Fort Myers Beach property owners will pay more in taxes next year. However, the 30% millage rate increase first proposed by Town Manager Will McKannay is dead. Here are all the details on how they got to the millage rate that will most likely pass.
When McKannay proposed, and the Town Council approved, a 2027 millage rate of 1.34, it was set as the ceiling. When that proposed rate is approved in July, at the 2 required 5:01PM budget public hearings that follow in September, it could only come down, it could not go up.
A millage increase to 1.34 would have provided the town with an additional $1.8 million in revenue above the rolled back rate. The rolled back rate is the millage rate that would have generated the same exact amount of revenue as the previous year. At the time, the Town Manager said he needed the extra revenue generated from the 30% millage hike to combat a projected $600,000 shortfall. The town was facing that shortfall despite the fact that more money was already headed to the beach thanks to higher property valuations. Property values on Fort Myers Beach increased 8.52% over last year. The island went from $4.6 billion in total taxable value to just over $5 billion, generating an additional $346,462 in tax revenue for the town.
The 30% hike had no real chance of passing. Not only is John King dead set against tax increases, the 30% number was giving other council members a migraine as well. The Town Manager was directed to sharpen his pencil before coming back to the table at the first budget hearing. And, that’s exactly what he did.
Before we detail the likely cuts and fee increases that will balance the town budget, it’s important to note how McKannay landed on a millage rate of 1.0655, down from the original 1.34 proposal. Keep in mind Councilman King’s distaste for any tax increases.
Back in June, Governor DeSantis signed Senate Bill 4-F and House Bill 1329 into law making it harder for local municipalities to easily pass millage increases. Millage rates up to 110 percent of the rolled-back rate require a two-thirds vote of the governing body. Millage rates above 110 percent of the rolled-back rate require a unanimous vote.
Because property values are going up, the rolled-back rate for Fort Myers Beach is .9687 per $1,000 of assessed property value (down from 1.0294 which is what taxpayers saw on their TRIM notice). By presenting a budget based on a millage rate of 1.0655, McKannay only needs two-thirds of the council to approve it. It is exactly 110% of the rolled-back rate. Anything over 1.0655 would have required a unanimous vote. This millage rate – or anything lower – takes King’s vote out of the equation. You may recall last year when King voted against a millage hike that also needed a unanimous vote. It was an awkward situation that led to a scramble to find a lowe millage rate on the fly in the public meeting and a second vote.
There’s only one problem with the millage at 1.0655. Based on the presentation Wednesday night, the budget was still $299,000 in the red. That’s when McKannay and his finance team presented options to the Town Council to get them closer to balance. Those options included putting a freeze on hiring and increasing fees to generate revenue.
After Ad Vallorum revenue, parking revenue is the second highest revenue line for Fort Myers Beach. And staff took a big swing to pump that line up even higher. They proposed charging residents $65 for an annual parking pass, up from $50, which was well received by the council. They proposed increasing a parking ticket from $100 to $150 which was also well received by the council. They proposed charging a fee for anyone who paid their bills or tickets by credit card. That one was called a no–brainer. Those 3 items alone will generate approximately $285,000.
A fee increase that has gotten a little more pushback, especially from beach businesses, is increasing the hourly parking space rate from $5 per hour to either $6 or $7 per hour. Going to $7 will generate an additional $1 million in revenue for the town. That would not only close the budget gap by hundreds of thousands of dollars, it would give McKannay flexibility to throw some money in areas that need it like permitting and code enforcement.
A few fee increase suggestions that appear to be headed toward the dumpster are charging beach vendors a fee for every beach chair, umbrella, or jet ski in addition to the annual license fee they pay the town. And, charging vacation rentals a per-room fee, in addition to the $300 annual registration fee they pay.
Residents have two weeks to give the Town Council feedback. If you missed it, you can watch the first budget workshop meeting HERE. The final budget workshop is September 23rd at 5:01PM. The budget will be adopted at the end of that meeting and go into effect October 1st.
Please don’t try to say the town heard what the towns people said and made cuts, cuz that is total BS. Everyone knows John King will not vote for a tax increase, and thanks to our awesome governor, anything over 110% above last year requires a unanimous vote. So our tax and spend manager pushed the numbers to the penny to raise our taxes as much as he possibly could that could get passed by a 2/3 vote. NO real cuts were made here.
After hurricane Ian, this Island will never be the same. The only way it can be “salvaged” now, unfortunately, is through BIG corporations and all those TALL buildings who can afford the FMB resurrection and yearly up keep, like the Margaritaville type major projects.
