The plan would include a half-cent sales tax increase, to be enacted by a supermajority vote of the Flagler County Commission.
Palm Coast buy-in has been the missing link in Flagler County’s beach management plan, which would cost $12 million annually. But the buy-in may be taking hold, as City Councilman Ty Miller told the Palm Coast Observer that he would vote in favor of the county’s plan, if the vote were today.
In a workshop on Feb. 25, Miller and City Council members Charles Gambaro and Theresa Pontieri stated they would prefer that any sales tax increase go to a referendum.
During a March 12 joint workshop of all Flagler County’s municipalities, Mayor Mike Norris showed a positive attitude toward the plan; he had not committed one way or another on the referendum at the city’s Feb. 25 workshop.
He told the countywide elected officials on March 12 that he doesn’t want anyone’s taxes to increase, but he feels it will be worth the half-cent sales tax increase to fund beach improvements, considering it’s a consumer tax.
“The more you spend, the more you pay, but food and necessities are not taxed,” Norris said, “and that’s the main things that are killing residents today. … I think it’s a bit easier to sell to the public saying, ‘Look, when you’re buying your groceries, it’s not being taxed. When grandma’s buying her medication, it’s not being taxed.’”
However, he reminded the group, the other three members of the City Council all have said they want the half-cent sales tax to go to a referendum.
Miller did not commit to supporting the county’s plan during the March 12 workshop.
“You guys are aware that we face some headwinds in terms of funding and getting buy-in,” Miller said, referring to recent resident opposition to raising utility rates, despite a state decree that city infrastructure must be upgraded.
After the meeting, in an interview with the Palm Coast Observer, Miller said he believes the half-cent sales tax increase “would be an automatic failure if it goes to referendum. Residents in Palm Coast seem to be very price resistant in terms of taxes and fees. Right or wrong, that’s where they are. It’s a challenge to provide a high service level with that sentiment.”
In principle, Miller said he does favor a referendum, because “it empowers residents.”
However, he said after the meeting, “For me personally, I have a deep attachment to the beach, and I think it’s a worthy cause to be funded.”
The prospect of having an extra $2.7 million to help pay for turn lates on Belle Terre Parkway, or for a YMCA, is appealing, though ancillary to the benefit of supporting the beach management plan, Miller said.
“If I was voting today, I would vote for moving forward with the 50% ILA (interlocal agreement),” he said.
COUNTY OUTREACH
The county is not considering using a referendum as a way to increase the sales tax; the beach management plan requires no bonding, so a referendum is not necessary. Rather, the County Commission would enact a sales tax increase by a supermajority vote, which would be four out of five being in favor.
“It falls on us to vote,” Andy Dance, chairman of the Flagler County Commission, said at the March 12 workshop, reassuring the Palm Coast City Council that it need not suffer the political consequences of raising a tax.
Through an extensive outreach, with County Administrator Heidi Petito herself visiting each municipality, the county has been looking for consensus from each municipality that it will sign an interlocal agreement to contribute its share of the sales tax to the beach management plan. That buy-in would empower the county to secure federal and state funding at the necessary levels.
Under the county's proposal, the coastal cities of Marineland, Beverly Beach and Flagler beach would contribute 100% of the revenue they receive from the new half-cent. The cities of Palm Coast and Bunnell would keep 50% of the sales tax revenue for their own needs, with the other 50% going toward helping to maintain Flagler's 18-mile stretch of beach. In fiscal year 2026, if a sales tax is enacted, Palm Coast would contribute about $2.7 million toward the beach, and receive the same amount back. Bunnell would contribute $107,000.
In addition, Petito has proposed funding the shortfall with a combination of Tourist Development Council funds and fees called Municipal Services Benefit Units paid by beachside property owners. The MSBU cost would be $160 annually.
Dance announced on March 12 that the $160 fee could be subsidized with grants. In addition, he said the county would form an advisory board that would meet annually to ensure that the funds were being used appropriately and transparently.
PERSUADING PALM COAST
Flagler Beach City Commissioner Eric Cooley praised the county’s plan, advocating for partner municipalities to accept it — particularly Palm Coast.
“If the beach was not fully maintained at a high level … you’re looking at unintended consequence, like a self-imposed recession,” said Cooley, who warned of lower sales tax and property tax revenue if the beach were to be damaged.
Cooley also predicted that in 20 years, tourism taxes could fund the full beach management plan, as they do in other counties, but Flagler County’s tourism industry is still growing.
As it is, according to Dance, tourism brings in over $890 million to Flagler County annually, and supplies about 23% of the county’s jobs.
WHAT ABOUT SEAWALLS?
One resident of Painter’s Hill said the county was throwing away money by putting more sand on the beach.
Dance said he has heard that complaint often and explained it this way:
“Seawalls are great for the people who have put them up for peace of mind,” he said. But, even in Volusia County, seawalls have washed away.
“Sea walls still require a beach in front of them,” he said. The proposed plan does not entail simply “piling sand on the dune. The nourishment project extends the sand out, so that it’s farther away from the dune system.”
That way, the wave energy is lessened before it gets to the dune.
County Commissioner Greg Hansen, who represents the coast and has researched the options for years, said simply, “The seawalls are fine. They’re 10 times more expensive than what we’re doing. A factor of 10 — think about that. The seawall will only work if you replenish the beach in front of it.”
Over time, the seawall is “going away. The beach is going away first, but the seawall is going away … if you don’t stop the energy of the waves going in.”
