Lee County Tax Collector dies

FORT MYERS — Lee County Tax Collector Catherine Curtis died April 4 following a long illness. She was 52.

A native of Fort Walton Beach, Curtis was elected Lee County Tax Collector in 2000 and reelected in 2004 and 2008. Prior to that, she was an accountant in the private sector, auditing real estate and insurance companies as well as municipal governments.

Curtis was Collier County Controller from 1991 to 1994 and the city of Fort Myers Management and Budget Director from 1994 to 2000.

As the Lee County Tax Collector, Curtis earned credit for making that office more efficient. She created an “express window” for faster service of simple tasks such as license renewals and tax payments. In addition, she streamlined the local business-tax application process and property tax collections.