by SC Reporter Emilie Alfino
City Council held its third Budget Workshop on Aug. 12, 2025, at 5:30 at BIG ARTS. The first workshop was held on April 17 (Capital Improvement), and the second on June 12 (Operating and Capital).
Budget workshops give the City Council opportunity to discuss budget strategies, goals, and objectives and provide staff with direction on the proposed budget.
Coming up on September 8 will be the first Budget Hearing at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, at which time Council will adopt a tentative budget.
Then on September 25 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall will be the final Budget Hearing at which Council will adopt a final budget (Council is legally required to do so by September 30).
The total city working draft budget for FY2026 is $216,164,163. The budget for FY2025 was $233,208,969.
The entire budget is available on mysanibel.com. Click on “Departments” and scroll down to “Finance.”
“I recommend looking at the budget,” said Steve Chaipel, Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer. “It has descriptions of services. There’s a lot of good ‘non-financial’ information within the budget if you just have general questions about the city.”
The breakdown of tax dollars is: Lee County School Board 37.5 percent; Lee County 26.5 percent; Other (small independent districts such as the Sanibel Public Library and Fire and Rescue) 3.7 percent; Sanibel Independent Districts 13.8 percent; and City of Sanibel 18.4 percent.
The estimate from Lee County Property Appraiser on July 1 shows Sanibel property values up 20.2 percent. At 2.5 operating millage rate (same as current year) this yields $13,664,432 in revenue with $2,363,880 additional ad valorem revenue into the General Fund. The operating millage rate provides most of the funding for general government operations.
The last millage rate before Hurricane Ian was 1.9750.
“We made a significant recovery in property value as of January 1 and it should be even better now,” said Council member Richard Johnson. Chaipel agreed, “You can see the recovery just by driving around,” he said. “ I would anticipate a decrease in the millage rate for 2027.”
Taxes levied annually to pay debt service for voter-approved issuances include Recreation Center construction at 0.1011 mills and Sewer System expansion at 0.0140 mills in FY 2026. The total debt service levy for these represents a 15.9% decrease from the prior year. The Recreation Center debt will retire in 2032, and the Sewer debt retires in 2026.
The City Council discussed and approved updated its Strategic Goals for FY 2026 at the May 2025 City Council meeting. These goals drive the formulation of the budget for the upcoming year. FY 2026 Council goals are:
• Hurricanes Ian, Debby, Helene, Milton Recovery
• Infrastructure
• Community Resiliency
• Quality of Life
• Environmental Stewardship
• Fiscal Health
• Customer Service
• Affordable Housing
The City Manager, as part of the annual budget process, develops strategic budget objectives and key performance indicators that will serve to measure the City’s overall performance by addressing the City’s Strategic Goals on a consistent and annual basis. These short-term budget objectives will be developed in a separate document.
There are no changes in personnel in this budget. However, police dispatchers have been contracted with Lee County, resulting in a reduction.
“Staff is at capacity,” said Souza, “and that was before Helene and Milton. We might not have as many residents here now, but we have a spike in contractors. Services are limited. We’ll bring up before another meeting before the end of this calendar year the Stormwater Management Plan to discuss what other cities are doing.”
“We have got to be better prepared than we were in 2022,” said Council member Richard Johnson. “We’re the only coastal community without a Stormwater Management Plan.” Council member Holly Smith said there are more than 185 municipalities in Florida that have storm water assessments.
Chaipel estimated that in Cape Coral, where he lives, he believes the stormwater assessment is about $170, using a fixed amount per lot. He said he would review these figures for accuracy.
City Council asked for just two amendments to the draft budget:
(1) Include design work for flap gate modifications for both the Tarpon Bay and Beach Road weirs at $130,000; and
(2) Include $150,000 for a feasibility study for automation and pumps at the weirs.
It was stressed that design takes place one year (2026) and construction the next (2027).
Souza added that in 2027 the City will begin to look at elevating roads. First on the list are Dixie Beach, Bailey Road, and Tarpon Bay Road.
Council member Johnson brought up the Tradewinds Subdivision Drainage Project, which has been ongoing for a very long time. City Manager Souza said the City is looking at grant fund opportunities and will be submitting an application by September 1. Council member Holly Smith said, “We are also looking at cost sharing.”
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