At its first budget public hearing this week the Fort Myers Beach Library Board voted unanimously to lower the millage rate to .1612 per $1,000 of assessed property value. .1612 is the roll-back rate which means the Library Board will receive the same amount of revenue as it received last year.Â
The millage rate for fiscal 2023-2024 was .2355 per $1,000 of assessed property value. With the 45% increase in property valuations on Fort Myers Beach if the millage rate was left as is the Library would have seen an additional $300,000 in revenue. Approving the millage rate at .1612 keeps the revenue at $748,500.
The Library Board will hold its second and final public hearing on the budget on September 24th at 5:05PM. The 2024-2025 fiscal year begins October 1st.
 The Library has not been open for two years now due to damage from Hurricane Ian. The main holdup has been parts for the elevator and there is still no clear indication when those parts will arrive and when the library can reopen.
Okay, are library employees currently on the payroll working inside a building without elevators (certificate of occupancy?). What are the stats on library use before Ian?? You can get just about anything online from 13 branches of Lee County library for less than $748,500. And the 75 students in our elementary school are savvy enough to access library resources online when they get home from Bay Oaks after school programs. Lee County has a “Home Borrower”, free postal, service for residents with “chronic illness” (who of us over 65 does not qualify?). How many of our tourists are looking for a library? Let’s call it a day and save money on city hall rebuild and move to the library!
Dr Leroy has to be doing backflips in his grave