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.
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.dms.myflorida.com/human_resource_support/retirement/municipal_police_and_fire
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/feb/28/pension-local-government-police-fire-Legislature/
“The place that’s on the hook to make sure (a government) is financially sound is the city,” said Bob Lee, executive director of the Center for Florida Local Government Excellence at Florida State University in Tallahassee. “It’s not the state. It’s not the employees. It’s the cities.”
Local government officials are beginning the process of reforming their pensions systems.
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010101130053
Saying the city isn’t getting its money’s worth, Cape Coral City Council members may want to get out of a Lee County fund that pays for preserving environmentally sensitive land.At the suggestion of Councilman Bill Deile, council members have asked the city attorney to determine whether council can adopt an ordinance to withdraw from Conservation 20/20.
http://www.hacfm.org/web/page.asp?urh=Properties
http://www.news-press.com/article/20101127/NEWS0110/101126054/1075/Fort-Myers-apartment-complex-loses-tons-of-money
An apartment complex purchased 10 years ago by the Fort Myers housing authority is losing $20,000 to $30,000 every month.
The Horizons Apartments complex on Summerlin Road has already lost about $600,000 — and counting.
http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/520407.html?nav=5011
Nov-5 DREW WINCHESTER, dwinchester@breezenewspapers.com
A city-initiated inquiry into whether some big property owners were taking unfair advantage of an exemption program for stormwater fees has had an unexpected result – the city actually owes more than half a million dollars in retroactive fees.
Through May 12 of this year, 199 special master case hearings into the exemptions have been heard, according to a document from the public works office dated July 7.
Results of those hearings found not only a number of properties warranted tax breaks for stormwater, but also property owners who didn’t know they were eligible for the exemptions because their properties do not impact the city system.
The retroactive amount granted from those hearings totals $540,802.28.
The new exemption amount granted from those hearings totals $122,265.
Meanwhile, 134 properties lost exemptions totaling $125,437.50, meaning exemptions lost and new exemptions applied are about equal, in total, year over year, officials said.
http://www.leeparks.org/parking-stickers/index.html
http://www.news-press.com/article/20101104/NEWS0102/11040400/1075/Bonita-seeks-beach-deal
Bonita Springs City Council members and residents want to compromise with Lee County on a beach parking sticker program.
Barbara Manzo, Lee parks director, will recommend at Tuesday’s county commission meeting that commissioners approve canceling the parking sticker program at Bonita Beach Park’s Access 1 and Little Hickory Island’s Access 10.
The county seeks to raise more revenue to pay for park amenities and increase parking turnover by charging all visitors $2 an hour at Access 1 and $1 an hour at Access 10. Lee parks’ 2010-11 budget is $25 million, down $1.8 million from 2009-10.
Bonita residents would no longer be able to buy $10 annual beach stickers after Dec. 10. The 2010 stickers would be good through the end of the year.
Other Lee County residents would no longer be able to use the $60 annual county beach parking stickers at the Bonita beach parks after they expire a year from when they were bought.
http://www.unitedwater.com/municipal-partnerships.aspx
http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/519309.html
Cape Coral City Council may look at turning its water services operations over to a private company to run.
Councilmember Pete Brandt brought the idea of “privatizing” the city’s water system to council during a workshop session Wednesday.
Brandt is looking at a company called “United Water,” and has been charged by council to investigate the company further.
City of Cape Coral Proposed Operating Budget FY-2011
Revenue Budget by Account Strings
Expenditure Budget by Account Strings
Disappointed and angry city employees left City Hall on Tuesday night after City Council voted to keep the tax rate steady and agreed to a tentative budget that calls for $6.2 million in unspecified payroll cuts. 
The workers wanted a budget that tapped into reserves. Instead, the council opted for a proposal from City Manager Gary King that won’t touch the reserves.
http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=12878829
The pensions of some Cape Coral employees are opening the eyes of city leaders.
New numbers released by Cape Coral’s Financial Advisory Committee show some of those high-ranking lieutenants and sergeants who retired in a recent buyout are making more now than when they actually worked.
According to the report, a fire lieutenant who retired in 2008 with a base salary of $73,000 is now taking in a $109,000 pension, and a police sergeant who retired with a base of $77,000 now has a pension of $122,000.
