The city of Cape Coral will have spent a billion in infrastructure improvements over the course of two years, the city manager told City Council Wednesday morning. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn said the fiscal year 2025 budget was the city\u2019s first ever billion-dollar budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust a few years ago our city\u2019s operating budget eclipsed a billion dollars,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s budget jumped to $1.45 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason it jumped to $1.45 billion was because of the preceding campaign and all the public information documents \u2013 all the surveys that we obtained, all of the input from the community was we needed to spend more on infrastructure,\u201d Ilczyszyn said.<\/p>\n
In this year\u2019s operating budget there was a big outcry in the community of how the city\u2019s budget jumped by 40-50% in one year. The budget went from just over $1 billion to $1.45 billion.<\/p>\n
Ilczyszyn laid it out during Wednesday\u2019s workshop: In last year\u2019s budget there was $284.6 million budgeted for the North 3 UEP, $56.1 million budgeted for the North Water Plant Expansion, $53 million for the Southwest Water Rec Facility, $14.8 million for the North 3 Advanced Drainage System, and $13 million for Everest Headworks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year alone we are spending over $400 million in infrastructure,\u201d Ilczyszyn said. \u201cThat is how your budget goes from $1 billion to $1.45 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said they understand the concerns and keeping up with growth and they budget appropriately to make sure they are keeping pace with the growth curve.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s proposed budget is $1.51 billion, which contains a $400 million Northwest Water Rec Facility \u2013 a brand-new facility to keep up with growth in the North Cape, $37 million for North 3 treatment and transmission lines, $16 million for Everest Headworks for treatment of raw sewage and another $15.5 for the North well field expansion to tie into the North RO Plant.<\/p>\n
He said that is $468 million in infrastructure this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNext year when we don\u2019t have those projects and we go back to a billion-dollar budget we are going to have a 30% reduction, but that is because we are not going to have those massive infrastructure projects budgeted. Not because we don\u2019t need them, just because they are not planned and budgeted,\u201d Ilczyszyn said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs we sit here today, plan for a north of 30% decrease in our budget next year, but for the fact we are accomplishing a billion in infrastructure improvements for this year and next year.\u201d<\/p>\n