Note: This is the second of two articles on Monday’s decision by the County Commission to seek a permanent new levy for beach protection. See: “Flagler Seeks New Countywide Tax of Homes and Businesses for Beach Protection, But Cities’ Support Is Key.”
Monday’s milestone by the Flagler County Commission–seeking a new funding mechanism to rebuild and maintain the county’s 18 miles of beaches–was the culmination of a four-year process. It would put in place a method to pay for expected beach maintenance for decades as the county faces a new reality of rising seas and relentless erosion.
The board in 2019 agreed to develop what every other coastal county in the state already had: a beach management plan for the county. The beach-management study was commissioned in 2021.
The county’s shore will see the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ beach-renourishment, or rebuilding, project begins in a matter of days in Flagler Beach, eventually covering the area between the north edge of Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area and North 7th Street. That project has been over 20 years in the making.
It’s got a 50-year timeline, with four subsequent renourishments scheduled over that span. Only the initial beach-rebuilding is paid for. While the federal government will pay half the cost of future renourishments, it will inly do so if Flagler County assumes the cost of he other half. Otherwise, the federal government will abandon the project–and the beach. The mechanism the county is putting in place would help pay for those subsequent renourishments, and likely draw down state dollars as well.
Just as significantly, it would also extend that plan to the rest of the county’s beaches, which do not benefit from federalized help.
In 2025, the county intends to apply the same approach to the area from North 7th to Varn Park, what it calls Phase 2. It has no money for that. The new tax would provide it.
Phase 3 will extend the renourishment to the north end of the county’s shore, at Washington Oaks State Park, and where the sanding will have to take a more measured approach to account for the coquina rocks, which can’t just be buried. A further phase with trucked in sand would account for the area from the state park to Marineland. The non-Army Corps phases are controlled by the county’s ability to secure permits.
“So we hope to have over nine miles or half of Flagler County’s coastline re-nourished with the dredge project by next summer,” Ansley Wren-Key, the county’s coastal engineering administrator, said. “We won’t be talking about dune restoration. For most of our county, this is a beach restoration. It is very different.”
Wren-Key was underscoring that what you saw the county do in 2019, and again in 2023–rebuild dunes to the extent that it could, and rather thinly–will be replaced with actual rebuilding and extending of the county’s beaches. Think of it as reclaiming beaches from the sea, since the width of beaches will grow, as will the protection of A1A and properties west of the beach.
The county must contribute money if it is to qualify for state and federal dollars. The annual cost of renourishing and maintaining all 18 miles is estimated at today’s dollars to be $9 to $10 million. The county’s share is estimated to be $6 million to $7 million. “Without this local source, the beach management plan and project construction is not possible,” Geberer said.
Two mechanisms were possible. Technically called a Municipal Services Taxing Unit, or MSTU, that approach would have been more identical to a property tax, levied according to the value of one’s property. That’s not the approach the county is taking, though there is some talk of taking that approach in parts of Flagler Beach so as to lessen the disparities between what rich homes pay and what mobile homes (for example) pay.
The county is taking the Municipal Services Benefit Unit, or MSBU, approach. It’s much the same thing, but it would be levied by way of a fee, not a property tax. A fee is more uniform, depending on where it is levied. Technically–to the delight of hair-splitting politicians on campaign trails–it would not be called a tax.
“It’s not a tax. It’s a benefit unit. So it’s an assessment or a fee,” County Administrator Heidi Petito said.
But it’s all but indistinguishable from a tax, and will have the same bottom-line effect on those who pay it.
The county’s consultant used the 3,000 responses it got from a survey to frame its proposal for an MSBU to commissioners.
Respondents had very high awareness of erosion, as they were of the county’s efforts to work toward a beach management plan, though awareness rose the closer residents were to the shore. The same pattern applied to how important the beach is to respondents: it’s very important the closer you get to the shore.
But importance falls dramatically outside of Zone 1 (the barrier island). “The further you are away from the beach, the less important it is, the less frequently you go, and the less value you place on it,” Geberer said. “That gives us a basis for which to scale potential assessments countywide over time. And I think it’s sort of a natural conclusion, the people on the beach ought to pay more than the people very far out west.”
Protecting environmental values of the beach, however, was more uniformly embraced across the county. It didn’t matter where respondents lived.
Among businesses countywide, 57 percent said they were willing to pay “more than zero” for beach renourishment and maintenance. That’s out of some 250 businesses. But the data was not good enough to allow for a breakdown between zones, Stanley Geberer, senior managing consultant with Public Financial Management Group, the county’s consultant, said.
As for public support to pay: 94 percent are in favor, with all zones in excess of 90 percent. But 79 percent say the county should help pay. “So if this went to referendum, this would pass by two-third majority for sure,” Geberer said.
When the survey asked whether the resident would be willing to pay, 76 percent were in favor,w with the highest willingness on the baier island, and very low willingness on the west side.
How much are residents willing to pay per year? 30 percent of barrier island residents said they’d be willing to pay more than $200, but less than 5 percent were willing to pay that much everywhere else. The median was in the $51 to $100-a-year tax, which drew support from 15 to 25 percent of residents depending on the zone. On the other hand, even as 90 percent of residents said they supported public funding for beach protection, 25 to 35 percent of respondents said they would pay zero themselves. Even 10 percent of respondents from the barrier island said they would not pay. The countywide average for some payment is 76 percent, but that’s for anything more than zero.
“The other municipalities are the wildcard at this point,” Dance said, who cautioned: If the MSBU is not in place this year, the costs will rise in subsequent years. “We have to be ready, we have to have a plan for that,” County Commission Chair Andy Dance said.
