INDIAN RIVER SHORES — The Indian River Shores Town Council voted Friday to spend $310,000 more than the town budgeted for last year to operate and equip the government and provide public safety services.
The entire general fund budget for the Shores is just less than $4.7 million, of which about $3.3 million goes to support the town’s hybrid police-fire Public Safety Department.
Roughly $31,000 of the revenues to fund the budget will come from property taxes with the Town Council approving a millage rate of $1.47 per $1,000 of taxable property value, which is about 2 percent higher than the “rollback rate.” The rollback rate is designed to net the same amount of taxes from property on the tax roll last year.
The slight increase in property taxes will eliminate the need to take money out of reserves this year, as the Shores was budgeted to take approximately $320,000 out of its funds in the current year.
Property values in the Shores were only down about 2.5 percent, as compared to other parts of the county which took an 8 to 10 percent hit. Plus, the Shores had some high-end new construction and major remodeling of homes to add to the tax rolls this year.
“We have 200 more building lots available and after that, we’re finished. We’re built out,” said Councilman Jerry Weick.
Aside from property taxes, another $135,000 is expected to come from the Local Government Infrastructure Tax and $122,000 from the Communications Services Tax. These are revenues shared by the state among the communities across Florida, as determined by population and other factors.
The Town is hoping to bring in $100,000 in new revenue by charging for ambulance transport for the first time. The Town set up the necessary processes to be able to bill Medicare for reimbursement for trips to the hospital which result from calls to the Public Safety Department. Since more than 95 percent of town residents are eligible for Medicare, it was decided that the Town would most likely not engage in billing private insurance companies, as the extra paperwork would result in negligible additional income.
In the coming fiscal year which starts October 1, the town will invest in a new ambulance at a cost of $215,000 to replace a 12-year-old vehicle. The new ambulance will be the same make and model as the town’s other newer ambulance, making ordering supplies and training of paramedic staff more efficient.
The public safety department will also be getting new hoses and bulletproof vests as mandated by industry standards as the existing ones are due to be replaced. Capital expenditures for public safety come from a different fund and are not paid for by property taxes.
The final reading of the budget will take place at 5:01 p.m. on September 22, with the regular monthly Town Council meeting to follow. There will also be a special call meeting at 9 a.m. on Sept 29 to consider an ordinance imposing term limits on some volunteer boards.
The Indian River Shores Town Council meets in Council Chambers at Town Hall on the northwest corner of Highway A1A and Fred Tuerk Drive. Meetings are not televised, but are audio recorded.
