10/30/2026
Some INSIGHT on Funding
Cape Coral Fire Department is primarily funded through a dedicated Fire Services Assessment (FSA) plus a share of the city’s General Fund (mostly property taxes), with additional capital support from impact fees, transfers, and debt. 
Main Funding Sources
• Fire Services Assessment (FSA) — This is the largest dedicated source. It is a non-ad valorem special assessment billed annually on property tax bills. The city adopted it in 2014 (upheld by the Florida Supreme Court in 2015) to reduce reliance on property taxes. 
• It uses a two-tier “ready-to-serve” methodology:
• Tier 1: Flat rate per parcel (including vacant lots) for continuous 24/7 readiness.
• Tier 2: Additional amount based on structure value (Equivalent Benefit Units, or EBUs — roughly every $5,000 of building cost value).
• Council sets the cost-recovery percentage each year. For FY2026 it was raised from 70% to 81% of fire operations costs (an ~11% increase in the assessment). For FY2027 it has been maintained around the 81% level. 
• Recent average single-family home cost at 81%: roughly $530 per year (Tier 1 rate around $349 + Tier 2). 
• FY2026 Fire Operations Fund shows Special Assessment revenue of about $64 million. 
• General Fund (property taxes / ad valorem) — Covers the remaining share of operations (roughly 19% at the 81% recovery rate). The Fire Operations Fund receives large interfund transfers from the General Fund (about $17.6–19.4 million in recent budgets). The overall city millage rate (recently in the low-to-mid 5 mills range) is the main property-tax driver. 
• Fire Operations Fund (Fund 132) — The dedicated special-revenue fund that holds most day-to-day fire money. For FY2026 its total revenues were about $84–86 million, with the bulk from the FSA and General Fund transfers, plus smaller amounts from charges for services, intergovernmental revenue, miscellaneous, and fund balance. 
Capital and Other Funding
• Fire Impact Fees — Collected from new development and held in the Fire Impact Capital Improvement Fee Fund for growth-related capital needs. 
• Debt proceeds and transfers — Used for major projects such as station rebuilds (e.g., Station 5) and apparatus.
• Grants — State, federal, and FEMA-related money for specific equipment, facilities, or disaster recovery.
• Overall recent Fire Department budgets have been in the $97–99.5 million range (operations + capital), with the large majority going to personnel. 
How It Works Each Year
City Council sets the millage rate and the FSA recovery percentage (and the resulting Tier 1/Tier 2 rates) during the annual budget process. The FSA provides a dedicated, more stable source tied to the cost of fire-rescue services and facilities; the General Fund share covers the rest. Capital projects are budgeted separately and often financed with a mix of impact fees, transfers, and debt. 
Official details and the current assessment calculator are on the city’s Fire Services Assessment page and in the adopted budget ordinances
