Looming City Council elections in Vero Beach are resurrecting a question that hasn’t gotten much attention in recent years: Should the city attempt to annex unincorporated areas of South Beach?
The topic was expected to resurface this week when the South Beach Property Owners Association hosts its “Eminent Speakers’ Forum,” one of the events taking place as part of the organization’s Silver Jubilee.
Among those set to speak was Vero Beach Mayor Laura Moss. She’s an advocate for annexation, calling the barrier island communities south of the city limits “very compatible.”
Moss stops short of calling for a referendum, noting that residents of the island neighborhoods that lie between the Vero Beach city boundary and the St. Lucie County line would have to vote on annexation. According to Vero Beach City Clerk Tammy Bursick, approval would require a simple majority.
The clear benefit for the city would be a sizeable bump in its property tax collections. Current estimated value of property in the city is just shy of $2.7 billion, according to Indian River County records, and annexing South Beach neighborhoods could add many tens of millions to that total.
In exchange, island residents could realize several potential benefits: Increased police protection, upgrading their current septic systems to the “STEP” sewer system now being installed within the city, and having their neighborhoods covered by the city’s tougher restrictions on short-term rentals.
Whether the Vero Beach City Council would back an initiative to annex South Beach is another question. Harry Howle, who is seeking a second term this November, isn’t sold. “Yes, it would bring in more property taxes,” he said, “but I’m not convinced yet.”
Randy Old, who is seeking to return to the Council, is a proponent of the STEP system and would like to see it extended to South Beach.
Beyond Moss, speakers for Thursday’s event include Dr. Valerie Paul, head scientist at the Smithsonian Marine Station, and Florida state senator Debbie Mayfield.
The event takes place at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Waxlax Center for the Performing Arts at St. Edwards School.