DEERFIELD BEACH – Opponents of the city’s recently enacted utility tax thought they had more than enough petition signatures to force a referendum on the tax, but not enough were certified

The Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office said more than half of the signatures are  invalid.

Monday that only 2,894 of the 6,200 signatures submitted met the city’s requirements. The petitioners needed roughly 4,200 valid signatures to force the referendum, based on city charter rules.

“This petition was unique in that the city code required that it be the signature, the address and the precinct number,” Cooney said. “A lot of precinct numbers were either missing or incorrect.”

Rescind Unfair Taxes, the opposition group led by former Mayor Jean Robb and businessman Steve Krevoy, only have until Thursday to submit a valid petition.

By Diane Emeott

Tuesday night, Sept. 20 was the second and final reading of Deerfield Beach’s 2011-12 Budget. It features a 1 mil drop in total millage – 5.7688 compared to 6.7688 last year. It also includes $6.2 million projected revenue from utility tax, slated to take effect Oct. 1.

Commission Chambers were packed for the one-hour-plus public hearing on the budget. Residents were very vocal, some with acrimonious comments.

See Story in full in Sept. 22 Observer newspaper. Video also available on ObserverTV.

2 ½ hours later, after at least 33 residents spoke — mostly against, Deerfield Beach city commission approved a utility tax on second and final reading with a 3-1 vote. The ordinance passed on June 7 is effective immediately. The actual tax is slated to begin Oct. 1, 2011.

During the public hearing, everyone from a Publix manager to a State Representative to a single mom of four children had something to say. Read Thursday’s paper for full details on residents’ concerns.