Council sets tentative millage rate for 2015-16
The first step to next fiscal year’s Town budget has been taken, and the “bar” for the multiplier of total taxable value of island property has been set high.
The Fort Myers Beach Town Council approved to adopt the tentative ad valorem operating millage rate at 1.0604 and agreed upon Sept. 8 and Sept. 21 as hearing dates to establish the final millage rate and adopt a budget for fiscal year 2015-16.
Last year, Council set its 2013-14 tentative millage rate for taxpayers at 0.7530 mils, than adopted that same number as its final millage rate. While a lower rate could be approved upon at one or both of the budget hearings this year, Councilwoman Rexann Hosafros believes the number will not drop as low as years’ past.
“We need to err on the side of caution at this point in time,” she said. “I’ve been concerned about the fact that we are depleting our reserves and we need to start putting some money back in there. Additionally, one of the things that I would like to see is devote additional resources to our code enforcement. I think we are severely lacking in that area.
“Even though it may alarm people in the community for me to say this, the right thing to do at this point would be to lean toward higher..”
Town Manager Don Stilwell agreed the prudent thing would be to set the millage rate at a higher number for now. The tentative rate could always be lowered (but not raised) prior to adoption before Oct. 1, 2015. Florida legislators are still trying to balance the state budget
“We don’t know what the legislature is going to do,” Stilwell said. “It would be prudent to set it high. We can always take it down between now and the time we set it.”
In February, Mayor Anita Cereceda went on record in proposing a tax increase for the next budget cycle and mentioned the 1.0604 millage rate that was established in 1996, the first rate after Town incorporation.
“This is in no way any disrespect or casting an aspersion on previous councils who have lowered the roll back and millage rate. You react to the times you are in,” she said. “There was a period in time when our taxable value went up to $3.9 billion. But, it’s a billion dollars less than that now.”
Cereceda referred to budgetary charts provided by Town Director of Administrative Services Maureen Rischitelli.
“In my opinion, it is prudent for us to set the millage rate at 1.0604 in order to provide for the level of service that this community needs, which is increased from what we are doing now,” the mayor said. “And, we need to be establishing a substantial reserve for the next group of people that take these seats and the decisions that will face them. I think it is a good business decision and policy decision.”
Cereceda used her home in relating how much her taxes incurred by the Town would be raised by using the latest Lee County Property Appraiser’s report.
“If you look on my tax bill, the Town of Fort Myers Beach gets $142.71, Lee County gets $786.61, the public school system gets almost $1,600, this lovely library we are in gets $104 and the fire district gets almost $600,” she said. “So, for all the services rendered by the Town, it is literally one of the smallest line items on our overall tax bill.”
Cereceda stated the millage rate change for her property would be a $90 increase. For a house with no exemption at $250,000, the provided chart showed taxes paid to Town at 0.7687 mils would be $192.18, while taxes paid to Town for the same home at 1.0604 mils would be $265.10 – a $72.92 difference.
Councilman Alan Mandel agreed on the potential tax hike.
“I think another thing is we really need to take a look at the funding of not only the potable water system and stormwater, we need to create a stormwater utility and find out what is it going to cost us to do that,” he said.
Rischitelli has been asked to continue to crunch numbers prior to the September hearings.
“Primarily, we are working our budget around the same number from last year with the biggest fluctuation probably being capital improvement,” she said.
Within the Florida budget, state legislators have many issues to resolve and the biggest issue regarding municipalities is a communications service tax. Again, that budget has not yet been resolved.
“We’ve been told the governor has removed that from the state component,” Rischitelli said.
Hosafros pointed out that if the millage rate would remain at 0.7530 mils, even with an increase in property values, the tax collection would not be significantly higher.
“I was shocked to see the amount that we would collect in addition to what we had last year is $116,613,” she said. “The impression on the street is that if we keep the tax rate the same, we are going to be taking in a great deal more money than we are, and we aren’t.”
According to Town records, the 1.0604 millage rate would yield $939,689. Anyone interested in getting a couple of the budgetary chart, contact Rischitelli at Town Hall at 765-0202 (ext. 107).