Estero Fire Rescue District 2026-27 Millage 2.288 and Budget

The Estero Fire Rescue District has posted the minutes of its September 2026 budget hearings, and they put the district’s fiscal year 2026-2027 numbers on the record: a final millage rate of 2.288 and a final budget of $54,005,052, both adopted on Thursday, September 24, 2026.

The district is an independent fire district, separate from the Village of Estero, so its rate appears as its own line on a property tax bill. For the Village’s own numbers, see our Estero hub.

What the fire district adopted

Item	Tentative, Sept. 14, 2026	Final, Sept. 24, 2026
Millage rate	2.288 (Res. 2026-04)	2.288 (Res. 2026-07)
Budget	$54,005,052 (Res. 2026-05)	$54,005,052 (Res. 2026-08)
Ad valorem taxes to be levied	$27,941,607	$27,941,607

The minutes record that the board’s motions at both hearings carried with all in favor. All five commissioners were present at each hearing: Maas, Lienesch, Mendolera, Williams and Schleiffer. No member of the public spoke on the millage rate or the budget at either hearing.

The final hearing opened at 5:01 p.m. and adjourned at 5:06 p.m. The final-hearing minutes word the budget motion as adopting the “tentative budget,” but the agenda item they record and the resolution number (2026-08) are for the final budget.

What 2.288 mills means in arithmetic

A millage rate is dollars of tax per $1,000 of taxable value. At 2.288 mills, a property with $100,000 of taxable value would owe $228.80 to the district. That is simple arithmetic on the adopted rate, not a figure from the minutes, and an actual bill depends on the property’s taxable value and exemptions. The minutes do not state last year’s rate, so we are not saying whether this rate is higher, lower or unchanged.

Other actions on September 14, 2026

At its regular meeting that evening, which convened at 5:11 p.m., the board also acted on these items:

Approved Fire Prevention Week Resolution No. 2026-06.
Authorized the transfer of $725,000.00 from the impact fees account to the operating account.
Set its meeting schedule for October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027: the second Tuesday of every month at 5:00 p.m.

The Fire Chief’s report listed four topics: the Property Tax Amendment, Wildcat Run giving back to the community, the Whole Blood Program and a national training class at Station 45 on September 29. The minutes list only the headings, with no detail. The regular meeting adjourned at 5:26 p.m.

Where the hearings were held

The first hearing set the final hearing for 5:01 p.m. at the Estero Fire Rescue Administrative Complex, 21500 Three Oaks Parkway, Estero, Florida 33928. The district posted all three sets of minutes on its reporting information page under the heading of the regular board meeting dated October 13, 2026.