Palm Beach County Commission
District 4
From the desk of
Commissioner Robert S. Weinroth
Local Murder and Assault Prompts Action
In the past few weeks, a woman was murdered in Boca Raton and another woman was sexually assaulted in Greenacres while accepting delivery of appliances and furniture in their homes. These are horrific crimes, and many residents are extremely upset. 

In response to the concerns of our residents, I initiated a discussion with my fellow county commissioners, to urge our state legislators to take immediate action to prevent this type of crime from happening in our communities.  

I also addressed local lawmakers at the Palm Beach County Legislative Delegation Hearing on Sept. 11, 2019 seeking their support in requiring Level 2 background checks, which may include fingerprinting and FBI criminal history searches, on certain delivery personnel making deliveries into homes. Ensuring the safety of residents is paramount to all of us. 
Hurricane Dorian Recap
The county's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated and emergency officials and staff were in full operational mode in response to the unpredictable nature of this monster storm. For days, as Hurricane Dorian wobbled, there was a real threat for a direct hit on Palm Beach County. Consequently, preparations needed to be made.

The county opened nine shelters which were staffed by county and school board employees, first responders and medical professionals. Approximately 3,000 residents utilized the shelters including special needs and pet shelter.

Additionally, the EOC handled over 8,000 calls while our office and county staff maintained an aggressive social media presence on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

This and so much more was happening in preparation of Hurricane Dorian. It's an incredible process and witnessing it first-hand was impressive.

I would like to thank all of the county officials and staff for their role in coordinating efforts to keep everyone in Palm Beach County informed and safe! County staff worked tirelessly around-the-clock and their dedication and commitment was truly admirable.

Even though we got lucky this time, I cannot stress the importance of everyone being prepared for a hurricane. If another storm threatens in the coming weeks, please don't be complacent.
No Increase in County Taxes Projected   
The Palm Beach County Property Appraisers office recently mailed real estate owners, countywide, annual TRIM notices with preliminary estimates of property values and tax rates. 

The Board of County Commissioners during its budget workshop in July, unanimously agreed to maintain the current 2018/19 tax rate of $16.84 per $1,000 of the property’s taxable value. While appraisals may increase a property’s value, the tax rate will remain constant.  This will be the ninth year the county has maintained the tax millage rate. It is noteworthy that the county millage is the lowest among all the municipalities with Palm Beach County.    

Some examples of local municipal rates are:

Boca Raton: $18.58
Gulf Stream: 17.57
Highland Beach: $17.76
West Palm Beach: $22.18
Pahokee: $24.30

Boca Raton, which covers 30 square miles, is the largest contributor toward the county’s tax role at approximately $25 billion – up 5 percent from last year. In comparison, Palm Beach, which covers 10.4 square miles contributed $24.27 billion last year. 

The Board of County Commissioners will be meeting again at 6:00 p.m. on September 16 to finalize the budget.  This meeting is open to the public and held at Government Center, 301 North Olive Avenue, 6th Floor, West Palm Beach.  
National Alliance on Mental Illness of
Palm Beach County
Mental illness has garnered increased attention and resources in recent years. The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Palm Beach County (NAMI) is one of the nonprofit mental health organizations in our county dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the rights and interests of people affected by mental illness.  With one in five Floridians experiencing mental health disorders by age 25, the repercussions for a person afflicted, as well as those with whom they interact, are far-reaching. 

Mental illness is a recognized medical condition that diminishes an individual’s capacity to cope with the ordinary demands of life.  People impacted consist of a broad group, not related to a specific gender, class, or ethnicity. Some serious forms of mental illness include depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and personality disorders.
 
Most importantly, there are treatments available for people enduring these medical conditions. NAMI is striving to eliminate the stigma attached to mental illness to achieve the goals of empowerment, social inclusion and recovery.   

NAMI has over 1,000 offices nationwide including 27 in Florida offering a full spectrum of services. In Palm Beach County, there are three Mobile Crisis Units available 24/7, ready to provide emergency intervention, de-escalation, screening and assessments. 

NAMI also has a full array of nationally recognized, evidence-based programs available free of charge. For more information, visit www.nami.org .  

I am committed to continue to work with county staff and local mental health professionals and organizations to ensure that programs are available to our residents who are suffering from mental illness, removing the stigma of this serious medical disorder (often going undiagnosed as the patient suffers in silence).   
BCC Briefs 
At the September 10, 2019, Board of County Commissioners meeting, the board took the following action:

Moment of silence – observed a moment of silence for everyone impacted by Hurricane Dorian.

