How Bonita Springs is run
Who runs Bonita Springs, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Bonita Springs's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Bonita Springs
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day and appoints department heads. The council of seven, including the mayor, passes ordinances, adopts the budget and hires the city manager and city attorney. The city contracts out many services, including police.
What they are paid
- Five-year agreement starting Oct. 1, 2025
- Three months' pay as severance if asked to resign or let go without cause
- Florida Retirement System, senior management class
- $15,000 a year from the city into deferred compensation
- Same benefits as other city employees
- Health insurance for council members: $88,700 budgeted for FY2027
- Retirement contributions for council members: $91,700 budgeted for FY2027
Bonita Springs city staff
62 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. Police officers are Lee County Sheriff's deputies under contract, not city staff: 18 deputies, 3 detectives, 3 sergeants and a community service officer in FY2027. City of Bonita Springs · Sep 23, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database, and we found no city-published list of pay by position. The budget lists positions by department, and the manager's contract states her salary. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Bonita Springs in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $6.9M (2025-09-30). City of Bonita Springs · Jun 26, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Property taxes$14.8M · 43%
- Half-cent sales tax$5.2M · 15%
- Franchise fees (electricity, gas, solid waste)$4.3M · 12%
- Communications services tax$1.5M · 4%
- Interest$1.1M · 3%
- State shared revenue$1.1M · 3%
- Other (charges, fines, business tax, rents, misc.)$1M · 3%
- From savings (fund balance)$5.8M · 17%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Transfers to capital projects and other funds$10.2M · 29%
- Public works (streets)$4.5M · 13%
- Police (Lee County Sheriff contract)$4M · 11%
- Parks and recreation$3.9M · 11%
- Planning and zoning$2.2M · 6%
- Neighborhood services (code enforcement)$1.7M · 5%
- Finance$1.2M · 3%
- Other (council, manager, clerk, attorney, communications, IT, events, misc.)$7.2M · 21%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Bonita Springs homeowner pays, about 7 cents goes to the city. Fire service comes from a separate fire district with its own tax rate. For FY2026-27 the council lowered the city rate to 0.8411 mills, the rolled-back rate.
7¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Bonita Springs
- Lee County3.7623 · 29%
- Lee County schools (state-required)3.071 · 24%
- Lee County schools (local board)2.248 · 18%
- Bonita Springs Fire District1.9466 · 15%
- City of Bonita Springs0.847 · 7%
- Lee County Library District0.4218 · 3%
- South Florida Water Management DistrictDistrict-wide 0.0948, Okeechobee Basin 0.1026, Everglades construction 0.03270.2301 · 2%
- Lee County Mosquito Control District0.2116 · 2%
- West Coast Inland Navigation District0.0394 · <1%
- Lee County Hyacinth Control District0.0192 · <1%
- Total (mills)12.797
2025 tax year (FY2025-26) rates for a home in the city of Bonita Springs (Lee County). Lee County Property Appraiser · Oct 13, 2025
See what a Bonita Springs home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Bonita Springs is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorLee County Sheriff's Office (contract)$3.83M for FY2027: 18 deputies, 3 detectives, 3 sergeants and a community service officerCity of Bonita Springs
- Water and sewerPrivate companyBonita Springs Utilities (city franchise)City of Bonita Springs
- ParksThe cityCity of Bonita Springs Parks & RecreationCity of Bonita Springs · Jun 26, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of Bonita Springs Public WorksCity of Bonita Springs · Jun 26, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Bonita SpringsCity of Bonita Springs · Jun 26, 2026
- Code enforcementThe cityCity of Bonita Springs Neighborhood ServicesCity of Bonita Springs · Jun 26, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | PensacolaFL | Bonita SpringsFL | SarasotaFL | BradentonFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 55,194 | 55,801 | 58,279 | 58,469 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $250,000 | $279,500 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $53,739 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,464 | $622 | $1,940 | $1,495 |
| Debt per resident | $1,919 | $181 | $2,834 | $1,470 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,524 | $68 | $1,224 | $547 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 15.8 | 1.1 | 14.1 | 10.6 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Bonita Springs pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Bonita Springs publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Bonita Springs
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe 2025 agreement and the 2021 agreement are attached to the Oct. 1, 2025 council packet (Green Sheet 25-10-238). City of Bonita Springs
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Bonita Springs
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Bonita Springs
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public document City of Bonita Springs
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no city-published pay list by position. Florida has no statewide database. Budgets list positions; the manager's contract states her pay.
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2027 general fund budget draws $5.8 million from savings, mostly to move $10.2 million into capital projects. How long can the city keep funding capital work this way?
- Voters approved up to $35 million in bonds for the Bonita Estero Rail Trail in August 2026. How much will the debt payments add to the city's 0.8411-mill tax rate?
- Council pay rises with inflation under the charter, but no document states the current amount. Will the budget list it?
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