Proposed property tax rate increase just outrageous
Proposed property tax rate increase just outrageous
To the editor:
Hopefully by now council has read their TRIM notices and considered what their proposed budget may do to this city. Contrary to the Mayor’s claims, if this proposed budget passes, many of our residents will pay a whopping 85 percent increase, plus more due to the recapture rule. They have also doubled your rates for the solid waste MSTU. They must be aware that Social Security is giving no increases in benefits for the next two years due to a deflationary cycle. The proposed budget is unfair and will push some residents over the edge, which will be an even greater cost to the community. Does the city council think over 9 mills of ad valorem tax will attract people and business to our community, or turn them away? Why is Cape Coral seeing rampant inflation when the rest of the state and country is not?
For the past two years we held the line or lowered the millage rate, even as property values declined. We did this by making tough decisions and recognizing that the escalating trend of government spending could not continue. The decisions grow harder as further cuts are made, but it must be done for the sake of our city. The county has seen a huge decline in value as well, yet they are keeping the millage frozen. While nobody can reasonably expect Cape Coral to freeze or lower the millage, most people I know also feel that demanding more than a 60 percent increase in millage with the challenges our people face is patently irresponsible.
Eric Feichthaler
Cape Coral