Cape Coral City Council kicked off its two-day Winter Budget Workshop Thursday morning with an overview of forecasted adjustments for the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.<\/p>\n
Budget Administrator Nicole Reitler said the economy continues to grow at a slow pace with housing, shelter, dining, recreation and other services continuing to be high, a key driver to inflation.<\/p>\n
She walked council through the 2027 budget preview, which does not include any requested positions.<\/p>\n
Reitler said based on requested budgets for 2027, they had to remove certain modifications \u2013 $8,822,172 for staffing and $6,360,690 for debt services for a total of $15,182,862.<\/p>\n
To fund an additional $15.1 million, the millage rate would need to increase by 0.4734 mills to 5.8200 from 5.3466 in Fiscal Year 2027.<\/p>\n
One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of taxable assessed property valuation.<\/p>\n
Debt services includes the Emergency Operations Center at $2,157,161; the fleet building at $2,265,512; the property management building at $1,087,466 and the Yacht Club reconstruction of its seawalls at $850,571.<\/p>\n
She also highlighted $93,218,552 in total existing debt payments forecasted for FY27, which includes both government debt and enterprise debt. The total existing debt forecasted through 2030 is $328,599,100.<\/p>\n
The total future debt service payments forecasted for FY27 is $16,312,597. This includes governmental funds for the Emergency Operation Center and Station 5 rebuild, as well as numerous enterprise projects.<\/p>\n
The debt service payments forecasted through FY2030 is $169,823,746. Some of the governmental projects include the Cape Coral Sports Complex Expansion, North 1 East, Bimini East, Jaycee Park improvements, Yacht Club Reconstruction.<\/p>\n
She said those are additional projects that need to be considered for debt.<\/p>\n
Once the presentation concluded, Councilmember Rachel Kaduk asked numerous questions as many residents reached out with questions. Among those was the Yacht Club reconstruction for the seawall.<\/p>\n
Assistant City Manager Mark Mason said the seawall for the Yacht Club was approved after the fiscal year. He said there was no discussion of the seawall before Oct. 1, which is the day the budget goes into effect as it is the state of each fiscal year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t approved as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 budget. Now we are talking about 2027. It was taken out of the 2027 forecast, \u201928 and \u201929 forecast. The City Council approved the seawall, yes \u2013 long-term debt, no,\u201d Mason said.<\/p>\n
Reitler said the first budget amendment was not in forecasted numbers because the budget was completed and developed. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not proposing a Fiscal Year 2027 budget. We are showing what we forecasted in September last year,\u201d Mason said. \u201cWhen we get a better understanding of priorities, and develop a \u201927 budget based on priorities, the seawall will be included.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were eight items listed as potential future debt \u2013 the Emergency Operation Center expansion, Yacht Club design and construction, Charter School athletic facility, old golf course, Santa Barbara buildings remodel and parking, fleet facility, property management facility and Bimini East land acquisition.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy hopefulness is to take away our priorities as a group and figure out how to adjust all of this without increasing the millage rate,\u201d Councilmember Jennifer Nelson-Lastra said.<\/p>\n
The remainder of the day included discussions about the fund balance, house changes recap, fire growth model, police master plan and revenue forecast. <\/p>\n
Council\u2019s budget workshop will continue Friday, Jan. 30, at 9 a.m. in City Council chambers, 1015 Cultural Park Blvd.<\/p>\n
The meeting is open to the public and is broadcast on the city\u2019s channel. <\/p>\n