The two Fort Myers Beach public hearings on the 2022-2023 budget, which begins on October 1st, will be held Thursday, September 8th at 5:01 p.m. and Thursday, September 22nd at 5:01 p.m.
There is a possibility the millage rate could be increased from where it stands now at .95 per $1,000 of assessed property value to .99. The final number could come down, but it cannot go higher than the .99. State law requires municipalities to set a millage rate ceiling when they start their budget process so taxpayers know from the start of the process how high their taxes might go. It gives taxpayers the opportunity to provide feedback to their elected officials about how they plan to spend their tax dollars. The proposed millage rate must be submitted to the Lee County Property Appraiser before August 4th. The town council does not meet again until August.
If the council votes in the millage rate increase it will bring in an additional $660,000.
The town is already expected to see a windfall of money thanks to the meteoric rise in property taxes on the island. Lee County Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell estimates that town’s tax base will be about $4.42 billion, an increase of 14% from 2021. The tax base figure the town based its current budget on was $3.9 billion.
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