INSIDE: Legal Notices CITY LEGALS FICTITIOUS NAMES AUCTIONS MISCELLANEOUS
City Council to set not-to-exceed tax rates www.capecoralbreeze.com
By MEGHAN BRADBURY
news@breezenewspapers.com
Cape Coral City Council will set the city’s not-to-exceed millage rates today. Previous Council consensus was to cap the property tax at 5.5188 mills for General Fund operations. The not-to-exceed rate can be lowered as the budget process continues through September but cannot be raised once set. The City Manager’s Proposed Budget was developed using the current property tax rate of 5.2188 mills for the General
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Fund as well as an additional 0.1608 mills for the voter-approved General Obligation Bond for Parks Debt Service. One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of taxable assessed property valuation. The city manager’s submitted budget did not include $66.5 million in additional unfunded staff requests for which Council has been presented with three options: Raise the property tax, raise the fire services assessment or leave all or part of the requests unfunded. According to the presentation for
Resolution 210-25 to be considered today, the proposed millage rate, as well as notification to the property appraiser’s office, are required to be set within 35 days of the certification of value with a due date of Aug. 4. The meeting will also include a number of other public hearings for the Fiscal Year 2026 budget which will go into effect on Oct. 1 following Public Hearings on Sept. 11 and Sept. 25.
The lot mowing assessment for undeveloped lots includes increases for three of the four districts. The lots on this program are mowed 13 times a year – February through December – for vacant parcels in four districts. District 1, which has a proposed $15.94 reduction due to the increase to finish Hurricane Ian cleanup, now has a proposed rate of $70.48. District 2 proposed rates will go from
Other levies to be considered include:
See TAX RATES, page 4
News of Note Lee County earns high rank for recycling rates
Lee County Solid Waste has been ranked third among the state’s 67 counties by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The amount of material county residents and businesses recycled in 2024 would be enough to fill 310 football fields 10 feet high. Lee County received credit for recycling more than 1.9 million tons of the 3 million total tons of waste generated locally in 2024, according to numbers FDEP recently released. This brings the county’s recycling rate to an adjusted rate of 78%. Strong participation by both residents and businesses has enabled Lee County to meet and exceed the state’s 75% recycling goal. Lee County earns FDEP recycling credits for items such as curbside recycling by residents as well as business recycling of materials such as cardboard, yard waste, scrap metal and construction and demolition debris. Lee County also receives recycling credit for energy produced from garbage processed at the Waste-to-Energy plant in Buckingham.
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Membership fee hikes proposed for The Courts Cape Coral
By MEGHAN BRADBURY
news@breezenewspapers.com
Ms. Oktoberfest crowned
By CASEY BRADLEY GENT
candidates posed for photographs along with former Ms. Oktoberfest winners. The German American Social “I’ve been seeing my generation, Club of Cape Coral is celebrating the 40- and 50-year-olds, joining the a part of milestones this year — its club,” Skorak said. “ It is refreshing.” 60th anniversary and the 40th crownShe explained she woke up thinking of Ms. Oktoberfest. ing the third time would be a charm. Sara Skorak, who began volun“I ran in 2022, 2024 and now teering at the club in 2018, was 2025. I’m just so happy and honored crowned Saturday at festivities that to be this year’s Ms. Oktoberfest,” began with dinner, the surprise namSkorak said. ing and introduction of five pageant Ed Freund, chairman of the 2025 Ms. Oktoberfest contestants and member voting. Oktoberfest, explained that crowning Sara Skorak Upon winning, Skorak smiled marks the first event of Cape Coral’s and pulled a mini-Jägermeister botOktoberfest season. tle from the pocket of her sparkling gown. “That little bottle was my lucky charm,” Skorak said. See MS. OKTOBERFEST, page 4 Shana Overhulser was named first runner up followed by Paola Alfonsina Centti as second Top, Ms. Oktoberfest Sara Skorak, center, runner up. with the other 2025 contestants from left Each of the competing contestants graciously Christina Borgersen, Shana Overhulser, hugged and congratulated Skorak and all five Paola Centti and Paige Kohler. news@breezenewspapers.com
Cape Coral City Council will consider sharp increases for membership rates at The Courts Cape Coral Wednesday. The individual seasonal – Oct. 1-April 30 – membership is proposed to go from $125 to $200, and the individual monthly is proposed to go from $25 to $75. The household couple rate is proposed to go from $175 to $300 for the seasonal membership, and the proposed monthly would go from $35 to $100. The proposed household family would go from $250 for seasonal to $450, and the monthly would go from $50 to $125. Amenities at the city-owned, privately managed complex include 32 pickleball courts and 12 tennis courts. Other fees in the amended resolution related to city parks and facilities are the current standard rates. Listed are yearly trailer parking passes at $75 annually, daily trailer parking at $15 per day, $150 for commercial use of Horton and Rosen Boat Ramps and $1,800 for commercial use of boat ramps annually. Also listed are pavilion rentals, which range from $50 to $100 per rental. Facility rentals at Four Freedoms are $47.50 per hour, and $40 for over four hours. The Art Center has various room rental options from $30 to $60 per hour. None of these fees are proposed to change in the resolution to be considered Wednesday, city officials said. Also up for discussion is a contract between the city, on behalf of the Cape Coral Police Department and the University of North Florida Training and Services
See FEE HIKES, page 4