[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

The funding for the town squares entertainment comes from both the Sumter County Tourism Development Council and The Villages (the company not the CDDs, amenity fees, or any other resident funded source). Both have agreed to contribute $120,000 this year for the entertainment. The SCTDC collects about $600K annually with the 2% short term (<6 month) occupancy tax. It is estimated that 20,000+ room nights annually are contributed to hotel occupancy in Sumter County as a result of the town square entertainment investment. Sumter County benefits significantly from additional tax revenues collect from visitors' patronage of local businesses, including restaurants, gas stations, and shopping. The town square merchants, who contribute significantly to The Villages portion of the contribution, benefit by the increased business before and during the time the entertainment is provided.

Does it, the entertainment, help sell houses, absolutely. Selling houses keeps a significant segment of the workforce in Sumter and a dozen surrounding counties employed and is the primary economic engine of Sumter County. Thousands of jobs rely directly on the construction of homes in The Villages, and many thousands more off-site 2nd, 3rd, and 4th tier jobs supporting the construction industry also rely on this work. The construction of homes also drives a substantial secondary construction industry in the tri-county area - the companies you hire to do work on your home after you buy it - hundreds of small businesses employing a few thousand people. I'm not saying that the entertainment is responsible for all these jobs, but it does contribute positively to the overall economy of the area.

And, we as the residents, get to enjoy free entertainment every night (excluding the COVID period) at a safe and convenient location. Don't shoot the goose that lays the golden egg.

I would like to see the original poster site their reference for their post. If in fact some candidate is espousing such a position, then they are demonstrating a lack of understanding of the basic economics of Sumter County and calls into question what other areas of how the county works do they lack understanding. Their suitability for this leadership position would then be questionable. While I don't totally agree or like some of the positions of the current County Commissioner, the lack of understanding already demonstrated by some of the candidates running to replace them is even more scary and could lead us (Sumter County) down a self-destructive path. Perhaps the old adage "better the devil you know than the devil you don't" has some play here. Think long and hard before you vote.

This post needs to be repeated so those who don't know how the funding works can quit speculating.