Look, if the Palm Beach County School Board and the Palm Beach County Commission are so desperate for funds for their respective entities, please tell me why, and answer my questions on a lot of different topics (and these don’t represent all of my questions, but just offer an example of why I keep asking, “Why?”):
1. Why does the school board, which wants to add a 0.5 cent sales tax, consider it so important in their “needs” that they want to share with museums and business incentives? If they really need that 0.5 cent sales tax (one they already collected from us for the same stated purpose for more than 5 years previously), they wouldn’t want to share a half penny with anyone.
2. Why is Palm Beach County enacting its own 0.5 cent sales tax for supposed needs, while they keep granting unnecessary tax breaks to companies that really don’t bring economic opportunities and keep allowing development that stresses existing infrastructure; reducing impact fees for libraries, schools, parks, roads and other governmental services to the detriment of existing taxpayers and thereby transfers the cost of development to taxpayers rather than developers? Then the county itself, via County Administrator Verdenia Baker, wanted to share its 0.5 cents with museums and business incentives, and just recently backed-away from it. What the heck?
3. Why is the school board and the county commission desirous of passing an entirely regressive form of taxation on the masses in Palm Beach County, when we (the poorer public) already pay the largest taxes of anywhere in the state in real property taxes, in excise taxes, franchise fees and in numerous other taxes (called fees). A regressive form of taxation means that the poor and the middle class pay more, while the rich pay the least.
The poor and the middle class, whether low, moderate or high, are steadily being wiped out. If we keep on at this pace, only the elite will be able to afford to live here in the epitome of what represents our entire country. Our real estate taxes are high, our sales taxes are high, our “fees” are high, our insurance costs are huge, our electricity bills are high, our water/sewer costs are high, our garbage costs are high — and all of these things are set to increase.
Corruption is alive and well in Palm Beach County. Some are benefiting, but it isn’t the existing residents of our county, who are dependent upon elected officials and governmental employees who keep on pretending we don’t exist via their decisions on behalf of “us.”
Please, just stop it! Remember who you work for, who you represent, and it isn’t those who predominately fund your campaigns or sell you on their “special needs” that don’t serve the public!
Why does this county want to promote developer interests over and over again, to the detriment of the residents of Palm Beach County?
Patricia D. Curry, The Acreage
PB Fire Rescue wanted to add another penny tax so their budget wouldn’t depend on property taxes, but the County Commissions voted it down.
Not why was that?
Because Palm Beach County would have then had the highest taxes in the State of Florida.
It’s a sin that the so called public servants seek to bankrupt the middle class so that their pockets are full with pay, healthcare, benefits and enviable pensions.
The middle class is screwed in America.
Please check out the details of where this surtax money will be spent.
The Sheriff Department will get over $171,038,397! YES, that is ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY ONE MILLION. The Sheriff needs new vehicles (perhaps if the police didn’t take their cars home and use them for personal errands, the vehicles would last longer!). in car cameras, radios, etc. They’ll probably include dry cleaning of their uniforms, too!
And NEVER forget that the Sheriff’s Department takes over Half, YES, HALF of the ENTIRE budget for Palm Beach County and they will reap millions and millions more from the taxpayers if this extra penny tax is approved.
Thought this budget was for infrastructure and schools. No, it’s also to give the Sheriff more money!
Take the time to read the PDF file that the PB Post put out. Too bad the Post Times doesn’t do a more detail investigation as to where this money will go.