At the Royal Palm Beach Village Council meeting on Thursday, July 17, village officials warned residents about upcoming gridlock and approved several changes to the Tuttle Royale development along Southern Blvd.
Headlining the agenda was a special presentation regarding the recent 2025 Florida Legislative Session.
State Rep. Jervonte “Tae” Edmonds (D-District 88) briefed the council about issues affecting the village as a result of recent decisions by the Florida Legislature and the Governor’s Office. Edmonds, whose district includes parts of Royal Palm Beach, was warmly received by the council.
“First off, it was one of the most unusual sessions, in that we were scheduled to spend 60 days in session, but this year, we spent 105,” Edmonds said. “This year in Tallahassee, we reviewed more than 2,000 pieces of legislation, ranging in length from one page to hundreds of pages. That’s an awful lot of reading. We passed 269 bills.”
Edmonds has served as ranking member on the Health Professions & Programs Subcommittee. He also serves on several other committees, including Education & Employment, the Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee and the Select Committee on Property Taxes.
In the Florida House of Representatives, each member is allowed to submit up to seven pieces of legislation, in comparison to the Florida Senate, where there is no limit. Edmonds spent the session with his focus on education and housing. “These are within my wheelhouse and are my two passions,” he said.
Edmonds had mixed success when it came to local funding.
“Besides fighting for good bills and opposing bad legislation, it is our job to bring home the goods to our constituents,” Edmonds said.
This year, Edmonds won appropriations for eight projects, but six of them were vetoed by the governor.
By the end of the session, Florida achieved a historic budget of $117.4 billion.
“As ranked by total budget, Florida would be the 15th most powerful country on earth. This means that we have the capacity to do a whole lot,” Edmonds explained.
Healthcare was the only budget area that increased last year, and the budget included a record $14.6 billion reserve.
“We need to reserve for the unpredictability of hurricanes, and future budgets are projected to lower as baby boomers age,” Edmonds said. “As they retire, our revenue projections trend downward.”
The session was marked by disagreements over taxes.
“The reason we spent so much time in session this year was the tax package,” Edmonds said.
Slightly different budgets and tax packages championed by the governor, the house and the senate needed to be reconciled. The final approved budget discontinues the business tax, which has Edmonds concerned.
“With the loss of business tax revenues, look for a severe curtailment in state government provided services,” he said. “Also look for layoffs of state employees, with 2,000 alone in healthcare are expected to lose their jobs.”
Since the village largely relies upon property taxes, of particular concern to the council was the proposal that property taxes be abolished.
“This outcome appears to be highly unlikely,” Edmonds said.
In other business:
- Vice Mayor Richard Valuntas and others warned residents about the upcoming closure of Northlake Blvd. at the Beeline Highway, set for Aug. 1-10. As extra traffic from the north filters down through Royal Palm Beach, residents should expect delays. “If you can work from home, those are the weeks to do it,” he said.
- The council also considered and approved several modifications to the site plan for the Tuttle Royale development, west of State Road 7, just south of Southern Blvd. The originally approved site plan for the 24-acre Pod 3 incorporated 13 mail kiosks near each of the 13 multifamily residential buildings. The U.S. Postal Service rejected the idea of serving 13 kiosks and requested one central kiosk to serve the development’s anticipated residents. Negotiations between the post office and the developer resulted in the decision that two kiosks were to be built to serve all 13 buildings. The council unanimously approved the related site plan modifications with some additional architectural approvals.
