- October 22, 2024
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Flagler County property owners in the unincorporated barrier island area could end up paying $1.7 million per year to help maintain an 11.6 mile stretch of Flagler County’s shoreline.
The plan proposed at the Oct. 21 Flagler County Commission workshop only addresses funding the initial reconstruction and then maintenance of the 11-plus miles of shoreline in unincorporated Flagler County area on the island. The initial reconstruction cost for that 11-mile stretch is estimated to be $57.5 million, County Administrator Heidi Petito said, though around $35 million of that will come from state and grant funding requests.
“This funding is going to be needed over the next two to three years so that we can start the construction,” Petito said.
Another $5 million will come from funding the county has already set aside in its fiscal year 2025 budget, and the county plans to continue setting aside $5 million in each fiscal year 2026 and 2027 budget. That leaves a $7.5 million shortfall to reconstruct the 11 miles of shoreline.
The staff is proposing two things to cover that shortfall: reallocating .1 mill of ad valorem taxes — totaling $1.5 million from each fiscal year 2026 and 2027 — and implementing a property assessment tax for property owners in that unincorporated area.
The proposed assessment would fund $1.7 million annually. Over each fiscal year 2026 and 2027, that totals to $3.4 million for the initial reconstruction, and then property owners would continue to pay the tax for the shoreline's maintenance fund.
The proposed property assessment tax would only apply to the properties on the barrier island between the Marineland southern town limit and the Beverly Beach northern town limit.
There are roughly 6,300 properties within that unincorporated barrier island area. The additional property assessment would be levied in two tiers: a base rate and then an assessed value rate, which is based on the property’s value. Property owners with higher value will thus pay more.
According to data presented to the commission, a property with an assessed value of $407,264 would owe $247.69 a year for the new assessment. A parcel valued at $100,000 would just owe $162.43, while a parcel with a $3 million assessed value would owe $973.07.
Maintenance of that 11-mile stretch would not begin until after the reconstruction. Once it does, the county will run maintenance on the shoreline once every six years, which will cost around $56.8 million.
Petito said the county estimates it will need to bring in $8.2 million annually to fund the maintenance plan. She said the county anticipates the state contributing an additional $1.2 million annually as well.
The Tourism Development Tax — which brings in $2 million annually — and the county’s half-cent sales tax — a $3 million annual revenue — will account for $5 million of the $8.2 million. The remaining $3.2 million will come from the one-tenth mill reallocation and the proposed property assessment tax.
The Flagler County Commissioners and Petito reiterated that only property owners who live in the unincorporated Flagler County area on the barrier island would pay the assessment.
“It doesn't include the city of Flagler Beach, the town of Beverly Beach or the town of Marineland,” Petito said. “It's not the people in plantation bay that are going to be paying. It's not the people in Palm Coast that are going to be paying.
Petito did point out that in the case of a named hurricane that damages the shoreline, the county will be able to seek state and federal funding to repair the damage in-between maintenance cycles, but the county will also need to supply funding for a local match in that event, as well.
And if the 11 miles of shoreline is damaged in an unnamed storm event — like a nor’easter — that would likely come entirely out of the county’s pocket to fix, she said.
During the summer, when a county-wide tier system was proposed to pay for the initial reconstruction and then maintenance of the entire county's 18.8 miles of shoreline, the county received a lot of backlash from both the municipalities’ elected officials and members of the public across the county.
Petito said they are waiting to schedule and host a joint meeting with the county’s municipalities before discussing a beach maintenance plan for those areas of shoreline that are in Flagler Beach, Beverly Beach and Marineland’s jurisdictions.
“The reason why this does not include, right now, the city of Flagler Beach or the town of Beverly Beach or the town of Marineland, is because Flagler County does not have jurisdiction over those municipalities,” Petito said. “We cannot simply go in there and create an MSBU without the city or town's approval.”
On the other hand, Petito said, the county has a responsibility to maintain the beaches in the unincorporated areas on the island, including in the six parks that fall under the county’s jurisdiction.
Commissioner David Sullivan said he felt this was a good compromise from the previous presentations.
“I think where we are now is a reasonable decision,” he said. “It's not perfect, but it's a compromise.”
The other four commissioners agreed, and the proposal will return to the commission for a vote at its Nov. 4 meeting. Commissioner Greg Hansen said the county has discussed alternatives, but this plan is "absolutely the right thing to do."
“If we don't do this, then what do we do? And when do we do it? I think this is, as I said before, this is a critical step to save our beaches," Hansen said.
