- March 11, 2026
Flagler County could soon be reviewing the results of a study determining how much Hammock residents could be taxed for beach maintenance.
The Flagler County Commission first established an MSBU, a special taxing district, in The Hammock in December 2024, as just one avenue to generate funding for beach maintenance. No tax has actually been levied against Hammock residents yet.
After establishing the MSBU for the unincorporated area of the barrier island, the commission ordered a study to be conducted to find out how much may be levied. During the monthly Hammock Community Association meeting on March 3, county engineer Hamid Tabassian said the county will have the study back by the end of May.
A previous study, conducted in 2023, was done in house, Tabassian said to the HCA group. The new study is being conducted by professional engineering consultants.
“In order for the county to make that assessment, we need that to be done by professionals,” Tabassian said
The existence of the MSBU has caused tension amongst Hammock residents. In August 2025, the county sent out a notice stating the MSBU would appear on Hammock residents’ tax bills as “($0.00). Some residents mistakenly took that to mean it was a “blank check,” but the line item was legally required to keep the MSBU active.
That September, Hammock residents showed up in force at a Flagler County Commission meeting to protest the MSBU. Many Hammock residents have said in the past they are willing to pay their share toward the beach, but believe the rest of the county should, too.
The issue is that Flagler County does not have the funds to maintain its beaches after the initial renourishment work is completed. It will cost an estimated $8 million a year to maintain, Tabassian said, and while the county expects some of that will be covered by state, federal or grant funding, there will be a local match component of 20%.
Maintenance for just The Hammock’s portion of the shoreline — over 5 miles of beach in Reach III, from Varn Park to Washington Oaks Gardens State Park — will cost around $2 million per year to maintain.
That 20%, he said, will have to come from the county somehow. Funding for beach management will come from multiple sources, including a dedicated millage, the tourist development tax, The Hammock MSBU, grants and possibly a sales tax.
The Flagler Commission has spent the better part of the last two years deadlocked over whether or not to implement the sales tax for beach management.
