Sumter tax talk

[alwann]

I read inflation is north of 9 percent now. The cost of doing everything is up. I also read the Sumter County commission will cut the real estate tax. Two things confuse me about that. If costs to run the county are up, is a tax cut timely? Or is the tax cut decision timely because some commission seats are up for grabs? Either way, show me the money.:thumbup:

[Djean1981]

Since a lot more houses have been built, the burden can be split amongst more property owners. But, if they lower the tax rate, since property values have risen, that may not mean a decrease in your actual tax bill.

[Keefelane66]

Our appraisal home values are up substantially so a reduction will probably be the tax, same as last year

[Normal]

Since a lot more houses have been built, the burden can be split amongst more property owners. But, if they lower the tax rate, since property values have risen, that may not mean a decrease in your actual tax bill.


I agree. When you get a few thousand extra homes added each year tax revenues can only go up. If you include the forecast of villages under construction near the turnpike and in the Eastport area there should probably be further cuts in our future.

[Rainger99]

I read inflation is north of 9 percent now. The cost of doing everything is up. I also read the Sumter County commission will cut the real estate tax. Two things confuse me about that. If costs to run the county are up, is a tax cut timely? Or is the tax cut decision timely because some commission seats are up for grabs? Either way, show me the money.:thumbup:

According to the Villages Daily Sun, the county tax rate was slashed 9.1%. The paper said that with the tax cut, the property tax on a home with an assessable value of $300,000 would be $1,677. That isn't actually true. The County tax would only be $1,677 but there are other parts of your tax bill. There are County taxes, School taxes, City of Wildwood taxes; and SWFWMD taxes. My total millage is about 14.8 with 6.1 County, 5.1 School, 3.2 City, and .2 SWFWMD.

I am not sure if this is poor reporting or a failure to understand how taxes are calculated.

[Bill14564]

According to the Villages Daily Sun, the county tax rate was slashed 9.1%. The paper said that with the tax cut, the property tax on a home with an assessable value of $300,000 would be $1,677. That isn't actually true. The County tax would only be $1,677 but there are other parts of your tax bill. There are County taxes, School taxes, City of Wildwood taxes; and SWFWMD taxes. My total millage is about 14.8 with 6.1 County, 5.1 School, 3.2 City, and .2 SWFWMD.

I am not sure if this is poor reporting or a failure to understand how taxes are calculated.

The County property tax on that home has decreased. The other assessments on your see on the annual bill are not County property taxes. Some will say "semantics," others will make accusations of poor reporting or attempts at hiding the real costs but it could be just be providing accurate information.

[Bill14564]

Does anyone know what the final budget number was for last year? The "new interactive Budget" makes it hard to find the bottom-line numbers.

The article in the paper states that the past commissioners raised spending by 25% and implies that these commissioners have worked hard to cut it back.

HOWEVER.....

If the last budget was in the neighborhood of $300M then this new budget, at $310M, is actually an INCREASE over last year's budget. Maybe that's just inflation, OK, but it is misleading to imply that any part of the 25% was rolled back.

If the last budget was in the neighborhood of $300M then this decrease of 9.1% was possible because of new homes to tax. There was no decrease in the budget, it actually increase. There may not have been much if anything cut, they didn't have to. With the new homes paying taxes they had more than enough to keep the 25% increase, blame it on the past commissioners, increase for inflation, and crow about a generous 9.1% decrease.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to pay less in October, but let's be honest about where it came from and where it didn't.

[vintageogauge]

According to the Villages Daily Sun, the county tax rate was slashed 9.1%. The paper said that with the tax cut, the property tax on a home with an assessable value of $300,000 would be $1,677. That isn't actually true. The County tax would only be $1,677 but there are other parts of your tax bill. There are County taxes, School taxes, City of Wildwood taxes; and SWFWMD taxes. My total millage is about 14.8 with 6.1 County, 5.1 School, 3.2 City, and .2 SWFWMD.

I am not sure if this is poor reporting or a failure to understand how taxes are calculated.

I don't think it is poor reporting or lack of understanding. I understood it to be referring only to Sumter County taxes and the $1,677 would be a true figure. It would take a lot of space to show the tax rates for all the different municipalities within Sumter county other than Wildwood, all of which most likely have different tax rates for both property and schools. No need to complicate this we are all getting a very nice reduction in our Sumter County taxes so just enjoy it while you can. it's something we don't see all that often.

