When the Fort Myers Beach Town Council meets to approve its final 2026 budget Wednesday night, a 26% tax increase is no longer on the table. Apparently the Town Attorney has changed her mind as to whether the council can go back up to that higher increase after the conclusion of the first public hearing.
On September 11th, the Town Council voted to approve a new tentative millage rate of 1.15 per $1,000 of assessed property value. That was less than the tentative millage rate of 1.25 that was set in August and higher than the current rate of .99. At the September 11th meeting, Town Attorney Nancy Stuparich told the council, if needed, they still had the flexibility to go back to 1.25 (a 26% increase). Apparently, that is not the case.
Over the last week town council members were told that not only could they not go back to the higher rate, approving a 1.15 millage rate, according to state law, would require a 5-0 vote because it is considered a significant increase. If the council approves the 1.150 millage rate, it will generate approximately $720k in additional revenue in 2026 for the town…