Cape Coral’s former fuel vendor Streicher Mobile Fueling Inc. was prepared to offer the city a $63,000 refund due to overcharging on July 28, but the city attorney’s office rejected the offer.
The city notified Streicher on June 30 it wanted a $211,000 refund after an audit revealed the company overbilled Cape Coral based on state contract pricing. The audit looked at fiscal years 2008 – 2010.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/sep/13/doing-more-less-lee-school-board-approves-lean-138/
http://www.leeschools.net/involved/
The Lee County School Board approved a new, lean $1.38 billion budget for the 2011-12 school year on Tuesday.
The new budget is down almost 7 percent from last year’s $1.44 billion budget.
Proposed Budget Workshop Document 2011-2012
http://www.news-press.com/article/20110628/NEWS01/106280362/Lee-budget-proposal-Spend-less
Lee County government staff Monday recommended an overall $604.6 million operating budget for 2011-12, which includes a $17 million reduction, or 2.8 percent less than this year.
The proposed budget, presented to county commissioners in their first budget workshop, also includes a $42.8 million cut in general fund expenditures, a $30 million cut in revenues and a $40 million deficit.
The revenue from property taxes fell $10.9 million – from $193.3 million to $187.3 million – reflecting a 5.6 percent drop in property values in the general fund.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20110623/NEWS0102/106230416/Bonita-dissects-fire-budget
Bonita Springs Fire District officials spent Wednesday struggling with ways to make up for a $4 million budget shortfall without increasing taxes.
Numerous Michigan communities — including Oak Park, the Grosse Pointes, Huntington Woods, Fraser and Kalamazoo — have combined safety forces. Other municipalities are studying the idea, responding to tight finances and Gov. Rick Snyder’s push for consolidation.
Bonita Springs employees and council members will get 3 percent pay increases from July 1-Sept. 30 to offset the amount they must start paying toward their pensions.
Council voted 4-3 today to give the increase to 50 full-time and eight part-time staff members and seven elected officials.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20110614/NEWS01/110612013/Exclusive-Down-core-Could-you-take
Lee County parks its buses, leaving as many as 20,000 people every day without a ride to work, to the doctor or to the grocery store.
The libraries close. That robs 288,000 cardholders of access to computers, books and movies.
Parks keep their gates chained. That means 4,000 children don’t have summer programs, 10,000 recreation center members lose a place to go, and tens of thousands more lose their ball fields.
That’s the most extreme scenario Lee County leaders face as they struggle to draft a budget this summer that avoids a tax rate increase and helps fill a spending deficit set to grow to $60 million next year. It’s called stripping the budget of all but core services — an idea that has been discussed, but worries even some of the most conservative spenders.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20110503/NEWS01/110503074/Dozens-accept-sheriff-buyouts
List of Sheriff employee buyouts
The buyout offered by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office has 46 takers, with 882 years of service and salaries totaling $2.85 million.
The agency is in the midst of restructuring in response to a declining economy and the stress that puts on the budget, Sheriff Mike Scott said Tuesday.
This year’s buyout is designed to avoid furloughs or layoffs, Scott said. The state also is handing police what is in essence a pay cut, by requiring them to contribute 3 percent to their retirement, he said.
CenturyLink has won a court judgment that it’s entitled to a $215,000 refund for its 2002 Lee County tangible property tax bill — and possibly millions more for overpayments in subsequent years.
