City sets millage cap
Cape Coral City Council set the not-to-exceed millage rate at 5.1988 mills Wednesday, along with the caps for various assessments and fees.
The general obligation bond for parks debt service was set at 0.1554.
Councilmember Dr. Derrick Donnell, who was the sole member to vote against the millage cap, tried to persuade the others to set a higher property tax rate. He said he was left troubled by a comment said at the last meeting – “We want to hold the line because we don’t know what is coming down in November.”
“It troubled me – what we do today will have a significant impact on whoever sits in these seats moving forward,” Donnell said. “The most fiscally responsible thing we can do is 100% of rollback.”
He said he would not support anything lower than 5.4177 mills.
One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of taxable property valuation.
The next step is the first public hearing which will be held at 5:05 p.m. Thursday, Sept 10, to approve the tentative millage rate and proposed city budget for Fiscal Year 2027, which begins Oct. 1.
The final public hearing will take place at 5:05 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24.
Council also approved the stormwater fee, residential solid waste assessment, fire protection services assessment, lot mowing fees, and delinquent assessments during its meeting.
The final rates will be set at the Aug. 26 meeting.
The stormwater fee, a $7 increase from last year at $163 per equivalent residential unit, was approved.
The fiscal year 2027 highlights for programming include environmental and water quality improvements for $1.8 million, flood prevention for $500,000, drainage improvements for $1.7 million and adding one heavy equipment operator, one service work III and swale crew. Additional capital projects include weir improvements for $3.3 million, Trafalgar Drainage Improvements for $7.728 million, 83 Catch Basin Replacement for $2.625 million and Rotary Dog Park Stormwater System Retrofit for $1 million.
Residential Solid Waste Assessment, Resolution 175-26, will remain the same at $384.25 per total dwelling unit.
Financial Services Director Crystal Feast said the flat rate was due to the offset of the reduction in operating and personnel rate.
“Now that we are nearing the end of our current contract and planning for the new contract, we can reduce the rate for the reserve.
The estimated fund balance for Sept. 30, 2027, is $35,263,356.
The collection services – Waste Pro had a $4.80 increase, disposal fees for Lee County had a $6.80 increase, Cape Coral operating and personnel costs had a $11.57 decrease, the tax collector cost had a 3-cent decrease, and the statutory discount recovery remained the same.
The fire protection assessment, Resolution 176-26, is for 81% recovery, or $515.43 for an average single-family home.
Feast said the tier one rate decreased by $7.69 and the tier two decreased by 31 cents. She said the average single-family home will see a reduction of $25 per year.
The reduction is the result of keeping the current service levels and not adding additional personnel.
With the council approving the resolution, they cannot go higher than 81% recovery.
The lot mowing assessment, Resolution 177-26, has an increase for the proposed rate for fiscal year 2027 per equivalent lot unit — 5,000 square feet. A typical building site is two lots.
For district one there is a $5.41 increase to $75.89, $4.94 increase to $52.99 for district two, $5.51 increase for district 3 to $56.95 and a $3.80 increase for district 4 to $48.43 for annual assessments.
The last assessment on the agenda is for Resolution 178-26, deferred assessments, hardship deferrals and delinquent loans, for delinquent water, wastewater, irrigation, and fire service non-ad valorem special assessments.
Feast said over the years the city has offered several programs to assist residents in paying fees, which have been successful with a small number of accounts that have become delinquent. She said the delinquencies will be added to the homes’ tax bills.
There is one property that is enrolled in the legacy deferred assessment program that is still due.
There are 11 properties that have remaining outstanding deferred hardships – eight properties where the owner is no longer enrolled in the hardship program and three properties where the ownership has changed hands and amounts not paid in full when closing.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com