Fort Myers Beach attorneys seek 50% pay hike
Proposal by Vose Law Firm would increase contract to $450K annually with town
As the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council weighs a 16% millage rate hike for town property owners and cuts to its staff at Bay Oaks ahead of a second budget hearing this Wednesday, the town’s attorneys are seeking a 50% pay increase.
Vose Law Firm LLP, which has represented the town since 2023, is seeking a new contract which will pay them $37,500 a month, or $450,000 a year. That would represent a 50% increase from their current rate of $25,000 a month, or $300,000 a year.
The firm first made the proposal in July in a letter to town councilmembers and was referenced by the town’s finance director ahead of the town council’s vote in August to tentatively raise the millage rate to 26%.
Town of Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers said he expects the town council to discuss the contract. “We haven’t had a chance to discuss this at a town meeting yet,” Allers said. “The Vose Law Firm has been instrumental in our recovery efforts and in representing the town in various litigation matters. I look forward to discussing their services and any potential fee increases.”
Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt said he expected the contract to be discussed at a budget hearing.
Councilman John King said he supported the increase for the Town Attorney. “The workload has increased exponentially, especially with the extra work they’ve had to do to help bring properties that need to come into compliance with town codes,” King said. King said he expects the contract to be reviewed by the council.
In a letter from the town’s attorney Gretchen R.H. “Becky” Vose requesting the compensation increase, Vose cited “the massive amount of legal services that are necessarily required to fully serve the needs of the Town.”
Vose also detailed the collection of funds for the town through code enforcement cases to support the firm’s request. The law firm is usually represented at town council meetings by Nancy Stuparich, a partner in the firm.
In her letter, Vose said “The clear need for this increase is due in part to the unexpected workload increase resulting from the loss and reoccurring replacement of the Town’s workforce and continued demands due to storm-related issues.”
Vose identified employee turnover and litigation as the main reasons for their request for a higher fee.
“We frankly did not anticipate the massive employee turnover, including private consultants, and new litigation related to redevelopment that has taken place as part of the Town’s rebuilding efforts,” Vose said. “This has taken massive amounts of attorney time that was certainly not expected either by the Town or by our firm when we were hired.
When Vose Law Firm was hired by the town, Vose stressed that the firm does not charge extra for litigation. Their flat fee, regardless of litigation or other extra time spent on town business, was advertised as an advantage into hiring them.
“Unfortunately, working with Town staff to implement best practices has been and it appears it will continue to be very time consuming, especially in view of new hires and continued employee turnover, which has occurred over the last two years,” Vose said.
Vose also blamed the “increasing polarization of the community related to redevelopment policies,” which she said could lead to more potential future litigation.
“Although our flat fee arrangement gives budgetary predictability to the Town, we do have concerns regarding future use of our firm’s resources without a fee adjustment,” Vose said.
Last month, the town piggybacked onto a response from the attorneys of Seagate to litigation filed by town residents over the town council’s approval of the Seagate condo tower project. The Vose Law Firm, in the town’s filing, cited the response issued by the attorneys for Seagate, as speaking for the town as well.
Messages left with Vose Law Firm seeking comment regarding their contract proposal were not returned.
Budget hearing
At the last budget hearing, the town council scaled back the millage rate to 16% on the backs of approximately $1.2 million in budget cuts which includes the elimination of positions at the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus, the elimination of the town’s fireworks shows for New Year’s Eve, the Fourth of July and the elimination of the town’s Fourth of July parade among other savings the town has identified to make up for its budget shortfall.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council voted 3-2 to lower the proposed millage rate from the 1.255 mills per thousand dollars of taxable property value that was set by the council last month to 1.15 mills per thousand dollars of property value, which would still represent a 16% increase in the millage rate compared to the current millage rate. King and Atterholt voted against the millage rate hike, seeking further cuts and savings to the budget.
The town’s current millage rate of .99 mills per thousand dollars of taxable property value.
The council is scheduled to hold another budget hearing on Sept. 24 at 5:01 p.m. to finalize its budget. The millage rate could be changed again at that date.
Though Community Services Director Jeff Hauge has proposed eliminating several positions at Bay Oaks to help make up for the town’s budget shortfalls, Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay said he doesn’t feel comfortable with cuts at Bay Oaks. Allers had previously suggested targeting the recreational center for cuts.
The budget would also raise user fees at Bay Oaks while cutting programming such as youth field trips for summer camp.
Meanwhile, the town’s finance director Joe Onzick and Councilman Scott Safford have expressed concern over whether the town is budgeting enough reserves.
During budget talks, King pressed Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager if there could be an increase in fees to charge visitors to the town.
McKannay said fees could potentially bring some revenue but wouldn’t help with paying back the town’s $11.9 million bridge loan to the state or the looming $1.2 million budget deficit the town was facing before the proposed budget cuts were presented at Wednesday’s budget hearing.
McKannay said staff did look at potentially other sources of revenue from visitors. “We are limited as a capacity in the State of Florida what kind of fees we can pass on to visitors and tourists,” he said.
McKannay said there are limited areas for raising funds from visitors aside from short-term vacation rental fees.
McKannay said the town also needs funds for road repairs, referring to recent funding approved by the state but which requires a 50% match from the town.
According to Town of Fort Myers Beach Finance Director Joe Onzick, the town plans to use $1.4 million for the fiscal year 2026 from its $11.9 million loan from the state that was authorized by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023. That would leave the town with $2.6 million left from the loan which was approved to cover the town’s loss of revenue due to Hurricane Ian.
The town has requested from the state legislature that the loan be forgiven and while there have been potential indicators in the past that may happen, this past year’s budget saw no relief from the town and Mayor Dan Allers said he was told by some state officials to not even ask. The town will need to start paying back the loan by 2033 with 10% interest.
The proposed budget would also make cuts at the Mound House.
The budget would cut $200,000 in special programs including the fireworks and parade. Hauge said the town spent approximately $155,000 for the Fourth of July parade, New Year’s Eve fireworks and Fourth of July fireworks last year. Onzick said the Lee County Sheriff’s Office is also seeking more than $100,000 to cover details for the fireworks and parade.
The 2025 fiscal year total cost of Fourth of July parade and fireworks and New Years Eve fireworks came out to $251,000, Town of Fort Myers Beach Communications Director Nicole Berzin said.
Safford said the 250th anniversary of the country’s independence for the Fourth of July outweighed the budget impacts. He said he believed the local economic impact of having the parade was more important.