Fort Myers Beach Council passes budget with parking meter rate increase and fee hikes, raising millage rate by 3%
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council directed town staff to raise the town’s parking meter rates from $5 an hour to $6 an hour. Vice Mayor Scott Safford initially sought to table a raise in the meter rate, which had been proposed to go up to as high as $7 an hour, pending more discussion but ultimately went along with a proposal from Mayor Dan Allers and Councilmember to raise the parking meter rate to $6 an hour, while agreeing to hold a management and planning session at some point in the near future to discuss the issue further. Allers also suggested the town could make parking free after 7 p.m. though no action was taken on that point. Safford then said he would go along with the parking meter increase to $6 an hour pending the future management and planning session to look at more information regarding price modeling, to hear more from the public and businesses, and discuss how to bring more people to island businesses.
Councilmember John King was the lone vote against the budget and new fee schedule, which increases dozens of fees. The millage rate will increase by 3% to 1.0655 per thousand dollars of property value.
In Safford’s original motion to table, Safford said he would support increasing the parking meter rate to $6 an hour at peak times and season, and $5 an hour in the offseason. “I just don’t think it’s today but I would sure like to see it in one of the next one or two management and planning sessions,” Safford said. Safford said he wants to see some price modeling before adjusting the rates. “Not everybody is going to be happy but we can hear from all sides and make a better decision,” Safford said. Safford said he wants to talk about how to encourage people coming down to the island.
Allers then said his proposal was to raise the parking meter fees to $6 an hour, while also suggesting the town offer free parking after 7 p.m.
Safford said the town couldn’t offer that free parking now but wanted to talk about it at a future management and planning session as part of a larger discussion about attracting people to support the local businesses.
Town of Fort Myers Beach Councilmember John McLean then said he supported raising the parking meter rates to $6 an hour wile also supporting a future management and planning session to discuss parking further.
Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay said a management and planning session would be scheduled on the subject no later than November.
“I am OK with six but we have to talk about it quickly,” Safford said.
McLean said he supported the increase in the parking meters, which town staff estimates will generate an additional $511,000 in additional revenue.
“That’s one of the largest revenue sources we have. I don’t know we are at that tipping point actually,” McLean said.
Councilmember John King said he had trouble supporting the parking meter increase. “I think a lot of people came here to support this island after what we have been through. I worry we are pushing that goodwill further,” King said. “I just can’t support that increase.”
In an earlier part of the discussion on the parking meter rate increase proposal, Safford said a further discussion was needed to look at different models, dynamic pricing and to get more public input and to speak with business owners. “We just can’t Chat GPT it right this second,” Safford said. Safford said the town could look at lower rates when the season is slow.
Allers said he disagreed. “I think they have already done their research,” Allers said regarding the staff’s revenue projections.
“We talked about going from $3 to $5 an hour, you thought the world was going to come to an end. We saw that was not the case especially after a devastating hurricane,” Allers said. Allers said he would be open to having free parking later in the night. Allers said the town could adjust the parking meter rate if it turns out less people are parking.
“To me, a dollar is not a significant amount. The people I have gotten emails from, as I have said before, most are not island residents,” Allers said.
Councilmember Rebecca Link suggested going up even higher, raising the parking meter rates to $7 an hour for the peak times at peak season, and $6 an hour the rest of the year.
“Let that sink in, because knowing we can come back if we shot ourselves in the foot that can give us some money to do some of these other things or put more money in reserve,” Link said.
Joining Allers in voting for the budget and new fee schedule were councilmembers Rebecca Link, John McLean and Safford.
To reach Nathan Mayberg, please email nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com