There Will Be MORE Hurricanes, Tropical Storms, and/or just typical bad weather with Storm Surge flooding because of the horrible storm drain design on Estero Blvd. It’s inevitable and Who is going to keep paying for it ? These long time residents who can’t afford it every year ? The true answer : NO, it’s the deep pockets of all those billionaire corporations of those high rise hotels and condos owners to get their businesses up and running again ! All those small town quant memories of FMB 🏝️ are over now. SO, quit whining and fighting the inevitable, and start embracing the island change of the next : MINI – MIAMI 👍, cause it WILL happen, sooner or later !
John, thank you for your service and holding the line against millage increases. We are taxed enough and it is up to the town management to be better stewards of our money. We can spend several hundred thousand on Mound House and hiring new staff but somehow can’t keep the mosquitoes in check. Now there is a hiring freeze after the damage has been done.
Increase annual license fee by $ 1,000.00 ( one thousand dollars ) per year for vendors that rent out jet skies, chairs and umbrellas. These vendors make lots of money.
Next, all business with a COP License (consume on premises which allows the Bar to serve and drink on the beach sand adjacent to their Bar ) , like the beach pub bar, the chicken shake bar, Diamondhead ground Bar and others that Ian removed make LOTS of money. Put an annual renewal fee of $ 20,000.- twenty thousand dollars, each. The town just recently allowed Diamondhead to extend their ground Bar to almost the entire beach sand area. Also, if the town allows for open containers at certain events, charge extra, Also, any special event, like boat racing, sand sculpturing and ect., charge much more money.
To All, please reply with your additional suggestions. Thanks , Bobby 9-11-26
why does the mound house cost $685,000 per year to operate?
keep the grounds up, keep the a/c on, pay the person in the gift shop (why do they even have a gift shop?) Does it cost you anywhere near this amount to keep your house up? someone should look into this and figure out where all this money is going.
Wow…didnt know the annual cost!!! thats an eye opener….you forgot to add pay the consultant…I agree..where is all this money being spent…time to look into cutting back….
Time to make real cuts. The bridge loan is going to come due and at some point we will need our reserves and emergency funds. Stop kicking the can down the road. The mooring field and mound house need to go. We can’t afford them. Sorry but it’s time to rip off the bandage.
AN Additional $1 per night fee on any hotel room or Airbnb rental would generate a lot of cash. As an example (and I could be way off) if there are 2000 total hotel & Airbnb units on the island, that equates to 730,000 room nights. If 1/2 of the room nights are filled, the $1 fee would generate $365K per year. And a $1 additional fee is NOT going to stop anyone from coming to Fort Myers Beach.
That is basically the bed tax and that tax goes to the county AND STATE, not FMB.
They would have to hire an administrator and staff to collect the money and then, guess what, they’ve used it all up in expenses and therefore gained nothing. That’s gov’t
Having a fee for rentals on the beach is a great idea! If vacationers want to come to Fort Myers Beach the homeowner of an Airbnb (home, condo etc) should pay a special fee for renting.
They do. It’s called bed tax and that tax goes to the county first, then they pass some of it back to the island for beach erosion, parks, etc… it doesn’t go towards the budget of the town.
We need more representation with people like Mr. John King that help residents and people living on the beach. He stands up for the residents. Start charging more on the STR rents, hotel fees, beach rentals businesses and parking fees etc. Don’t hurt the very people that live there. Also sell or rent the property “ assets” that keep costing the town money. Put that to good use!
I agree with everything you say except for the comment about King. Those visiting the island will most likely continue to pay. King is only saying that because he knows he is gone. He was voted out and shouldn’t even be there. The majority of voters did not want him around anymore and he is still around like a bad cold.
Please Dan P, You’re so WRONG! In the nearly four years I’ve served on the Council; I have yet to vote to raise the Millage Rate. But don’t let facts get in the way, as in the rest of your nearly anonymous bunk. 30% of the registered voters supported a recall of me, that’s FAR from a majority of voters. Also, the vote was invalid because a Lee County Judge determined that the recall petition circulated against me contained fatal legal deficiencies. You can try and fix a bad cold, but you can’t fix stupid (like Dan P). However, I am working on fixing those that lied with my Defamation suit.
Wow, a very professional reply with the stupid reference. Those that chose to vote you out were the majority. Those who chose not to vote decided you weren’t worth the time.
Agree 100%