Martin County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC)

NOW is when your next property tax rate is being determined.  The process is coming to a climax with all the department heads making their cases to the Board.  MCTA has broken down the increase or decrease per department below.  Caution should be used and there are footnotes that should be understood. 

By and large the MCTA thinks this is a good budget.  All things withstanding, the ad valorem rate should decline by .71%.  With the $38 million increase in tax revenue from housing, (only 225 houses were built last year, but they were high end for the most part) MCTA wonders if that decrease could have been greater. 

One looming problem raised by Chair Heard is the fact that our Public Works Building is being held together by paperclips.  MCTA has been in that building of the ‘70’s. One can hear people walking around upstairs like there is only thin plywood as flooring.  (This part of the meeting can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/tKzif6SbGRI ) It is an embarrassment to a county with a $10M club house at its public golf course, MARTY buses driving around empty most of the time,  handouts of half a million dollars of hard earned taxpayer money to various non-profits annually and a Community Redevelopment Agency that gives tax dollars to private businesses without considering if the business can afford to fix up their properties at their own expense.  MCTA wonders that if the need for this facility was understood by the public when the sales tax increase to buy land was under consideration, voters would have made this very necessary facility their priority instead of the purchase of more land. (Half of Martin County is already owned by some government entity.)  And while MCTA agrees with the budget for the most part, public safety remains on an unsustainable trajectory.   One cannot dispute the importance of it, which is why it is the 4^th largest category.  The hope is that there is an answer for losing employees to other counties and the inflationary effects on equipment and materials.

INCREASES AND DECREASES BY DEPARTMENT

Constitutional Officers (including Sheriff, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, Supervisor of Elections, Clerk of the Court & Count Comptroller)   INCREASE OF $11.5 million  * The Sheriff’s Department is responsible for 8.84% of this increase.

Administration INCREASE OF 10.38% or $1,205,016 million

Airport INCREASE OF $12.3% or $252,936 *The airport is an Enterprise Fund, meaning that it pays for itself and this increase will not affect your property taxes!

Building INCREASE OF 10.86% OR $759,723 * mostly due to collective bargaining agreements, Overtime and state mandates.  But this department is user funded and will not affect your property taxes!

Capital Improvement Plan INCREASE OF 50.16% * Approximately half of this is a result of the land acquisition referendum so it will come from sales taxes.  You have only yourselves to blame.

MSTU DECREASE of .38% or $5,167.   The acronym stands for municipal service taxing unit.  Each Commissioner has discretionary funds to use in his/her district for various purposes that fall within certain parameters.

CRA INCREASE OF 6% or $45,270.  The acronym stands for Community Redevelopment Agency. *mostly due to salary increases and benefits, some mandatory.

County Attorney INCREASE OF 12.17 % or $184,082 *mostly due to mandatory salary increases and benefits.

Fire/Rescue INCREASE OF 11.44% or $7,587,562

General Services INCREASE OF 5.88% or $692,220 *need to hire more staff.

Growth Management INCREASE OF 5.85% or $189,873

IT DECREASE OF .9% or $45,968  

Technical Investment Plan INCREASE OF 18.13% or $2,079,935 *materials

Martin County School Board (MCSB)
 

Martin County has become an “A” District. The district joins 27 other Florida districts with an “A” grade. 31 districts are rated “B” and 8 received a “C.” No district was rated “D” or “F”. The last time we were rated “A” was in 2018.  Likely this is a reflection of Superintendent Maine’s leadership.  He, himself, received high grades on his own performance review. 
 
The School Board ended up signing a contract with the Sheriff’s Department regarding the employment of Security Resource Officers and crossing guards.  The School District’s share is $4.6 million in 2026 progressing to $5 million in 2028.  The Sheriff’s share is $3 million annually.  The contract was originally 63% more than the last one.  Legally, the school board is not obligated to use the Sheriff’s deputies but can consider other options such as private security firms.  That the School Board would not choose to protect the Counties’ students with the best we can afford is absurd on its face. Perhaps that is why they ended up accepting the Sheriff’s offer. 

Business Development Board (BDB)
 

The Village of Indiantown will be holding a referendum on 12 August, conducted by MC
Supervisor of Elections Office. The purpose of the referendum is to decide if the Village
may offer Ad Valorem Tax Exemptions for businesses that open or relocate to the
Village. Martin County currently offers this, and it must be approved by the voters every
ten years. This is in accordance with FS 196.1995.

George Stokus, Assistant County Administrator, presented the Martin County Tool Kit to
be used by the BDB to attract businesses. The county staff has been working on
developing a new tool kit because the current offerings have not been productive. At
this time, residential property accounts for 74% of the taxable property in the county and
produces 70% of the ad valorem tax revenue. Industrial taxable property is 2.6% of the
property yet produces 4% of the ad valorem taxes. The county cannot continue to rely
on increasing property values to produce enough tax revenue to cover the level of
services provided by the county. The goal of the new Tool Kit is to increase the business
tax base. Elements of the Tool Kit are as follows:
1. Opportunity Fund: This will be focused on offering financial grants, in the form
of reimbursement, to businesses that commit to large scale projects and have
a lasting financial impact on the county’s economy.

2. Local Closing Fund: This program is designed to reimburse eligible
companies for “gap” expenses that occur so projects can move forward.

3. Expedited Permitting: The county has developed a one fillable PDF that will
provide information necessary for all county departments involved in the
permitting process. The commitment is to turn a completed permit application
around in 30 days.

4. Training and Workforce Grants: The county will reimburse eligible businesses
for workforce training and development.

5. Industrial Development Bonds: The BDB will work with the Industrial
Development Authority to offer tax-exempt financing for large scale projects
that require significant capital investment.

6. Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program: This program currently exists and offers
ad valorem property tax exemption to qualified businesses based on job
creation, capital investment and wage levels.

7. Qualify for Foreign Trade Zone Inclusion: Currently the Port of Palm Beach is
Foreign Trade Zone which allows businesses to import goods duty free,
assemble, and or manufacture goods and not pay a tax on the items until they
are sold. Martin County will apply for the designation as an “Alternate Site
Framework” which will allow business to operate in Martin County under the
same rules.
 
It should be noted that the grants are reimbursement grants. The businesses will have
to cover the expenses on the front end and then be reimbursed by the county.
Mr. Stokus will be presenting this to various stakeholders around the county to explain
the program and then it will be presented to the Commission for approval. This is a
positive development and supported by the Martin County Taxpayers Association.

For over 70 years, this volunteer non-profit organization has been the "Watch Dog" for
your Martin County Tax Dollars.  
Your Donations Save You Tax Dollars!
 Please consider a donation so we may continue for many years to come. 

Do you have pressing questions you would like answered? Are you curious about how your tax dollars are being spent? Do you know who all the candidates are that are running for County Commissioner? What would you like to know? Ask us and we will do our best to find out.  Have something interesting to share about Martin County History? Let us know and we just may share it here.