challenging, but we’ll get it done,” she said Monday evening.
Palm Beach County Commissioners approved a $5.9 billion budget for the cycle that starts Oct. 1. The budget includes a $1.6 billion spending plan on county services and operations, as well as a total budget of $788.6 million for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
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While the county’s tax rate remains the same for the 11th year in a row — equating to $4.78 per every $1,000 in taxable value — Palm Beach County stands to gain $1.06 billion from property tax revenue because property values rose.
An owner of a $350,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption will pay $23 more in this county tax than last year, as the state this year capped increases on homesteaded properties at 1.4%. This example does not account for taxes for county library service, fire rescue, public schools and others.
The county’s budget was saved from harsh cuts after commissioners agreed in July to shore up the shortfalls with $46.4 million of its $290 million share of American Rescue Plan dollars, part of a $1.9 trillion relief package passed by Congress in March.
If these federal dollars hadn’t been used, the county could have faced a hiring freeze and diminished reserves. The sheriff’s office could have seen a $17 million budget cut and the supervisor of elections office faced a $3 million reduction to its budget request.
“This budget should be an encouraging sign to the community after the economic hit that we took last year that things are on the right track,” Commissioner Melissa McKinlay said.
This year’s budget set aside $41 million of taxpayer dollars for new capital projects and $75,000 for a grant to the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County’s community ID program.
The budget also accounts for seven new taxpayer-funded positions, a 3% raise across the board for county employees and another $3.2 million to be spent on raises as a result of the county’s compensation study.
County administrator contract extended
Ahead of the final budget hearing, county commissioners approved a five-year contract extension for County Administrator Baker. As part of her new contract — which goes into effect on Aug. 26, 2022, at the tail end of the upcoming fiscal year — Baker will receive a 15% raise and an additional $550 per month in place of a car allowance.
Baker is the highest-paid county employee who, as of late, earned an annual salary of $307,468. She oversees more than 6,000 employees.
As commissioners discussed Baker's contract extension at the Sept. 14 meeting, they agreed to give her an immediate 5% raise, bumping her salary to $322,841.
County Mayor Dave Kerner posed the request to his colleagues, citing Baker’s work since she took the position in 2015.
“I do think her contract wasn’t fair to begin with and that she has worked and managed and led in a way that should humble this board and the constituency of Palm Beach County at large,” Kerner said.
The Broward county administrator will make $368,892 as of March 2022, according to a compensation survey of administrators across the state. The base salary of Donald Fennoy, the Palm Beach County Schools superintendent who stepped down in July, was $306,167.
In a memo where Baker listed some of her accomplishments in her tenure, she highlighted her work addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, responding to the homeless camp at John Prince Park, coordinating with multiple partners to help displaced Bahamians following Hurricane Dorian and instituting a minimum base salary for entry-level county positions at $15 an hour.
“I think that 5% doesn’t fully compensate her for the work and effort and dedication she’s put into her leadership and governance of this county, but I think it’s a start,” Kerner said.