Remarkably, there were just two public comments at the end of a nearly two-hour presentation and discussion on what is one of the the commission’s most significant and far-reaching initiatives in recent years.
“I applaud your efforts in moving forward on the local funding initiative. I think that’s critical to get this done,” Greg Davis, president of the Hammock Dunes Home Owners Association, told the commission, though he, too, said the details have to be worked out. “I understand the difficulty and the toughness of tasks. But I got to tell you that Mother Nature cannot wait. It’s something that we do need to get done and we need to get it done as quickly as possible. So we applaud, I applaud your efforts on that as well.” He said the county cannot afford a delay in the process.
Not a Climate Change Denier says
Just remember – when you’re trying to draw down that state funding don’t use the term “climate change”. De Santis has just banned that term. Just in time for all of us to pay for it.
JimboXYZ says
Simple math, create a line item in the County taxes. That line item has no lattitude to be reallocated for any other projects for any given community, Rebuild a beach segment, that’s it. There are 120K per the census in Flagler County for 2020, Alfin has been growing that number as have other townships that seek to grow their communities for overpopulating Flagler County. They want $ 6-7 million per year. That’s $ 50-58.34 per person, for every man, woman & child, even the gender confused that may or may not frequent the beach would pay a fair share based upon being a county resident. Nobody should be paying $ 200/year unless they have beachfront property & have tourism dollars funding their portion. The tax & benefit method is flawed. Beach erosion is like a flood zone, if you live there, expect to pay more, you get the view & direct beach access & parking of being that close for proximity to ground zero for the erosion, that comes with being wealthier. Recall we had those holding out on allowing beach renourishment over the past few years, those people wanted to actually be compensated for saving their properties from becoming worthless. Those types should have no say in how much more they have to pay, they were never on board beyond their own greed.
And here’s a requirement that should be a caveat to the whole concept, the beach will have guaranteed & adequate parking facilities, Volusia County has beachside parking lots from NSB/Ponce Inlet to Ormond by the Sea, I see no reason Flagler County can’t provide the same guaranteed parking for anyone driving to the beach. I ride a bicycle to the pier & I’m 10 miles away, my front door to pier. Been so long since I went over there it almost makes no sense for me to even care about whether Flagler Beach erodes away for 18 miles. But since I’m going to be forced to pay, I want to make sure that every biological human unit in Flagler County pays based upon the potential to utilize a beach that has be rebuilt. That seems relatively fair.
Derrick Redder says
Spot on!
Gregg says
Im selling, moving out of this crazy county! Building 24-7, crime, overpopulation, tax increases, high utilities! See ya!
Greg says
Let’s tax the mobile homes in trailer parks that pay no property taxes, just a registration sticker fee, like you do for your car. I know a person in a park that used the beach all the time. He will pay nothing.
FW says
Guess those Fl natives are pretty smart see ya
Celia Pugliese says
Awful unfair proposition “as we are already forking hundreds of millions on the beach restoration with fed and state taxes that we are forced and like myself willingly contribute so far. Since 1991 that I moved to Florida I never had neither one hurricane insurance claim but my home and car insurance keep rising given the insurance companies having to pay for the disasters to all ocean front properties or the loss of their luxury yachts and other valuables.. We are all paying for their losses of those millionaires properties ocean front..
The 7 millions a year should be added to those that have ocean front homes and all those that have residence and businesses enjoying themselves in the barrier island. Not the rest of us west of the intracoastal. Especially Palmcoasters that do not given yet the right to have our own life guarded beach being the largest city in this county also with tax revenue for this county. Families forced to travel to Flagler Beach lifeguarded beached to the discontent of the local residents there, as reported and to hassle the lack of parking! The whole Hammock barrier island residents hassled against Councilwoman Pointieri very realistic request to have an agreement with county for a piece of the ocean front for Palm Coast residents own beach and they even mistreated us, her supporters on line over that and now they want us to fund them? The county took away our several blocks of ocean front when traded it to Bobby Ginn for those 300 acres in the swamp and a $200,000 check for the public access to the beach in Jungle Hut and now want us to force contribute even more, after all the hundreds of millions already contributed to beach repair? Business like the new hotel being built in what was the Flagler Beach park other than receiving tax payers perks need to pay up, their share by these investors groups that in general profit from depleting our tax funds. Most in the current FCBOCC and some specially some very wealthy one’s, residents of the barrier island need to stop treating Palmcoasters like Children of a Lesser God.
don miller says
waterfront preservation tax concedes there is such a thing as erosion. That is what moving water does. When you build too close it eventually gets you. Know anywhere that water meets land that doesn’t have erosion? Foolish building plan is what it is. Now the rest of the taxpayers pay for government bungling with increased taxes and increased insurance to cover waterfront residents..
Celia Pugliese says
Furthermore no houses should be permitted to be built at leas half or one block from the beach from now own. The hurricanes will take up the sand and bring it back with the next storm only affecting the parking areas along the water front. When next house ocean front destroyed should get the insurance payment and build back half block or one block from the beach to allow the storm to rebuild take and bring back the tons of sand…We will no longer have to pay massive insurance bills. I live two miles from the beach since 1991 and have not had one insurance claim in my house in spite that I live saltwater canal front! No insurance claim in my vehicles or no flood insurance claim. Sure in my rate increases I am paying for all the losses of ocean front homes and millionaire mansions, their luxury yachts and valuables! Last time I used the beach was 2023, being elderly and no grandkids the beach is with friends for us. This should be when reality of who pays for what sinks! I am all for fed and state fubds that we already pay for be used in the beach…but additional hundreds of millions need to be funded by tourism using the beach and the ocean front businesses and homes.