Sanibel fire district adopts tentative millage rate
The Sanibel Fire and Rescue District’s commission approved the not-to-exceed millage rate for the upcoming fiscal year at its recent monthly meeting.
On July 11, the board voted unanimously 3-0 to approve a rate cap of 1.1089 mills – the current rate for fiscal year 2017-2018 – which would be an increase for the district’s residents of 2.18 percent.
Millage rates can be lowered prior to their final approval, but not raised.
“This millage can go down, but it can’t go up,” Commissioner Jerry Muench said. “This is the maximum that it can be.”
He explained that tackling the budget is the next step.
“We’re going to fine tune the budget to see what we can do,” Muench said.
Commissioner Bruce Cochrane pointed out that the new valuations play a big part.
On June 29, the Lee County Property Appraisers office released its preliminary tax roll values, which reflected that the district’s valuations rose 2.90 percent to about $5.32 billion, up $149.72 million.
The district must hold two public hearings on the proposed millage rate and 2018-2019 budget before they can be voted on for approval. The hearings had not been set as of press time for this article.
Also at the meeting, Fire Chief Matt Scott reported that Capt. Rob Popkin resigned. He explained that Assistant Fire Chief William Briscoe is working on filling the vacancy via promotion, so there will be a new lieutenant and new firefighter. Meanwhile, Scott is working on interviewing people for the opening.
“We will be interviewing 30 people,” he told the commission.
The district received over 130 resumes for the position.
“But over 75 percent don’t meet the residency requirement,” Scott said, noting that applicants must reside within the five-county area.
Chief Financial Officer Mary Hickey reported that the district’s finances are on track.
“There’s no hiccups as of yet,” she said.
Hickey added that the audit came back clean with no problems.
Reporting on behalf of Fire Marshal Rick Tassoni, Briscoe told the commission that Mud Bugs Cajun Kitchen, which is being constructed on the site of the old Sanibel Steakhouse, is putting in flooring.
“They’re finalizing everything now,” he said.
Briscoe confirmed that the owners are anticipating an October opening.
“The library is still the same as it was before,” he noted.
Scott reported that the final inspection for the new truck is still on schedule for the end of July. Afterward, it goes to Fort Myers to have the radios, additional equipment and such installed.
“Hopefully, it will be a kind of smooth transition,” he said of receiving the engine.
Training Officer Capt. Tim Barrett reported that the staff completed its pediatric training. Personnel also took part in rope and rescue drills under a mock scenario where a man got stuck painting a tower.
“So we had to rope down to him, get him off his harness and get him down,” he said.
This week, staff is scheduled to train at the Donax Water Reclamation Facility.
“We have some houses to train in,” Barrett added.
Also at the meeting, Briscoe told the commissioners that he had received two out of three quotes regarding the geo survey for the tower. One came is at $3,500, while the second was $2,300.
“I have one more coming in,” he said.
Briscoe noted that the project will be part of the next year’s budget.
IN OTHER NEWS
– Engineer-Paramedic Mike Martin was recognized for his 11 years of service.
– During the month of June, the district responded to 129 calls for service, compared to 90 in 2017; while the year-to-date calls for service were 989, as compared to the same time period last year. There were also 15 marine emergency response calls last month.