Dollars And Cents Of Property Taxes

For cities, property taxes are the primary source of revenue, funding crucial services such as Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Services. On average, these services constitute 55-60% of our budget. The remaining 40% is typically allocated across various departments that provide essential services to our citizens. These day-to-day services include water supply, sanitary sewer systems, stormwater management, sanitation, street maintenance and park maintenance. Additionally, we are responsible for providing state-mandated services, often referred to as unfunded mandates.

Cities also undertake building planning and inspections, a burden that has increased with the introduction of 40-50 Year Building Safety Inspections and Milestone Inspections. Fire Code Inspections and Code Enforcement are mandated to ensure Public Safety. It is important to remember that staffing is required to deliver these services effectively. Some cities opt to contract private providers for these services. In these cases, the devil is in the details. Many contracts incur built in cost escalation clauses that taxpayers end up being stuck with.

Our City uses a hybrid of services in different departments. Public Safety is our top priority. Police Services are vital to our community and we provide this directly. The in-house department gives us closer control of resources and the ability to tailor them to our community needs.

Fire and Emergency Service is contracted by BSO. BSO provides excellent staffing services. Our citizens still must pay to maintain all the equipment and stations. The Fire Fee helps relieve the pressure on our General Fund, which comprises the main portion of Property Tax revenues. Without the ability to have these blended financial resources we would have to increase property tax or cut service levels.

Day-to-day services including Solid Waste Removal, Water, Sanitary Sewer and Stormwater Management are funded through a combination of Revenue Funds. The combination of Fees for Service, General Funds and Grants when they are awarded helps to Fund these services.

There are many other services a City like Hallandale Beach provides. Public Right of Ways, City Roads, Park and Beach Maintenance all fall on our City’s Taxpayers. We also must fund the staffing necessary to run day-to-day operations.

As the saying goes “There is not a one size fits all” when it comes to governments. Local governments depend on Property Taxes. We as cities must balance our Budgets annually. We are subject to the most transparent and accessible government. So, when individuals or the State pushes to cut revenues, it has a serious impact on daily operations. In turn these impacts in the form of cuts will have a direct impact on the levels of services in cities and the quality of life in our communities.

I welcome the state and most importantly our residents to visit our Budget Transparency Portal at and access our budget tools: www.cohb.org - You will have the opportunity to utilize the interactive tool to see where every penny is spent.

As always, I am available anytime for your questions, concerns and ideas to make our City a better place on my Phone/Text at: (954) 632-5700. Or you can email me at: jcooper@cohb.org.

Please visit me on my Facebook page at Mayor Joy Cooper. Like! Follow! And share!