Cape approves budget for FY 27
Sets property tax rate at 5.1471 mills
Cape Coral City Council opted to use funds left on the table from union negotiations — more than $1.7 million — instead of drawing from reserves as had been tendered by staff for the city’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
Mayor John Gunter said he did some more thinking after leaving Wednesday’s special meeting concerning executive staff evaluations and thought of the city’s tentative agreement with the General Union.
That agreement calls for an average average increase of a 3.25% step and a 1.25% increase for merit for a total of a 4.49% increase.
Gunter said during one of the discussions, they heard that staff budgeted for up to a 7.25% increase.
“On my way home, I got to thinking, well, if we budgeted for 7.25%, and we come up with a different agreement, what does that save us? If we apply that savings, what would that look like?” Gunter said.
The number provided by Assistant City Manager Mark Mason was about $1,077,000 from what was budgeted to what the tentative agreement is, Gunter said.
He took it a step further and asked what would happen if the city took the same methodology and applied the same savings for nonbargaining, as they typically always follow suit.
That number is about $580,000.
He said when they add up those numbers, the tally is $1,657,000.
At the last budget meeting, Gunter said they had $1,642,783 that the city manager was recommending doing some cuts, but as a council, they decided to use budget stabilization reserves, so they did not have to make the cuts.
“Those numbers, that savings that I asked Mr. Mason about is actually $1,789,700. What my recommendation is let’s show that reflection in the actual numbers, not the budgeted numbers and infuse that into the budget, and if we do that, not only will we will be able to continue with the services, but we won’t have to find a way pay for it – to use the budget stabilization and we don’t have to cut anything.”
Council, except Councilmember Dr. Derrick Donnell, approved using $1,713,112 from the nonbargaining staff and general union potential agreement adjustment, which revised the total 2027 budget to $1,438,860,205.
“That is an ideal way to go. All we are doing is trilling up our numbers in the budget, keep the millage rate the same and provide the same services we wanted to,” Gunter said.
Donnell asked what would happen to those identified funds if the recommendation was not to be used.
“The question, if we were not to do what the mayor motioned, then what would happen? Where would those funds be shown in the budget? Something about it is not clicking for me,” he said.
Mason said they would simply remain in the budget posted in personnel services – funding each department associated with personnel services.
Council also set the final millage rate at 5.1471 mills during its final budget hearing Thursday night.
Donnell was the lone nay on the millage rate vote as well.
The approval also included a general obligation bond debt service rate of 0.1533 mills. The final millage rate is a 1.35% decrease from the rolled-back rate of 5.2174 mills.
One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property valuation.