{"id":387105,"date":"2026-09-01T11:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T11:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/387105\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T11:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T11:32:11","slug":"fort-myers-beach-manager-issues-statement-on-investigation-finances-fort-myers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/387105\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Myers Beach Manager issues statement on investigation, finances – FORT MYERS"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
\n
\n \/Fort Myers Beach News
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n


\n \"article <\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay. File photo<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

In an announcement issued on Friday, Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay addressed his ongoing inquiry into two senior employees, while stating he plans to reduced costs as the town undergoes budget preparations.<\/p>\n

In a statement sent out by the town, McKannay said he is implementing a town-wide fiscal responsibility initiative aimed at reducing costs, strengthening financial controls and rebuilding emergency reserves as Fort Myers Beach continues its long-term recovery and prepares for future financial obligations.<\/p>\n

The announcement follows a budget hearing last month in which the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council approved a maximum millage rate increase of 30%. The Town Council can still act to lower that millage rate at budget hearings scheduled for Sept. 9 and Sept. 23. Last year, the Town Council approved a 26% millage rate hike initially before settling on a 4% rate hike.<\/p>\n

The announcement from McKannay on Friday was issued through Fort Myers Beach Public Information Officer Abigail Eberhart, stating that efforts are being made by town departments to \u201creview budgets and operations to identify reductions, efficiencies and opportunities to trim costs wherever possible.\u201d <\/p>\n

The goal, according to the announcement, is to prioritize essential services while directing more resources toward emergency reserves and reducing the Town\u2019s reliance on borrowing and other short-term financial measures.<\/p>\n

\u201cFiscal responsibility means looking at both sides of the equation,\u201d McKannay said in a prepared statement. \u201cBefore asking taxpayers for additional revenue, we have a responsibility to examine our own spending, reduce costs where we can and make sure every dollar is being used responsibly. At the same time, we have a responsibility to make the financial decisions necessary to rebuild our reserves and put the Town on stable footing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement sent out by Eberhart cites financial decisions made in the wake of Hurricane Ian, which he said are still being felt. The proposed millage rate hike \u201creflects several years of accumulated financial need being addressed together, rather than a single year\u2019s increase in the cost of operating the Town,\u201d according to the statement.<\/p>\n

The proposed millage rate hike is intended to help rebuild emergency reserves, fund required studies and future obligations, reduce reliance on bridge financing and borrowed funds, and create a more sustainable financial foundation for Town operations,\u201d the statement declared.<\/p>\n

According to the statement, the town is looking at spending reductions, operational efficiencies, budget adjustments and appropriate fee increases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking throughout the organization for places where we can operate more efficiently and reduce costs,\u201d McKannay said. \u201cThe objective is not simply to increase revenue. It is to make responsible decisions on spending and revenue together so we can rebuild the emergency financial capacity a coastal community like our needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those efforts, officials say, include the hiring of a contracts and procurement manager and active recruitment for a Grants Manager.<\/p>\n

The town\u2019s ongoing investigation into two senior administrative employees is also mentioned in the statement. Senior administrators Jeff Hauge and Frankie Kropacek have been on administrative leave as McKannay has declared he is conducting an inquiry and review of procurement and contracting practices related to four grants. Those grants include FEMA funds, two beach renourishment contracts, and a grant for the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus.<\/p>\n

The Town is finalizing a contract with an independent outside firm to review historical grants management practices, which were realized following concerns identified during a budget review last month that were raised by the town\u2019s finance director. The town\u2019s finance director works for the financial consulting firm Goldman & Wolfe. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about accountability and getting the facts right,\u201d McKannay said about the inquiry. \u201cIf mistakes were made, we will identify them, correct them and strengthen the systems that allowed them to occur. If the review identifies additional issues, we will follow those facts wherever they lead. Our responsibility is to protect public funds and maintain the community\u2019s trust,\u201d McKannay said.<\/p>\n

In addition to the four grants identified by McKannay, the inquiry will also look at historical grant expenditures, compliance and whether past grant-funded costs were properly administered and remain eligible for reimbursement.<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \/Fort Myers Beach News …\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-387105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}