PORT ST. LUCIE - In a turnabout decision, the City Council Monday night gave an initial 4-1 vote to increase the property tax rate by 11 percent.

The council also unanimously approved a 2009-2010 revised total budget of $430 million.

A final vote on the property tax rate and budget is scheduled for a 7 p.m. Sept. 28 public hearing at City Hall.

Last week, the council made a last-ditch effort to avoid an earlier proposed 26 percent property tax increase and held a special meeting to discuss using half of the city’s general fund reserves to help offset a more than $18 million deficit in the general fund.
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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A year after Sheriff’s Office employees got a $1,000 bonus in lieu of raises from retiring Sheriff Roy Raymond, current Sheriff Deryl Loar is expected to give at least some of them a bigger bonus, as much as $1,600 each.

It’s the product of an unusual situation, sheriff’s Comptroller Harry Hall said Monday. He said he expects to have $747,000 unspent at the end of the month.

Some of the savings, he said, came from budgeting $3.48 per gallon last fall for patrol cars’ gasoline and seeing prices drop to $1 less. And there haven’t been as many jail inmates hospitalized, he added.

“It’s like the planets all lined up,” Hall said. “It’s unrealistic to think this can continue (in future years).”
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PORT ST. LUCIE — City property owners may be able to avoid a proposed 26 percent increase in their property taxes.

During a special meeting Wednesday, the City Council unanimously agreed to use half of the city’s general fund reserves to keep the property tax rate at its current rate of $4.22 per $1,000 of taxable value. The council will formally vote on setting the property tax rate during scheduled 7 p.m. public hearings Sept. 14 and Sept. 28 at City Hall.

Using the city’s median home price of $112,000 with a $50,000 homestead exemption, an average city property tax bill using the current rate would be $261, excluding taxes from other agencies, such as the school and fire districts.
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TREASURE COAST — The number of Treasure Coast medical equipment suppliers for Blue Cross/Blue Shield patients will dwindle to three starting Nov. 1.

The cutbacks follow a competitive bidding process by regional suppliers who provide products from diabetes testing strips to oxygen machines statewide to remain in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida network.

Liberty Medical Supply and Physician’s Choice Respiratory Services, Inc., both in Port St. Lucie, and Rotech Oxygen & Medical Equipment in Stuart remain as the lone Treasure Coast suppliers after the bidding, according to a Blue Cross/Blue Shield list sent to Oxygen Plus in Vero Beach.
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Just days away from the new semester, school administrators in Martin and Indian River counties say that last year’s unprecedented flood of students qualifying for free and reduced-cost lunches will likely expand even further in coming months.

In St. Lucie County, the situation is about the same as last year, with no improvement expected.

More formal statistics won’t be available for a couple of weeks – after parents complete all of the paperwork – but early indicators show a massive spike in eligible candidates for the federally funded National School Lunch Program in the two Treasure Coast counties. (more…)

STUART — A Martin County jury tomorrow will likely begin deliberating the case of former Jensen Beach pastor Rodney McGill and his wife, Shalonda McGill, accused of orchestrating a real estate scheme that ended in more than $1 million in foreclosed property from three unwitting investors.
After a week on the other side of the witness stand, the former pastor and real estate investment pitchman took the stand in his own defense Monday, telling a jury that unscrupulous mortgage brokers were the ones to blame for an alleged mortgage scheme that ruined the credit of the women he and Shalonda helped invest in local properties. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — City property owners will see their taxes go up, and the Port St. Lucie City Council and a workers’ union will see their pay remain the same, all to help the city out of an $11 million deficit.

“The is the worst budget year that I’ve experienced,” Vice Mayor Jack Kelly said.

At the final day of its budget retreat, the council Friday unanimously approved a 26 percent property tax increase, boosting the rate from $4.22 to $5.34 per $1,000 of taxable value. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Which would you prefer?

A 26 percent property tax increase, cutting 117 city jobs, having 16 fewer police officers, closing the city Parks and Recreation Department and its facilities or not tuning into PSL-TV.

Those are the options the City Council plans to discuss Thursday and Friday as the group looks at an $11 million deficit for next year’s budget. (more…)

MARTIN COUNTY — If you’re looking to outfit your office, you can do it for bargain-basement prices at the first Martin County Surplus Items E-Auction, running now through July 20.

A variety of desk chairs, file cabinets, computer monitors, and printers are among the 75 items for sale at www.lonestaronline.com. Bids start at $5.

This is the first time the county government has hosted an online auction, according to Martin County procurement specialist Helen Fisher. In the past, Karlin Daniel & Associates hosted a yearly auction of the county’s declared surplus items, but now county officials plan to host multiple online auctions at more frequent intervals.
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FORT PIERCE — Soon residents and visitors to South Beach’s Jetty Park will get to enjoy more waterfront views, parking and easier access to a 2 1/2-mile linear park.

The City Commission, seated as the Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency board, Wednesday approved a $1.4 million land acquisition that will double the size of Jetty Park to 2.87 acres.

The purchase is for 1 acre on the eastern side of the vacant Mariner Bay Motel property, formerly the Days Inn, at the corner of Seaway Drive and State Road A1A. (more…)