Bonita Springs caps its tax rate at 0.847 mills, and a stormwater fee arrives underneath it

Bonita Springs City Council voted unanimously on July 15 to hold its maximum property tax rate at 0.847 mills for fiscal 2027, matching the current year. Evan Williams reported the meeting for Gulfshore Business.

The rate works out to 84.7 cents per $1,000 of taxable value after exemptions, so a property with $100,000 in taxable value owes $84.70 to the city. The city expects the rate to raise about $15.5 million, which is roughly a third of $46.3 million in projected total revenue, against planned spending of $52.6 million. Council can lower the ceiling but not raise it.

The rate is flat and the revenue is not. The Lee County Property Appraiser put growth in the city's taxable value at 2.38 percent, slightly above the office's preliminary June estimate, which leaves the unchanged rate collecting about $250,000 more than last year. City Director of Financial and Administrative Services Lisa Griggs Roth attributed the increase to downtown redevelopment, according to Gulfshore Business.

Council also voted 6 to 1 to establish stormwater utility assessment fees, with Council member Jesse Purdon dissenting. Residential structures larger than 1,800 square feet pay $50 a year and condominiums and smaller homes pay $20, raising about $1.7 million.

Budget discussions are set for August 5 and August 19, with the two statutory hearings on September 9 and September 23. TRIM notices go out in late August and bills follow in November.

The city has not posted the resolution or its Truth in Millage filing where we could reach it, so this brief rests on Gulfshore Business rather than on the document, and the rolled-back rate the state uses to measure whether 0.847 is an increase has not been published.