West Palm Beach Waterfront Survey
Nov 14, 2011 - Waterfront
The City of West Palm Beach is conducting a brief survey about our Downtown Waterfront and we want to hear from you! Please take a moment and complete this survey and, if possible, forward on to your friends. We appreciate your opinions and time~ thank you!
15 Municipalities Unite to Protect Taxpayer Against Double Taxation
Nov 10, 2011 - Mayor's Office
Palm Beach County has instituted an Inspector General Program designed to eliminate fraud, waste, mismanagement, misconduct or abuse from county and municipal governments. While municipalities across the county support this concept, the funding for this 3.5 million dollar program comes from taxpayers, and those living in municipalities in Palm Beach County would be taxed twice. To protect our residents, the 15 municipalities intend to participate in a lawsuit against Palm Beach County asking the circuit court to determine our rights and declare the funding for the inspector general program unlawful. The municipalities believe the funding mechanism for the program is unlawful for multiple reasons:
(1)Municipal residents already pay for the inspector general’s services through their county tax bill, but have to pay again through their municipal tax bill meaning they pay for the same service twice;
(2)It is a tax not authorized by general law;
(3)Municipalities have no lawful means to collect the charges through vendor contracts; (4)Municipalities have no lawful means to collect the charges through special assessments on vendor contracts;
(5)There is no legal authority for calculating a municipality’s share based on municipal expenses.
In order to be lawful, the municipalities believe that the inspector general program funding should be handled like funding for all of the other countywide programs meaning the County would pay for the program in its entirety. Each city and unincorporated county taxpayer would pay for the inspector general’s services in a lawful manner, the county would retain control over its budget responsibilities, and the municipalities would retain control over their budget responsibilities.
Participating Municipalities include:
TOWN OF GULF STREAM
VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA
CITY OF RIVIERA BEACH
TOWN OF JUPITER
CITY OF DELRAY BEACH
TOWN OF PALM BEACH SHORES
TOWN OF MANALAPAN
VILLAGE OF WELLINGTON
TOWN OF MANGONIA PARK
CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS
TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH
TOWN OF LAKE PARK
CITY OF WEST PALM BEACH
TOWN OF OCEAN RIDGE
CITY OF BOCA RATON
The municipalities are united in their support to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse for local governments but also support the concept that funding for any program must be accomplished in a fair manner that does not result in taxing citizens twice.
Community Events Earns 11 Awards at International Event Conference
Nov 02, 2011 - Community Events
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Community Events Division of the City of West Palm Beach has continued its streak of excellence this month at the International Festivals and Events Association convention, earning four gold, six silver and a bronze award for its programming and design. The division, which has collectively won more than 100 international, national and regional awards since 1995, earned more awards at IFAE this year than any municipality at the same budget level ($250,000 or less).
Fourth on Flagler earned gold awards for Best Event and Best T-Shirt design; a silver award for Best Promotional Poster, Best Press Kit/Media Kit and Best Miscellaneous Clothing; as well as a Bronze for Best TV Promotion. The GreenMarket, now located on the waterfront, earned a Gold Award for Best Miscellaneous Printed Materials and Best Event Web site. The City’s Cowboys on the Waterfront month, held February 2011, earned a Gold for Best New Promotion and a Silver award for Most Creative/Effective News Stunt for its Cattle Drive Down Clematis.
The City’s Community Events division is responsible for every detail for hundreds of events each year, including the weekly concert series, Clematis by Night, the popular GreenMarket, Sunday on the Waterfront, 4th on Flagler and dozens of holiday events.
For more information about events and programs in West Palm Beach, please visit the City’s events calendar at http://www.wpb.org/CityCalendar/