Palm Tran – approved an amendment to Palm Tran’s Fare Technology Interoperability grant application with the Federal Transit Administration increasing the requested amount by $1.505 million. The total requested grant amount for this project is $8.007 million. No county funds are required.

PACE – received and filed two executed Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) indemnification agreements received during the months of June and July between Greenworks Lending and Palm Beach County, and between Energy Efficiency Equity and Palm Beach County. Staff was directed to prepare a BCC workshop presentation to reassess the PACE program. The county administrator was directed not to execute any new PACE indemnification agreements, pending the workshop; such agreements must be brought to the board.

Community Services – The Community Services Department is facing a budget deficit of $1.675 million due to the Area Agency on Aging being unable to meet its contractual financial obligations for four contracted programs. The board terminated its Financially Assisted Agencies contract with the Area Agency on Aging as of September 30, 2019; authorized the continuation of supportive services to elderly residents by the Division of Senior Services (DOSS) utilizing state and federal funding and county matching funds; and authorized staff to pursue outstanding balances owed to the county for DOSS services rendered in FY 2019.

Passports – approved an application by the Palm Beach County Main Library to the U.S. Department of State Passport Services to participate in the Passport Application Acceptance program.

Library fees – approved the elimination of overdue fines for library card members. Other changes to the library fee policy include raising the block limit of accrued fees from $5 to $25. The policy changes take effect October 1.

Health Facilities Authority – adopted a resolution authorizing the issuance of up to $400 million in revenue bonds by the Palm Beach County Health Facilities Authority, including an amount not to exceed $343 million with respect to capital facilities of Baptist Health South Florida, Inc. and its affiliates located in Palm Beach County. No county funds, its taxing power, faith or credit is involved.

Village of Valor – approved the issuance of Housing Finance Authority of Palm Beach County multifamily housing revenue bonds for Village of Valor, a 161-unit multifamily rental housing facility located on 2 nd Avenue North in Lake Worth/Palm Springs. No county funds, its taxing power, faith or credit is involved.

Project League – conceptually approved a cash incentive of $21,000 over six years for Project League, which is considering establishing its national headquarters in Palm Beach County. The company will invest $1.35 million to lease, renovate and equip a 12,500-square-foot facility and create 30 new jobs over a three-year period at an annualized average wage of $95,550 and an annualized median wage of $80,000. The estimated five-year local economic impact is $55.6 million.

Silverwood Estates – approved 1) the contract for sale and purchase form for use in conjunction with the sale of six affordable/workforce housing units acquired by the county from Lennar Homes in the Silverwood Estates development, 2) acceptance of deposits and sales proceeds from homebuyers, and 3) delegation of authority to the county administrator or designee to execute all documents related to the sale of these workforce housing units. Proceeds from unit sales will be returned to the Workforce Housing Trust Funds.

Brownfield – approved advertising of public hearings on October 22 and November 19 at 9:30 a.m. -- and approved by a majority vote plus one a waiver of the statutory requirement that one of the two public hearings be held after 5 p.m. -- to consider Brownfield area designations for several parcels located on SW 65 th Avenue in the Boca Dunes development. No county funds for implementation are required.

Ocean Ridge – approved a temporary easement for construction access and staging with the city of Boynton Beach for the Ocean Ridge Shore Protection Project.

PBIA – approved an exemption from general aviation landing fees and fuel flowage fees at Palm Beach International Airport for hurricane relief flights to The Bahamas, retroactive to September 4.

Fire Rescue – adopted a resolution authorizing participation in the Public Emergency Medical Transportation (PEMT) supplemental payment program for Medicaid managed care patients and approved a budget transfer of $400,000 within the Fire/Rescue MSTU Fund in FY 2020 to fund intergovernmental transfer(s) required for the PEMT supplemental payment program.

Legislative Affairs – discussed and approved the proposed Palm Beach County legislative agenda to be lobbied at the 2020 Florida Legislative Session in Tallahassee. Staff was directed to work with local lawmakers on a measure that would require background checks for persons who do home deliveries of appliances, furniture and other household goods.

Retirement – recognized and thanked retiring Chief Assistant County Attorney Lenny Berger for his 26 years of dedicated service to Palm Beach County.
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