Council holds tax rate steady for 2020-2021 fiscal year

The governing board of Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County on Thursday agreed to hold the 2020-2021 millage rate steady – keeping last year’s rate of .6497. 
The sustained rate will allow the Council to meet the needs of the community, especially as a global pandemic continues to take a toll on Palm Beach County’s families.
In the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, the Council will focus on the community’s mental health needs, ensuring families have access to the basics, such as food, ensuring access to child care so families can get back to work and preparing for the long-term impact of COVID-19.
“During this unprecedented time in all of our lives, we’re thankful to be able to help shore up local nonprofits, so they can continue to support Palm Beach County families,” says Lisa Williams-Taylor, CEO. “Besides continuing to provide direct services to families – such as access to medical care, counseling, child care scholarships and parenting programs – we’ve partnered with local funders to ensure families hit hard by COVID-19 have food, diapers and other basic needs.
“This budget means we’ll continue to have the funds needed to be flexible, providing vital services to ensure that no matter what may be happening around the world, Palm Beach County’s children still have the opportunity to grow up healthy, safe and strong.” 
Under the finalized millage rate, a Palm Beach County owner of a single-family home with an assessed property value of $250,000 (with $50,000 in typical exemptions) will pay about $129.94 in ad valorem taxes to the Council in 2020-2021. 
Total ad valorem taxes to the Council will be $131,507,881. Nearly 93% of the Council’s overall budget will go to support children’s programs and services.
Click here for more information about the Council’s 2020-2021 budget.
In other business

• Racial & Ethnic Equity Action Plan: The Council adopted a Racial & Ethnic Equity Action Plan, which seeks to apply an equity lens to CSC’s internal and external practices, policies and procedures to ensure both fairness and equity for our service participants, our community and our staff.