At the latest Alliance of Delray Residential Associations meeting, Palm Beach County‘s elected Constitutional Tax Collector Anne Gannon informed attendees about the duties of the independent tax agency established by the state Constitution.
The tax collector’s office is responsible for taking in property taxes for local government agencies. It also administers local business tax receipts — formerly known as occupational licenses — and tourist development taxes on short-term rental units.
In addition to collecting taxes and fees for local and county governments, Gannon collects for the state. She is an agent for several Florida departments: Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Environmental Protection, Revenue, and the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The office serves 75,000 clients monthly at seven service centers around Palm Beach County, including one at 501 S. Congress Ave, Delray Beach. Among the revenues being handled: property taxes, amounting to $3.7 billion; tangible personal property taxes on business furniture, fixtures and equipment; and the tourist development taxes, which are collected on any unit rented or leased for six months or less, or on licenses for renting or leasing such a unit.
The tax service centers double as driver license hubs. Some 194,115 licenses will be issued in 2017, as well as 28,857 identification cards. The more secure REAL ID driver license became standard-issue in October.
Those looking to get through a service center as quickly as possible have a few resources. The tax collector’s website, pbctax.com, lists wait times at each center. You can also text “waitpbc” to 41411. Making a driver license appointment can reduce the wait as well.
Earlier in the meeting, Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary Lou Berger officially swore in Kimberly Hude as Battalion 4 District Fire Rescue chief.
Nick Uhren, executive director of the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization, presented the county and state plans for widening Atlantic Avenue. The first part would widenAtlantic from State Road 7 to Lyons Road, to take place in stages: Design in fiscal 2017, right-of-way in fiscal 2019-2022, and construction in fiscal 2022. The second phase would cover Lyons Road to Jog Road, with development starting in fiscal 2019-2020, design in 2022, and right-of-way and construction starting in 2024.
Some attendees criticized the construction timelines.
“Commissioner Mary Lou Berger and State Sen. Kevin Rader should have answered some of the questions after Mr. Uhren’s report,” said Delray resident Harriet Fischer. “The funding process and timelines for road construction show a lack of coordination between the county and state.”
“The timeline for work to start on the widening of Atlantic Avenue is a total sellout by our state legislators to real estate developers,” said Ray Hoeppner, president of Bonaire community. “Development construction can start long before any road widening takes place. Today developers simply make a financial deposit with the state and they can start building long before the interest of the public like road widening has been taken care of.”
