Inlet Board raising millage to counter cost of private dock and yacht

By The New Pelican Newspaper | on August 30, 2023

By Judy Wilson | Associate Editor

The anticipated mooring of a 100-foot yacht on the south side of the Hillsboro Inlet will necessitate raising the Hillsboro Inlet District’s millage rate, the board decided this week.

The official votes on the budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 will be taken Sept. 11 and 18.

The increase from .9999 to the proposed .1024 will produce about $200,000 in additional revenue for the district, charged with maintaining the Hillsboro Inlet and keeping the channel clear for boaters. For the homeowners in the district – all cities in Broward County east of Dixie Highway – the increase represents $6 to $22 on their annual tax bill depending on their property assessments.

The addition of the dock and yacht will cause problems, District Chair Denise Bryan said. It will block the Inlet views for neighbors of the property. More importantly it will require moving the pipes that carry sand from the channel south to Pompano Beach, a project that District Accountant Robert Andrews estimated could cost $500,000.

Up until now, the pipes have been readily moved. The space taken by the yacht and its moorings will impact that process. Said Bryan, “We are just trying to figure out how everyone can get along in the sand box.” Owners of the property have reportedly obtained dock permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and the state.

The proposed budget with the new .1025 tax millage will bring in about $2.4 million. Major expenses in the operating budget are $495,500 for salaries, $220,000 for personnel insurances, $40,000 for workers’ compensation, $55,000 in retirement plan contributions. The budget includes $1 million in reserve funds.

Hillsboro Club needs sand to shore up its deck

In other district business, coastal consultant Gordon Thomson said the dune and berm under the Hillsboro Club restaurant deck is eroding. He asked the district to consider supplying Inlet sand to that area of the club’s beach. “They are losing the protective portion of the dune,” he said. “There is a lack of vegetation there.”

Thomson said the amount of sand would “not be significant . . . maybe 10,000 cubic yards every few years.”

The District’s charter requires it to nourish Pompano’s beach to the south. It also places sand on the north side of the Inlet at the Coast Guard Station, but does not pump sand to the north. Now, sand to save the dune is being trucked in from Central Florida, an expensive process Thomson said.

He asked that in the future the District include sand for the Hillsboro Club in its management plan.

The District is currently working with the Army Corps on a management plan Bryan said and is also in the process of renewing its dredging permit with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The District’s coastal engineer, Chris Creed, said, “any change in the regulations can cause delays” in that process. Thompson concurred saying, “The last thing we want is to raise questions with the DEP.”

The application for the dredging permit is due in October.

District Attorney David Tolces said was concerned that incorporating Thompson’s request in the middle of the budget process would be difficult because the costs are unknown. He asked what the impact would be south of the Inlet if the Club’s request is granted. In the past, he said, the District has taken the position that pumping north “is inconsistent with the charter.”

Thompson suggested the district “just over pump the Coast Guard area” adjacent to the Club.

Concluding his request to be included in the District’s sand management plan Thomson said, “The Club is asking you to be open to the concept.”

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