Cape Coral City Council is considering increasing most fees that residents pay for property taxes, fire department, stormwater services, garbage collection and more to meet a proposed $267 million budget for fiscal year 2026 that begins Oct. 1.
At its July 23 meeting, Council adopted a not-to-exceed property tax or millage rate of 5.5188 or $5.5188 per $1,000 in taxable value. Council can still choose to lower that rate in upcoming public hearings in September but it can’t make it any higher than that. Last year, the Cape adopted a 5.2188 millage rate.
Council member Derrick Donnell asked Council to consider bumping the not-to-exceed rate up to 6.2188, arguing that the option for a higher rate could provide “a level of certainty” in the budget, with more revenue to ensure a high level of services for residents.
“It’s worth having a conversation,” he said.
Council member Bill Steinke said he would be willing to have that conversation too, but Council decided to keep the ceiling at 5.5188. If adopted, it would garner about $169 million in taxes.
The city also seeks to adopt a 0.1608 millage for its general obligation bond for parks debt service.
Cape Coral plans to host public hearings for the new rates Sept. 11 to discuss them and on Sept. 25 to adopt the final rates along with its new annual budget as required by law.
Cape City Council also is planning to adopt new annual fees for services in fiscal 2026 at a public hearing Aug. 27.
Residential waste collection rates would increase by $38.49 under city staff’s calculations from $345.76 in fiscal 2025 to $384.25 in 2026. That includes increased costs from Waste Pro and disposal services from Lee County. The revenue generated by the proposed new fees would help increase an emergency savings fund by $11.8 million to a total of $27.9 million. The fund is set aside only for emergency situations, city staff said, such as debris removal costs after a hurricane.
Residents who benefit from stormwater services, such as water quality improvements, flood prevention and drainage, may pay more next year. The proposed rate would rise from $149 to $156 in fiscal 2026.
For fire protection services, a single-family home with a structural value of $261,998 would see a $91.28 hike from $438.48 to $529.76.
The Cape also is considering new fees for mowing thousands of empty lots 13 times each year. The service includes pepper tree removal and owl nest trimming. The lots in District 1, which includes those areas south of Pine Island Road, would pay less: $70.48 instead of $86.42. District 2’s rate would tick up from $44.77 to $48.05. District 3 would rise from $47.32 to $51.44 and District 4 would rise from $43.21 to $44.63.
