The budget lowers your city tax rate and raises water rates
Also inside: a fake Pirate Fest solicitation and protection for the woods near Golf View Harbour.
Boynton Beach's new fiscal year begins Thursday under a budget that cuts the city tax rate below the rollback level and raises water and sewer rates. Also this week: the city warns about a fake Pirate Fest solicitation, and the woods by Golf View Harbour take a step toward permanent protection.
At its Sept. 16 budget hearing, the commission set a final city tax rate of 7.2052 mills. That is about 3% under the 7.4257 rollback rate it had tentatively approved Sept. 8. Officials said the difference will take about $1.8 million from reserves. The new rate is just under $7.21 per $1,000 of taxable value, down from about $7.75. The Palm Beach Post estimates the city tax on an average single-family home, with a taxable value of about $228,000, at roughly $1,643. That is about $124 less than this year.
The water and sewer rate resolution tabled Sept. 8 came back Sept. 16 and was approved for fiscal year 2026-27. According to city figures, a typical residential customer using 5,000 gallons a month pays about $65.83 now and would pay about $77.19 under the new rates. That is about $11.36 more a month, or roughly $136 a year. Officials put the needed work at the city's two water treatment plants at roughly $325 million, with most of the increase tied to federal PFAS treatment requirements. Utility customers outside city limits already pay a 25% surcharge.
The annual fire assessment also rises $25, to $170.
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City warns of a fake Pirate Fest solicitation
The city said Sept. 23 that an unauthorized party is using the Boynton Beach Pirate Fest name to solicit vendors and entertainers. The city does not request payment by gift card.
Before sending money or information, verify any Pirate Fest solicitation with the city's Events Department at events@bbfl.us or 561-742-6024. The city names two official sources of festival information: its Pirate Fest web page and its Eventeny event page. Anyone who believes they were targeted can report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
The festival itself is set for Saturday, Oct. 31, from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 1, from noon to 6 p.m. in downtown Boynton Beach.
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Woods near Golf View Harbour move toward permanent protection
On Sept. 16, commissioners approved drafting a restrictive covenant for the city-owned parcel near Golf View Harbour, about 7.5 acres. The covenant would keep the land for passive recreation, open space and conservation trails. It would run with the land, and changing the land's use would take a unanimous commission vote.
The woods sit across the E-4 canal from the neighborhood, just west of I-95. The city had planned a police training center with a 12-lane shooting range there, and neighbors organized against it this summer. Commissioners also backed a covenant to protect open space on the Girl Scout Park parcel.
The covenant still has to be drafted and recorded.
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Free First Friday concert downtown, 5 to 9 p.m.
Downtown Boynton's free monthly First Friday @ 5 concert is Friday, Oct. 2, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Centennial Park & Amphitheater, 120 E. Ocean Ave. This month's edition marks Hispanic Heritage Month. Expect food trucks and live music in a family-friendly evening downtown.
Free parking is on the corner of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Seacrest Boulevard, with the entrance off Boynton Beach Boulevard. Accessible parking is on Ocean Avenue east of Seacrest, and rideshare drop-off and pickup is at the City Hall roundabout, 100 E. Ocean Ave. Questions go to the city's Events Department at events@bbfl.us or 561-742-6024.