County financial support not fair
To the editor:
Our Town people need to understand all the tax dollars we send Lee County versus the financial help and services we get from County.
In the last 5 years,Lee County levied $74,987,236 on our Town property owners. That’s right an amazing $75 million of taxes were charged our Town by County Commissioners in just five years.
That $75 million was 6.3 times what our Town levied taxes were in the same last five years TO RUN OUR TOWN!
What did our Town get for this pile of money County charged us?
Good question! We get the services of the sheriff’s department. But our Townis charged extra bucks for extra services needed “in season”. Should not $75 million be enough?
There is no end to the reduction in support and additional handouts Lee County asks for.
County stopped all Bay Oaks financial support last year. We now have to absorb all future Bay Oaks costs. The $75 million to County was not enough!
County wanted $1 million of Town’s money for the defunct re-nourishment project. By County’s governmental contract, 88 percent of that artificial beach widening was for “recreation” (a.k.a. “tourism”). At the same time, County itself offered ZERO dollars from that $75 million pile we sent them.
Now for the current Matanzas Pass channel NAVIGATION project, County asked four Town for $300,000 despite their $75 million pile. Simply not fair!
Name a project or something else funded by that $75 million. Hard to do!
The library is a separate tax Town owners pay. The fire department is a separate tax owners also pay. Gas taxes for roads are also a separate tax we pay.
We also have 5 percent “bed” tax for Tourist development. Businesses and owners sent Lee County $87,680,880 in just the last four years from the whole county.
Despite our piles of money, Lee County is largely missing in action using that money for projects or services to help our Town.
It’s time for Lee County to give more of that $75 million money to projects and services for us.
Frank Schilling
Fort Myers Beach