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Palm Beach officials warn homestead repeal would shave roughly $600 million from county budget
Summary
County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo told a joint workshop that a proposed constitutional change to homestead property taxation (HJR 201) would remove about $609 million from the budget the Board of County Commissioners controls, forcing hard choices about reserves, local taxes or sales taxes.
PALM BEACH — County officials told members of the Palm Beach legislative delegation that proposed statewide changes to homestead property taxation could create a large, immediate shortfall for county services.
Joseph Abruzzo, Palm Beach County administrator, said the county’s overall budget is commonly reported at $9.6 billion but the Board of County Commissioners directly controls roughly $720 million of that total once constitutionally protected items (including parts of the sheriff’s budget and fire rescue) are excluded. ‘‘The House Joint Resolution 201, which would eliminate homesteaded property taxes, would eliminate $609,000,000 of the $720,000,000 we control,’’ Abruzzo said, warning that the board would ‘‘not be able to operate unless we look…
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