Commission voted a tax increase to fund a 3% staff raise

St. Augustine Beach commissioners voted Tuesday, September 8, to raise property taxes so city workers already on the payroll get a 3 percent raise. No new jobs. First of two votes.

They will say they held the rate. Home values went up, so the same printed rate still takes more money from the house. On a typical Beach home, staff's own worksheet put that at about $42 more this year than if the city had kept last year's dollars.

Commissioners spent meeting time praising an insurance shop that they said saved six figures. None of that went to a smaller tax bill. The raise stayed in.

Same number of employees; a bigger bill to keep them. The second vote is 5:00 p.m. Thursday, September 24, at City Hall, 2200 A1A South.