In an effort to balance the Palm Beach County budget, managers proposed a $10 fee to use saltwater ramps on weekends or holidays. Managers expect the newly proposed fee to bring in $400,000 a year.

Plenty of anglers in South Florida feel the new fee—or “tax” specifically for boaters—may be unjustified. Record fuel costs, looming reef-fish closures, loss of water access and inadequate parking at boat ramps deter boaters as it stands now.

Boaters and anglers already pay taxes for boat ramps, say members of the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, mostly by way of fishing licenses, boat registration fees and county taxes for park maintenance,

To comment on the newly recommended fee, go to the Palm Beach County budget meeting Monday, June 14 at 1:00 p.m. The location is the Government Center in West Palm Beach: Jane M. Thompson Memorial Chambers, 301 N. Olive Avenue.