The Town of Fort Myers Beach is trying to rebuild its emergency reserves spent on recovery from recent hurricanes. The town is $9 million in the red, and leaders say a raise in property taxes will help bridge the gap.Watch to hear what the town’s manager told community correspondent Austin Schargorodski about the rate increase:
FMB ups property tax rate to rebuild reserves after hurricane recovery spending
Council has approved a property tax rate increase of nearly 15 percent. Town Manager William McKannay says it was a necessary step to help the town rebuild its reserves.
“We’ve been depleting those reserves over the past few years during Hurricane Ian, then Milton and Helene. We had many projects necessary and vital for our community over the past few years,” McKannay said.
Because of that spending, McKannay says the town is about $9 million in the red. That’s after paying contractors and vendors upfront for recovery projects. FEMA is expected to reimburse that money, but McKannay said it could take years.
“We’re still receiving reimbursements from storms that were 5, 6, 7 years ago, because, you know, we’re not the only community in the country that is going through the process,” McKannay said…