District Approves Millage and Budget

News Release

On Tuesday, the "Governing Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District ":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/governingboard/ (District) adopted a FY2015-16 millage rate of 0.3488 mill, 4.6 percent lower than the current fiscal year. For the owner of a $150,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption, the District tax would be $34.88 a year, or about $2.91 per month. The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1, 2015, through Sept. 30, 2016. The total FY2015-16 proposed budget for the District is $184.3 million.

The budget continues the District's commitment to protect Florida's water resources and to improve Florida's economic vitality. All programs and projects are dedicated to the core mission of the District and designed to provide the highest quality service to residents within the District.

The budget includes more than $109 million for Cooperative Funding Initiatives and District projects. The District funds are leveraged with its partners' resulting in a total investment of more than $150 million for water resource management projects.

This budget includes $22.7 million for springs protection, including $13.4 million in state funding, leveraged with an additional $5.5 million from local cooperators. This results in a $28.2 million investment for the northern coastal springs systems.

Other key budget highlights include $25 million for reclaimed water projects which reduce reliance on groundwater sources; $8 million for the restoration of impacted lands to improve water quality and re-establish wetland and upland natural systems; and $12 million for stormwater improvement projects to improve water quality of SWIM priority water bodies.