$100 million hole — and Council is still spending
To the editor:
Cape Coral’s FY2027 budget should concern taxpayers for a reason that has nothing to do with politics or speculation.
The city’s own numbers show Cape Coral is spending itself into a hole — a nearly $100 million hole.
The proposed General Fund grows from $262.5 million to $285 million in a single year — an increase of $22.5 million, or 8.6%.
At the same time, recurring General Fund revenue does not cover expenditures.
The city projects a $5.9 million General Fund gap in FY2027. That gap grows to $9.8 million, $18 million, $26.1 million and ultimately $37.2 million by FY2031.
Over five years, the city projects nearly $100 million in fund-balance use.
These are not my projections. Every number comes from the city’s proposed budget.
That makes the city’s own financial policies particularly important.
Policy #1 states:
“The City of Cape Coral shall commit to and develop and maintain a structurally balanced budget, whereby current revenues equal current expenditures for the current and forecasted years.”
Policy #4 states:
“The City will not fund recurring municipal services with reserve funds and/or other temporary or non-recurring revenue sources.”
Those policies appear on page 30 of the city’s proposed budget.
They are Cape Coral’s standards. And they are being ignored to feed this Council’s insatiable appetite for spending.
The city’s own forecast never returns the General Fund to structural balance.
Public safety is a major driver of the projected shortfall.
Combined Police and Fire spending is projected to increase from approximately $171.3 million in FY2026 to $198.7 million in FY2028 — an increase of $27.4 million over two years — even after Council told the city manager no increase until after the November election. That direction was apparently ignored.
Public safety alone will not bankrupt Cape Coral.
Failing to control the overall growth of recurring government spending is the greater financial threat.
And all of this exists before the potential impact of property-tax relief.
If property-tax relief passes, it will not have created Cape Coral’s financial problem.
This is not an accidental shortfall. The city’s own budget deliberately plans for it.
The answer should not be higher taxes, higher fees or additional assessments to cover continued spending growth.
The answer should be to control spending.
Responsible government means making difficult choices — instead of simply sending taxpayers the bill.
The numbers are already in front of Council.
This is not a problem for some future Council to solve.
It is a decision being made with this budget.
Council can change that trajectory now — or vote to endorse it.
Because every taxpayer matters.
Wes Owen
Cape Coral