The Cape Coral City Council unanimously approved a budget of more than $1 billion during its final budget meeting Thursday night.

The budget passed is $1,095,678,549, a 13.25% increase over the fiscal year 2023 budget.

The city’s General Fund component, which funds operations, was set at $228,269,306, a 5.41% increase over FY 2023.

Finance Director Mark Mason said some of the budget highlights, some of the new items doing throughout the course of the year, include additional funds for a fire training facility, design and engineering expansion for the Emergency Operation Center, median beautification and landscape for Vincennes Street and Embers Parkway, replacing three playgrounds – Jim Jeffers, Joe Stonis and Youth Center and planning, designing, and engineering study for the Pine Island Road widening project.

Council also approved the operation millage rate at 5.3694 mills, which is 12.99% more than the rollback rate and setting a proposed millage rate for the Parks General Obligation Bonds is 0.1675 mills. One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of taxable valuation.

Council members Robert Welsh and Keith Long were excused and absent from the meeting.

Mason gave a huge thank you to those who managed and monitored the budget throughout the development process from January through the final budget hearing Thursday.

“They have done a phenomenal job putting this together,” he said.