Cape Coral city taxes: Assessments and reality
To the editor:
Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) went up 2.5% last year. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for 2025 is stated at 2.9%. So why did City Council approve our three-legged stool of taxes (Property Taxes, Fire Service Assessment and Public Service Tax) by an increase of 13%-14% or $27 million – $30 million?
My personal impact of my Property Tax and Assessments is up 7.2% or $213.26. This raises my concerns that these tax increases are not proportionate to the cost of living and resident income based on the lower COLA and CPI rates stated above. I believe most residents have seen the impact of the troubled housing market with a significant downward adjustment to the market value of your property. Although our home values are decreasing, the city continues to support higher taxes and assessments. The city council has emphasized public safety concerns for higher taxes by increasing budgets for Fire and Police. The council and city manager will also argue that they did not raise the millage rate; it is important to look beyond the stated rate. Tax Revenue from Ad Valorem (Property Tax) still increased by $12 million or 8% due to increased “assessed” values from the Appraiser’s office. Like many residents, I value essential city services and want to ensure our community remains strong, but at what costs?
The council is furthermore giving out significant raises to city employees. For our city executives the council is comparing their compensation to the 10 largest cities. It may be more helpful to compare our city to similar tax bases. The city of Cape Coral’s tax base is 92% from residential; our city staff should not be priced as high as cities with large commercial based taxes; it may not be financially sustainable for our community. The council recently approved a 7.25% pay increase for our city attorney on top of a 20% raise last year. His pay will now be $320,610, plus $10,000 in deferred compensation and increasing his vacation to six weeks a year. We are not a city that can afford this. I am concerned that recent tax and compensation increases are unsustainable given current economic trends and residents footing much of the bill. Our new council members appear to be closely following the City Manager’s recommendations based on his insatiable appetite for more budget.
Tom Shadrach
Cape Coral