Town Hall in Palm Beach is more like an interconnected team than a building, and most members have never ridden on a fire truck or driven a garbage truck. Yet every day, behind the scenes at 360 South County Road, a network of planners, number-crunchers, record-keepers, technologists, and culture-builders quietly make it possible for the visible services to show up on time and in uniform.
Planning, Zoning and Building: The Town’s Framework for the Future
If Town Hall were a novel, the Planning, Zoning & Building Department would be the editors, refining every page before it goes to print. Their work begins long before a shovel touches sand: they implement the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and municipal Zoning Code, making sure that new homes, renovations, and businesses fit Palm Beach’s carefully protected scale and character.
They also manage construction-related permitting, business tax receipt licensing, and the archiving of building records, so every addition, seawall, and storefront has a documented history. When the Architectural and Landmark Preservation Commissions meet to safeguard the Town’s unique look and historic treasures, Planning, Zoning & Building staff provide the technical backbone, research, and recommendations that shape those decisions.
The department offers multiple self-service portals, including public records requests and an online portal for contractor registration, inspection requests, permit applications, plans, and licenses.
Contact Planning, Zoning, and Building:
Phone: 561-838-5431
Permits Email: permits@townofpalmbeach.com
BTR Email: btr@townofpalmbeach.com
General PZB Email: pzb@townofpalmbeach.com
Finance: The Town’s Careful Bookkeeper
Finance is the quiet guardian of the Town’s checkbook, balancing ambition with prudence. Working with the Town Manager’s Office and Town Council, the Finance team helps prepare the annual budget and capital improvement program, translating policy into dollars and cents and ensuring that storm drains, shoreline projects, and payroll all have a place in the plan.
Their responsibilities stretch far beyond balancing a ledger: they monitor revenues and expenditures, track debt, and publish regular financial reports so elected officials and residents can see how resources are being used. In the background, Finance staff keep bills paid, contracts encumbered, and audit requirements met so that when a trash truck rolls or a firefighter answers a call, the funding is already in place.
The Finance team offers multiple online self-service portals, including parking permit applications, online payment, appeals of parking violations, and alarm fees.
Contact Finance:
Phone: 561-838-5444
Parking Email: parkingpermits@townofpalmbeach.com
Finance Email: finance@townofpalmbeach.com
Town Manager’s Office: The Conductor of the Orchestra
The Town Manager’s Office is the conductor standing at the center of Palm Beach’s council-manager form of government. Appointed by the Town Council as the Town’s chief administrative officer, the Town Manager and Deputy Town Managers plan, organize, and direct the day-to-day operation of every department, turning Council policy into coordinated action.
The Town Manager appoints and supervises department directors, recommends actions to the Mayor and Council, and takes the lead in assembling the proposed annual budget and capital improvement program for public meeting review. This office also supports strategic planning and communication efforts, aligning long-term projects, public messaging, and everyday service delivery so that trash collection, policing, recreation, the marina, and shoreline protection all point in the same direction. The Town Manager’s Office also monitors and engages in county, state, and federal legislation.
Contact the Town Manager’s Office:
Phone: 561-838-5410
Email: Tmanager@townofpalmbeach.com
Town Clerk’s Office: The Memory of the Town
If Palm Beach had a collective memory, it would live in the Town Clerk’s Office. The Town Clerk serves as the Town’s Records Management Liaison Officer, preparing agendas and minutes for the Mayor, Town Council, and boards and commissions so that every vote, motion, and public comment is documented.
The office maintains the Town Charter and Code of Ordinances, oversees applications for many boards and commissions, supports municipal candidates, coordinates with the supervisors of elections, and reviews and processes several special permits. From notarizing documents to managing a calendar of more than a hundred public meetings each year, the Clerk’s staff makes transparency and public access to records part of everyday life in Town Hall.
The Clerk’s team offers multiple self-service portals, including public records requests, an online portal for special events, charitable solicitations, temporary animal, commercial filming, closing out, and religious symbol permits, and boards and commission applications, a public meeting portal, and the Code of Ordinances.
Contact the Clerk’s Office:
Phone: 561-838- 5416
Information Technology: The Invisible Infrastructure
The Information Technology staff are the unseen engineers of Town Hall, quietly keeping the digital lights on. They manage the Town’s network, servers, and online systems so emails are delivered, 911 dispatch data flows securely, and residents can pay bills, apply for permits, and read agendas online without thinking twice about what happens behind the screen.
IT staff plan and support technology projects across departments, from public safety communications to backup and disaster recovery systems that help protect Town operations during storms. They also guard the Town’s data—maintaining cybersecurity, coordinating software and hardware purchases, and troubleshooting daily technology issues—so that the work of every other department can continue without interruption.
People and Culture: The Town’s Heartbeat
Where some organizations say, “human resources,” Palm Beach says People, and the People & Culture Department lives up to that name. This team recruits and coordinates the selection of new employees and administers the Town’s classification and compensation plan. It also manages benefits, health and dental coverage, and the Town’s self-insurance plan for employees and retirees.
Beyond these core functions, People & Culture leads educational and skills training, oversees employee and labor relations, administers collective bargaining agreements, and coordinates work-related injury reviews and physical exams through the Town clinic. At the same time, the team champions employee engagement initiatives—efforts that have earned Palm Beach recognition as a top workplace and strengthened a culture built on respect, accountability, and service.
Contact People & Culture:
Phone: 561-838-5450
One Team Behind Every Visible Service
From the outside, residents may see the police patrol, the ladder truck, or the sanitation crew and understandably think of these as “the Town.” But inside Town Hall, planners are reviewing site plans, finance staff are tracking expenditures, the Clerk’s Office is preparing agendas, technologists are watching for cyber threats, and People & Culture is onboarding the next firefighter or dispatcher who will answer a call.
Together, these often-unseen employees form the administrative backbone that allows Palm Beach’s public-facing services to function smoothly, uphold the Town’s small-town character, and deliver the level of service residents have come to expect.