Cape Coral city council weighs budget, split on property tax rate for fiscal 2023
Cape Coral is in the process of adopting a new budget for the fiscal year 2023, which is more than $965 million, along with the capital program for fiscal years 2023-2028.
"While the City has emerged from the pandemic-related economic uncertainties of the past two years in sound financial standing, this Proposed Budget recognizes, however, hard to predict economic factors are on the horizon that may weaken our financial position," City Manager Roberto Hernandez wrote in a memo to the mayor and city council about the proposed budget.
He adds that the city is "keenly aware" of the anxiety of residents dealing with rising costs of electricity, food, and fuel, so the city is looking to provide a budget that has an 11.1% reduction in the property tax rate.
Cape Coral tax rates
The proposed budget proposes a 5.5568 millage rate, a tax rate used to calculate local property taxes per $1,000 of taxable value, yielding 10% more in property tax revenue.
The city held a joint city council and budget committee meeting on Wednesday, and the council is split 4-4 on how much the city's tax rate should be lowered.
Another option for the city is the 5.3694 "rollback" rate, which is the tax rate that would produce the same amount of property tax revenue as the prior year.
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Where do Cape council members stand?
At the joint meeting, the mayor and council members were polled to see where each council member stood on the rate because an official vote can't take place during a workshop.
Council members Gloria Tate, Tom Hayden, Robert Welsh, and Jessica Cosden support the proposed rate, while Mayor John Gunter and councilmembers Keith Long, Dan Sheppard, and Jennifer Nelson support the rollback rate.
The council does not have to agree on the rate during a workshop, so they may be split on the millage rate until the official vote on Sept. 22.
Budget basics
The proposed budget's total expenditures would be $965.4 million, a $13 million decrease from last year's adopted budget, while the general fund would be $247.5 million, a $49 million decrease.
A general fund is a primary fund used by a government entity for the general operating spending for the city, including police and fire, public works, parks and recreation, planning and development, and general administration.
Under the proposed budget, the police make up the city's largest expenditure in the general fund at $61.9 million, a 20.1% increase from last year, with the fire department second at $55.5 million, a 26.11% increase from last year.
Both rates would result in an annual decrease in property taxes for average homesteaded homeowners of $146 and $104 for the rollback and proposed rate, respectively.
What are the plans for parks?
The city's proposed budget for parks and recreation is $32.1 million.
The city will hire three full-time grounds keepers, add one restaurant operations coordinator, and host community events for special occasions like New Year's Eve.
The rollback rate would provide $343,320 less and remove some community events, golf course equipment, and Pop's Café restaurant coordinator.
One-time expenditures include $445,297 for park renewal and replacement, $1.2 million for the Skate Park replacement building, $800,000 for the Oasis charter school's football field design, and $400,000 for an aquatic/community center study.
Jaycee Park improvement and Coral Oaks Golf Course improvement design would be moved to a future year.
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How much will be spent on public safety improvements?
The city plans to hire for the police department two 911 operators, three detective officers, one sergeant, one planning and research analyst, one victim assistance advocate, two professional standards bureau officers, four patrol officers, and one community service sergeant.
The fire department will hire nine firefighters, three lieutenants, and three engineers for Station 13.
The rollback rate would provide $978,817 less for the police, and reduce the proposed number of staff by two detectives, four patrol officers, two professional standards officers, and one victim's assistance advocate.
One-time expenditures for police include $151,026 for facility maintenance and fire includes $1 million for the design of Fire Station 10.
The police department's crime center equipment and construction for $664,797 have been removed from one-time funding.
Cape Coral Road projects
The city plans to use one-time funds for $1.25 million on sidewalks for safe paths to schools, an additional $1.25 million for other sidewalks, $2 million for median improvements, $100,000 for bridge maintenance, and $4.5 million toward the Pine Island planning, design and engineering study to widen and improve the state road.
What's next?
These are the dates still left in the process:
Budget workshop #2 is set for Aug.16.
Budget workshop #3 is set for Aug. 23.
Public hearing to set tentative millage and budget is set for Sept. 8.
Budget Review Committee meeting is set for Sept. 12.
Public hearing to set final millage and budget is set for Sept. 22.
Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral 2023 budget highlights
