Marco Island City Council members disagree on property taxes and how to pay for needed city infrastructure improvements.
After slightly increasing the millage rate for Fiscal Year 2026, city staff proposed a balanced budget while keeping the tax rate the same as the current year – it’s called millage neutral. The FY26 increase was after eight years of rollback – lowering property tax rates for most property owners, while maintaining the same revenue for the city through increased property values.
With a $23 million bond referendum on the Aug. 18 ballot that would pay for some but not all the city’s infrastructure needs, two city council members – Vice Chairman Rene Champagne and Councilor Kevin Dohm – supported a higher preliminary tax rate as budget discussions continue for the new tax year that starts Oct. 1.
The council eventually held two votes – one to increase the millage rate to 1.3000 per $1,000 assessed value and one to keep it the current rate of 1.2670. Millage neutral won out despite Champagne, Dohm and one resident’s arguments. Hideaway Beach, a gated community and special taxing district in Marco Island, also proposed a millage neutral rate at 1.6000.
During the council’s approval process, the city can adjust that figure lower but not go higher.
Bridge and road needs high on Marco Islanders’ minds
“This city has been dealing with declining millage rates since 2016, and we’re now entering our 11th year of millage rate neutral or declining millage rate. It has gotten us to where we are today, which is financial difficulty meeting all of our objectives,” Champagne said.
With that in mind, Police Chief Joe Belardo on Monday requested a withdrawal from a boat ramp extension project from 2022 because of increased construction costs and the ability to use another ramp – the county’s Caxambas Park – at no cost.
The Marco Island Police Department did purchase a boat as part of the project to be used for canal code enforcement, Belardo said.
Dohm agreed, saying, “we need some kind of a safety net here, and if we’re all going to be reasonable about this, and we want to keep our island the way it is, I think we need to do what is necessary, even if it’s not popular.”
Road, bridge and other city facility repairs have been put off for years to keep property taxes low. The bond referendum going before voters this month isn’t as much as the city needs for bridges that need to be replaced, road paving and mixed-use paths, but councilors said they didn’t think voters would go for $34 million, the other option they considered in May.
Resident Rick Woodworth, who is running for one of the three city council seats in the November election, agreed with Champagne and Dohm.
“I guess I’m going to go way out on a limb here and actually agree with something that Councilor Champagne said. He and I don’t often agree,” Woodworth said. “I am absolutely not advocating reckless spending or budgeting more than the city needs, but I agree with him that you have to give yourself enough flexibility to approve a budget that’s adequate to meet the needs of the city and to provide the residents with the level of services that everybody wants and I think everybody deserves.”
Some councilors, including Chairman Darrin Palumbo who is running for re-election on the Nov. 3 general ballot, said they signed pledges they wouldn’t raise taxes and it was a promise they planned to keep.
Both Dohm and Champagne were appointed to the council, elected by their fellow councilors to replace a member who resigned and a member who died. Neither of them is running for election in November.
The two men noted that a $100 increase in a $1 million homeowner’s property taxes – the increase that a maximum-allowed 1.3551 mills would add – was not a lot of money, “my Starbucks budget for the week,” Dohm said.
“You’re correct. It is a small,” Palumbo said. “It’s not the amount. It’s the philosophical debate on Marco. Some of us were elected. We campaigned. I understand you were appointed. By no disrespect, it’s an easier path, but appreciate you being here. We made promises to the citizens that put us here, and those citizens voted for us based on those promises.”
Collier County property values declined; how about Marco Island?
While Collier County saw market values drop by 3.23% to about $217.7 billion, Marco Island saw a slight increase.
The city’s adjusted taxable value of real and personal property is $18.94 billion, up from the previous year’s $18.4 billion. According to Zillow, the current average home price on Marco Island is $851,910, down 1.8% from this time last year.
Why did city staff recommend millage neutral?
City Manager Casey Lucius and Finance Director Marcia Saulo said they took direction from the council from two budget workshops and are in the process of building the budget.
Lucius said she would suggest the council put anything over the 1.267 mills into reserves for use should a state Constitutional amendment (Amendment 3) doesn’t pass or for a hurricane or other emergency.
“We don’t have a designated request for that funding,” Lucius said. “I think if you want to raise a significant amount because you genuinely believe we need to put some additional funds in reserves, then you talk about a higher millage rate. Otherwise, our recommendation, the staff’s recommendation, is millage neutral. We have a balanced budget at millage neutral.”
Councilor Tamara Goehler said she wants to see how residents vote on the bond referendum.
“Our staff is recommending here a balanced budget, stay with millage neutral, and let’s give the citizens opportunity to decide on a referendum,” Goehler said. “If they want to stay the way they are, then they will vote no. If they want to fix what’s going on in our town, then they will vote yes. But I do not feel comfortable raising millage on the citizens of Marco Island.”
Councilor Deb Henry said being a good steward of the citizens’ money is not raising property taxes.
“We have the bond referendum on the ballot starting next week, I think it’s in good faith that we need to move forward, knowing that we’d be good stewards,” Henry said. “And if the referendum in November passes, then it’s going to be time to pay the piper. But I think moving forward, we have to stay at neutral to show that we are being good stewards to the community, and that we need the faith and the votes before the referendum.”
If Amendment 3 is approved, it won’t affect the FY27 property tax rate.
If the sweeping amendment garners approval from at least 60% of voters, the state homestead exemption for primary residents would rise from $50,000 to $150,000. The next year, it would grow to $250,000.
What about Hideaway Beach?
Those who live in Hideaway Beach will pay more, as they always have because they are in a special tax district. The proposed FY27 rate is 1.6000, the same as in FY26.
Residents of the private beach community pay a special district property tax on top of the Marco Island tax. Total taxable value for the coming year is $954.3 million, up from $873.2 million in FY25. The community of about 300 acres includes single-family homes, condos, villas and cottages. About half the acreage is wetlands and conserved lands.
Tigertail Beach in Marco Island is maintained by and with Hideaway Beach Club tax money.
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J. Kyle Foster is a senior growth & development reporter for The News-Press & Naples Daily News. Reach her by emailing jfoster1@usatodayco.com.
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Marco Island needs money for roads and bridges, but tax rate stays even
Reporting by J. Kyle Foster, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By J. Kyle Foster, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
