Your Bottom Dollar: Property Taxes

As the legislative session commences, we are once again hearing calls to eliminate Property

Tax in our state. While the idea of cutting taxes may seem appealing, it is essential to

understand what these taxes fund. Voters need a reality check regarding the state's financial

landscape. Florida already has limited taxation, and both voters and legislators who lack

experience in public office or municipal or county government must comprehend the

significance of property tax.

For cities, property taxes are the primary source of revenue, funding crucial services such as

Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services. On average, these services constitute 55-60% of

our budget. The remaining 40% is typically allocated across various departments that provide

essential services to our citizens. These day-to-day services include water supply, sanitary

sewer systems, stormwater management, sanitation, street maintenance, and park

maintenance. Additionally, we are responsible for providing state-mandated services, often

referred to as unfunded mandates.

Cities also undertake building planning and inspections, a burden that has increased with the

introduction of 40-50 Building Safety Inspections and milestone inspections. Fire Code

Inspections and code enforcement are mandated to ensure public safety. It is important to

remember that staffing is required to deliver these services effectively. Some cities opt to

contract private providers for these services. In these cases, the devil is in the details. Many

contracts incur built in cost escalation clauses that taxpayers end up being stuck with.

Our city uses a hybrid of services in different departments. Public Safety is our top priority.

Police Services are vital to our community, and we provide this directly. The in-house

department gives us closer control of resources and the ability to tailor them to our community

needs.

Fire and Emergency Service is contracted by BSO. BSO provides excellent staffing services.

Our citizens still must pay to maintain all the equipment and stations. The Fire Fee helps relieve

the pressure on our General Fund, which comprises the main portion of Property Tax revenues.

Without the ability to have these blended financial resources we would have to increase

property tax or cut service levels.

Day-to-day services including Solid Waste Removal, Water, Sanitary Sewer, and Stormwater

Management are funded through a combination of revenue funds. The combination of fees for

service, general funds, and grants when they are awarded helps to fund these services.

There are many other services a city like Hallandale Beach provides. Public Right of Ways, City

Roads, Park, and Beach maintenance all fall on our city taxpayers. We also must fund the

staffing necessary to run day-to-day operations.

As the saying goes “There is not a one size fits all” when it comes to governments. Local

governments depend on property taxes. We as cities must balance our budgets annually. We

are subject to the most transparent and accessible government. So, when individuals or the

State pushes to cut revenues, it has a serious impact on daily operations. In turn these impacts

in the form of cuts will have a direct impact on the levels of services in cities and the quality of

life in our communities.

I welcome the state and most importantly our residents to visit our Budget Transparency Portal

a www.cohb.org and access our budget tools. You will have the opportunity to utilize the

interactive tool to see where every penny is spent.

As always, I am available anytime for your questions, concerns, and ideas to make our city a

better place at phone/text 954-632-5700 or you can email me at jcooper@cohb.org. Please visit

me on my Facebook page at Mayor Joy Cooper. Like, follow, and share.