City of Sanibel adopts millage rate, budget for next fiscal year
The city of Sanibel adopted a final ad valorem operating millage rate of 1.9139 and budget of $65,810,780 for the upcoming fiscal year at its second and final budget hearing.
On Sept. 24, the Sanibel City Council voted unanimously 4-0 for the tentative rate an increase from the rolled back rate of 1.8721 and budget for 2018-2019, which starts Oct. 1. The rate is a 2.23 percent increase over the rolled back rate.
A mill is $1 per every $1,000 of taxable valuation. The rolled back rate is the rate it would take to generate the same amount of revenue in the coming fiscal year as was generated in the previous year.
The Lee County Property Appraiser’s Office certified for the city that the “gross taxable value for operating purposes” not exempt from taxation for Sanibel is $5,200,016,953.
The council also adopted the following debt service millage rates for the upcoming fiscal year: final sewer of 0.1394; final land acquisition of 0.0598; and final Sanibel Recreation Center of 0.1055.
In addition, council members approved committing $1 million in disaster reserves, $1 million in environmental initiative reserves and $215,000 in insurance deductible reserves from the general fund’s fund balance.
At the budget hearing, another resolution came before the council to amend the classification plan and pay schedule for city employees for 2018-2019 and reclassify the deputy public works director position to deputy community services director/public works operations for the new Community Services Department. It also eliminated an environmental biologist position and established an assistant director position in the Natural Resources Department to address the increased work load due to the ongoing water quality situation.
The council again voted 4-0 in support of the resolution.
Vice Mayor Mick Denham had an excused absence from the hearing.