County leaders are moving forward with a balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year totaling $9.91 billion and maintaining the current millage rate of 4.5 mills. The Palm Beach County Commission voted to approve the budget and several other tax rates for residents at its budget hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The 2027 fiscal year budget is $303 million higher than the previous year. It includes $8.2 billion in countywide funds and $1.1 billion for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Even with the increase, according to county officials, they were able to cut costs by $35 million and receive a $32 million reduction from the PBSO’s original budget request.
“I just wanted to thank the budget staff and all the county departments,” County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo said. “It has been incredible putting this budget together, and most of all, you, the board, for working with us and delivering what we believe is a landmark budget.”
Commissioners voted 5-2 to approve the 4.5 millage rate, which is 5.44 percent above the rolled-back rate, which would have brought in the same tax revenue as the current year. Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter and Vice Mayor Marci Woodward voted against the millage rate but voted in favor of a series of other budget items with the rest of the commissioners.
Those included approving a 0.5491 millage rate for the library district, a $326,174,281 library district budget, a $133,792,313 budget for the municipal service taxing district, a 3.4581-mill Fire Rescue MSTU rate along with a $1,217,419,093 budget for the county fire agency, an MSTU unincorporated improvement fund budget of $18,505,489, and an overall aggregate millage rate of 6.1889.
During the public comment section of the meeting, commissioners received more than 20 comment cards. Baxter reminded the audience that anyone commenting must stay on topic relating to their budget consideration, and those who speak beyond that would be removed.
However, several took the opportunity to criticize the county for its investment in Israeli bonds that total over a billion dollars. Multiple public commenters were cut off and escorted out of the chambers after telling commissioners to discontinue this investment and reallocate those funds back into the local community. Many of them argued that money is being used to “fund a genocide in Gaza.”
Abruzzo stressed that the budget does not set investment policy, and those matters are decided by the county’s clerk and comptroller, an independently elected office.
“Any of our bond investments by the clerk, that is not money that’s spent for affordable housing, healthcare — that is our investment money that earns extra income to allow us to have more money to put in those buckets,” he said. “When there’s talk about defunding or shifting bonds, that’s our investment money that’s primarily reserve dollars that need to stay in place. That money cannot be used for other funding.”
Commissioners announced a recess, and deputies subsequently removed those who were at the meeting for matters unrelated to the budget. They also thanked deputies for their service and for quelling the disturbance.
“I’ve been in government a long time, but I’ve never seen a ruckus like this today,” Commissioner Maria Sachs said. “I want to thank [the PBSO] for handling it in a very professional, calm, but efficient way to remove those folks who would not respect the gravity of what we were doing here today.”
