[l2ridehd]

Prior to the Villages in Sumter county they had a very small tax base, one full time and a couple part time police, than came The Villages. The tax base went up 800 times, no new schools required and they increased the police and fire budgets 300 fold. In this "city" of 120,000 we have a huge tax base very limited school requirements, and lower other services when compared to cities this size elsewhere in the country. We also have a very low crime rate. If Sumter county wants to keep that size police force, we the voters do have choices, than they should do everything possible to make this place completely crime free. They have a budget large enough to protect a city twice this size and should have every crime resolved ASAP. Go look at cities this size all over the country and look at police budgets, number of officers, and compare it to here.

I am not trying to say we shouldn't have that size police force, am just pointing out that if we do, they should not be out here doing traffic stops when we have other more serious crime. They should be all over this type crime and any others that happen. We are the goose that has laid them a golden egg and we do vote at a very high % of residents. I don't mind paying for more police if they get results. But if they don't, I would not hesitate to slash their budget to be more in line with the rest of the US for a size for size city.