West Palm Beach, FL
- The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board tonight unanimously approved the District's $758.3 million budget for the 2017-2018 Fiscal Year that begins Oct. 1.
"This budget improves South Florida's flood control system and ensures critical maintenance work is properly funded," said Governing Board Chairman Dan O'Keefe. "In addition to achieving our primary function, this Board approved the 2017-2018 budget because it continues to protect the environment by advancing science-based restoration work, while providing relief to the taxpayer through a reduction."
The Governing Board passed a "rolled back" property tax rate that takes advantage of the increases in property values to generate the same amount of tax revenue as last year with the exception of revenue generated by new construction. The reduced rate for the 15 counties of the Okeechobee Basin is $31 for every $100,000 of taxable value, down from $33.07. The reduced tax rate for the Big Cypress Basin in Collier County is $25.45 for every $100,000 of taxable value, down from $26.95. The budget is also funded by $309 million in state funding.
Approximately half the expenditures under this budget are dedicated to restoration and public works. This includes $129 million to continue work on the massive C-43 West Basin Reservoir in Hendry County protecting the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary, $25 million for construction of the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area project in Martin County protecting the St. Lucie River and Estuary and $33 million for construction of a reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area south of Lake Okeechobee. The budget also includes $49 million to further Gov. Rick Scott's ambitious Restoration Strategies plan to complete Everglades water quality restoration.
More than a third of the budget is dedicated to operations and maintenance. This includes $62 million to refurbish and maintain elements of the District's flood control system such as the crucial S-5A pump station in Palm Beach County. In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, the District's flood control system moved nearly 2 trillion gallons of water to protect families and businesses from flooding.
