Lee CountyFinance Committee members reviewed a preliminary fiscal 2026 budget and preliminary levy calculation Wednesday, saying the draft is essentially balanced with a small surplus and recommending a modest increase in the preliminary levy to capture new construction.

The committeetreasurer, Reid Acree, told members the draft budget appears balanced "we do have a currently balanced budget, I think, maybe with a surplus of around $3,000," and that revenue lines such as sales tax are running near projections while property-tax projections were reduced after updated assessor estimates.

Acree said sales and use tax trends allowed upward adjustments to some projections, and that a recent reclassification of use tax at the state level accounted for shifts between sales and use tax receipts. He also reported a roughly $70,000 reduction in projected property-tax revenue after the assessor lowered the estimate of new construction by about $8 million.

Committee members asked for clarity about transfers and fund balances. Acree said the solid-waste fund had a scheduled transfer of $200,000 for the year and that staff added an additional $100,000 transfer after reviewing balances, and that capital transfers into the county general fund total roughly $2.2 million in the draft. He said payroll-related savings and a slightly lower-than-anticipated insurance premium increase (13.5 percent rather than the 14 percent earlier estimated) contributed to the balanced draft.

On the levy, Acree walked members through the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) calculation (often called "tax cap" rules), explaining that the consumer price index limit for the year was 2.9 percent and that the countywould be able to capture some additional revenue from new construction. Using those inputs, the preliminary calculation produced a 3.74 percent net levy increase (about $352,000). Acree recommended levying slightly more than the initial calculation to avoid missing new construction that might be reported later.

Members did not take a final vote on the budget or levy at the meeting. Instead, the committee agreed to present a final preliminary draft at the October finance committee meeting and to direct board members to send questions to the treasurer in the interim. Committee staff cancelled a previously scheduled extra meeting and said the formal levy and preliminary budget actions will follow the standard timetable for a preliminary passage and a final vote in November.

The committee approved non-budget items on the agenda during the meeting (see separate entries).