Cape Coral families fight back against 80% parks and rec fee hike

CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK)—Cape Coral City Council decided not to move forward with a proposed 80% increase to parks and recreation program fees.

Parents, players and neighbors rallied at the Cape Coral City budget workshop meeting, raising concerns about the potential fee hike. Neighbors said it would exclude families who may already be struggling to afford their kids' extracurricular activities.

WINK News was at the packed-out meeting where parents, players and neighbors came out to prove the point that they did not want their parks and rec fees to go up. Cape American Baseball President Deanna Livingston told WINK News she got an email from the city that said fees could increase from $2,080 to $24,002.

The city said it's facing a $1.6 million budget shortfall if the millage rate remains unchanged. The city added that the proposed property tax changes could put more strain on an already struggling budget.

Council members presented three options to make up the difference, including an 80% increase to parks and rec program fees, which would have directly affected athletic teams, vendors, registration fees and more. WINK News spoke with players and parents before and after the meeting who were frustrated that it had to even come to this point.

"They already work hard enough, which I already wrote in my passage. Why make it harder for them when they got jobs and they got bills to pay and they gotta pay for our sports? Why make it harder? It just doesn't make sense to me," a Cape Coral youth baseball and football player said.

Some councilmembers said that no one on the council wants this for families or players. Parents questioned why the proposal was even a consideration.