VERO BEACH — After a week’s delay to have a full complement of five city council members to vote, the Vero Beach City Council approved a nearly 25 percent tax hike on its property owners to cover the coming year’s expenses.
Last Tuesday night, Councilwoman Amelia Graves was excused due to a family commitment, and her absence resulted in a tie 2-2 vote, but the budget must be approved by a simple majority of the council. Mayor Dick Winger said the decision should be put off, and procedurally the council had to suspend the meeting for one week.
With Graves’ in on the vote, the budget was approved by a 4-1 vote with Councilwoman Pilar Turner dissenting, and the property tax rate was approved by a 3-2 vote, with Turner and Vice Mayor Jay Kramer dissenting.
Kramer had pushed to take some of the needed funds out of the city’s reserves, but that proposal, as recommended by the city’s Finance Commission, was rejected as Vero has no established policy about how and when to use reserve funds.
The approved millage rate of $2.38 per $1,000 of taxable value will result in a $34 tax increase per $100,000 of taxable value over the “roll-back rate” which would net the same amount of taxes as the current year.
Tuesday night’s vote was the final public hearing on the budget, which includes money to put additional uniformed police officers on the streets and also provides for 3 percent employee raises.
The council had originally voted on a maximum property tax rate that would have resulted in a 40 percent tax increase. During the first public hearing of the budget, the council removed $450,000 for road projects, as well as funding for a part-time position in the City Attorney’s office and a part-time parking specialist to enforce the parking time limits on Saturdays on Ocean Drive and in Downtown Vero.