Note: As of December 14, 2020, none of the property owners in the three strategic areas discussed below have notified the County of their interest in providing public easements. 

Taxing District Established
The County has carefully considered various options for funding the local cost share of the initial project, while also accommodating the need to address the long-term funding needed for the 50-year federal project. The approach was to establish a fair and reliable funding mechanism to serve the project’s specific needs.

The establishment of a Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) is the preferred method for assessing the property owners’ contribution to the non-federal cost share. This provides the most flexibility to address the cost of construction and provides a vehicle for the long-term funding needs associated with future projects. This is different from the 2013 Special Assessment District (SAD) that was established for that one-time only project. An MSTU could be reviewed annually and adjusted appropriately to meet project specific needs, which is more complex than the previous project’s funding mechanism.  

In December 2019, the BOCC established an MSTU district encompassing all of South Hutchinson Island (SHI) south of Normandy Beach within St. Lucie County. This was a first procedural step to ensure the ability to assess funds needed for the project beginning in November 2020. Under this plan, properties within that zone would pay the same millage rate, with the amount of individual taxes paid dependent on the property’s taxable value. The amount of that assessment will be determined in the coming months during the County’s annual budget approval process, which will include public hearings, before the final budget is approved in September 2020.

How much will SHI taxpayers pay?
The following tables show the “best and worst-case scenarios” for securing federal and non-federal funding. Without this project, private properties along the beachfront will face having to fund and coordinate their own beach protection plans, without County, state or federal contributions. The advantages of this long-term federal project, including County participation, are clear. 

The funding scenarios are based on the total estimated taxable value for the MSTU zone within the project area. It should be noted that the scenarios presented include most but not all of the potential project expenditures, such as costs associated with borrowing and/or funding plan implementation. Many variables exist between these two extreme scenarios. A six-year payback scenario has been proposed by staff as this appears to be a reasonable term considering the previous 2013 project and beach conditions today. In any event, the idea would be to pay in full the cost of the proposed project before having to generate funding for the next project, avoiding compounding assessment rates associated with distinctly different projects.

The costs of the MSTU may be phased-in, with first-year costs beginning November 2020 only including initial project startup costs and not full-term construction costs. Both scenarios below estimate longer-term costs.  

“WORST-CASE” SCENARIO FEDERAL PARTICIPATION @ 35% NO COUNTY CONTRIBUTION 

This worst-case scenario (highest costs to property owners) estimates the federal contribution at its current level (35%) but would still include the two state grants. This projection assumes no increase in federal cost-share in the event none of the “gap” properties agrees to provide additional public easements. It also assumes no additional County contribution due to the lack of needed public access:

“BEST-CASE” SCENARIO: FEDERAL PARTICIPATION @ 65% (MAXIMIZED) COUNTY CONTRIBUTION @ $1 Million

This best-case scenario presumes all possible funds are in place for the project, including a pro-rated portion of FDEP Grant 20SL3 (reduced somewhat due to lower applicable match that would be applied under this scenario, per grant requirements). This scenario also presumes maximizing federal participation along the project area (additional public beach access/parking), increasing federal participation for initial construction from 35% up to approximately 65% if all Corps requirements are satisfied.  

It should be noted that the assumptions above are based on the best available information as of July 2020. As the project would almost exclusively be performed by the USACE, estimated values may fluctuate without notice. Values above represent costs associated with the initial nourishment only and do not account for future costs (TBD) associated with 1) additional re-nourishment events under the 50-year program, 2) unplanned (intermediate) nourishment events, 3) administrative fees associated with coordination and financing future funding options, and 4) the cost of improving the additional public beach access/parking elements that are integral to the proposed federal cost savings identified above. Estimated millage rates are adjusted to account for required 5% discount on collections.