Estimated drop in Palm Beach County property values suggests budget shortfalls, tax increases

The sputtering economy threatens to drop Palm Beach County's taxable property values another 12 percent this year, according to early estimates from the Property Appraisers Office.

That means another year of budget shortfalls and potential property tax increases for city and county taxpayers — many already dealing with higher tax bills in return for fewer government services.

Palm Beach County's total taxable property value would dip to about $118 billion this year, down from $135 billion in 2009, according to the preliminary estimates released by county Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits.