[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by TrapX

It has been stated this is ONLY a change to how things are funded. Not how services are provided. And it's been said there will be little to near zero change to the homeowner tax costs, but that appears to be up for debate.
If this is all true, then how will any EMS services change between keeping as-is and making the change? If the new district has nothing to do with service delivery, then why are they promoting better service as a need for the district? Just do it now.
Things don't add up. What is the real truth and why are some officials saying contradicting things?

The improved service delivery is really focused around the transport services (ambulance) that has already been decided, however some internal structural changes will result in a higher level of cross-skills qualifications (all fire fighters being EMT/paramedics) giving greater flexibility and skill to the responding unit. This does come at a cost.

Costs, or paying for these costs, is one of the big issues with the IFD. Currently the county holds the wallet for both fire departments, this has given rise to differences of opinion on what the funding should be for the VPSD and how the additional revenue sources should impact VPSD funding from the county. Letting the VPSD be funded from an IFD will allow the tailoring of services to better fit the needs of the residents and then only the benefiting fire district fund them.

I've not seen any "official" involved in the process have conflicting information or responses, all have been delivering the same message, that the final cost is still being developed because there still a lot of moving parts that must be determined. The easiest of these is perhaps the VPSD costing because it has operated nearly independently for many years now. The hard part is determining the number of homes and the property values that will be ultimately included in the IFD, until that is known the (in June of 2023) the exact millage rate to cover the IFD cost can't be determined. The District (Villages) can't say what the county will do with the tax rates because they are not involved in the county budget. The county can't say what the exact change will be yet because they are still working to identify and isolate the SCFD costs in the county budget and waiting for the Property Appraiser's final determinations.

Where I have seen conflicting opinions is in some candidate's (not officials) opinions on the process. Having listened to many, some are ill- or under-informed on the entire process and subject and are casting dispersions on the process because of their lack of understanding. Many are, in my opinion, trying to make noise to get recognition on the campaign trail, the realities of this issue seem to have no bearing on their "opinions".

My original post here was an attempt to bring to light some of the internal processes that are happening to form the IFD and determine its cost to the homeowners and county residents alike. My previous post here is the first that I know of that anyone has spoken to the math of the 80/20 population split in the county/fire districts and the impact that that will have on the individual residents here in the county.

Perhaps the worst part of all of this is that the people with absolutely no say in the matter, the residents that will not be part of the VPSD IFD in Sumter County, will be the most negatively impacted by this process.