FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla — 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:
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.
Until then, the plan is to restore emergency funds and keep matching dollars ready for state grants. “We get back what’s called a matching grant where we have to come up with half of the funds and they match whatever we come up with. But in order to do that I have to have money to make the proposals,” McKannay said.
Schargorodski reached out to FEMA to get a better idea of the reimbursement timeline but did not hear back. Even with the wait, McKannay says the town is financially stable.
“We can pay our bills and we can manage our budget, and we can continue providing the services that we are proud to provide to residents and visitors of Fort Myers Beach,” McKannay said.
