Quote:
Originally Posted by kappy
The developer made a proposal to voluntarily increase just their impact fee about $400 which is to be discussed at the meeting tomorrow. They also asked for a four year freeze at that amount. Obviously the developer knows that they have been getting away with an extraordinarily low impact fee. The 2019 study on just the road costs for developing south of Rt. 44 called for a $2430 impact fee for The Villages. They have been paying $972 since 2019.
The three new Commissioners campaigned on a platform of rolling back the 25% tax increase we received in 2019 and increasing the impact fees to 100% instead of the current 40%, a 60% discount. They have been in office long enough to have done so. All Sumter County homeowners are paying the increased taxes EVERY year, while an impact fee is paid only ONCE. Send an email to the two new Commissioners who are not willing to keep their campaign pledge. Their email addresses are; craig.estep@sumtercountyfl.gov and gary.search@sumtercountyfl.gov. |
This is why I think there should be a little give and take from both the developer and the homeowners.
Developers are offering to increase their impact fee almost 50% to just under $1500 per unit.
Homeowners could agree to that, and kick in a lower contribution of - instead of 25%, maybe 15% increase in the rate.
In this way, everyone pays a little more than they did previously, no one bears the entire burden, and the increases are manageable for almost everyone. And honestly - if a 15% increase from what you've been paying for the past 14 years is too much, then you are living above your means.
The only people I would feel badly for are people who moved in, within the last couple of years. They will only have enjoyed their current tax burden for a short period of time and then socked with the increase. People who've lived in the county for a decade or more have enjoyed a lower-than-necessary tax burden, and are now simply being asked to catch up.