[Rainger99]

I don't think it is poor reporting or lack of understanding. I understood it to be referring only to Sumter County taxes and the $1,677 would be a true figure. It would take a lot of space to show the tax rates for all the different municipalities within Sumter county other than Wildwood, all of which most likely have different tax rates for both property and schools. No need to complicate this we are all getting a very nice reduction in our Sumter County taxes so just enjoy it while you can. it's something we don't see all that often.

The article said property taxes. If you want to be accurate, it should have said the county tax portion of your property taxes.

[Bogie Shooter]

Nit picking…………

[Bogie Shooter]

Does anyone know what the final budget number was for last year? The "new interactive Budget" makes it hard to find the bottom-line numbers.

The article in the paper states that the past commissioners raised spending by 25% and implies that these commissioners have worked hard to cut it back.

HOWEVER.....

If the last budget was in the neighborhood of $300M then this new budget, at $310M, is actually an INCREASE over last year's budget. Maybe that's just inflation, OK, but it is misleading to imply that any part of the 25% was rolled back.

If the last budget was in the neighborhood of $300M then this decrease of 9.1% was possible because of new homes to tax. There was no decrease in the budget, it actually increase. There may not have been much if anything cut, they didn't have to. With the new homes paying taxes they had more than enough to keep the 25% increase, blame it on the past commissioners, increase for inflation, and crow about a generous 9.1% decrease.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to pay less in October, but let's be honest about where it came from and where it didn't.

Attending commissioners meetings is a good way to find answers.

[Bill14564]

Attending commissioners meetings is a good way to find answers.

Are you going to share what you heard or just criticize?

Public information should be…well, public.

And, I imagine last year’s numbers were not the topic of this year’s budget build.

[Rainger99]

Nit picking…………

The article said that my taxes would be about $2000. I was quite excited until I did some more research and found out that they would be closer to $5000. When the article is off by more than $3000 and 150%, I don’t consider that to be nitpicking.

[Bogie Shooter]

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[Goldwingnut]

The article said that my taxes would be about $2000. I was quite excited until I did some more research and found out that they would be closer to $5000. When the article is off by more than $3000 and 150%, I don’t consider that to be nitpicking.

The County Commissioners are discussing only the part of the property tax bill they have control of, the county ad valorem tax RATE on each property. The rest of the tax bill, to which you're obviously also referring to, is not under their control.

Yes, this represents a significant decrease for the 25% spending increase passed by the BOCC last year. IF everything had remained the same as last year the decrease would have probably been double this, but things have changed. Inflation and fuel cost had a huge hit on this year's budget. The shift in ambulance service from AMR to fire department provided has added about 40 new positions in the county and additional costs in the VPSD budgets, both of which had to be covered by the budget. Sumter County Sherrif also added 11 new positions to address needs of the increasing population.

Without the growth component provided by new Villages homes and new businesses the added services and costs would have been a hard hit on the tax rate.

If you want more information on the specifics of the budgets you should contact them at County Commissioners | Sumter County, FL - Official Website (https://www.sumtercountyfl.gov/296/County-Commissioners) . The other Commissioners and I will be happy to answer your questions.

[coconutmama]

I agree. When you get a few thousand extra homes added each year tax revenues can only go up. If you include the forecast of villages under construction near the turnpike and in the Eastport area there should probably be further cuts in our future.

I believe much of the new builds are in Lake County in that direction, not Sumter. Although some new builds in Sumter, Villages of DeLuna & Richmond will help, they are smaller in comparison to the Eastport area.

[Sandy and Ed]

Attending commissioners meetings is a good way to find answers.
Question: are these meetings televised and if not, why not?? Wouldn’t seem to be a big deal to do so. Anyone have any info or thoughts on that? How could this be made to happen if not already being done?

[jammaiora]

I read inflation is north of 9 percent now. The cost of doing everything is up. I also read the Sumter County commission will cut the real estate tax. Two things confuse me about that. If costs to run the county are up, is a tax cut timely? Or is the tax cut decision timely because some commission seats are up for grabs? Either way, show me the money.:thumbup:
The answer is obvious, the commissioners are up for reelection. Just look at the front page of yesterday's Daily Sun ,with the announcement of the tax cut and the commissioners pictures. If they are elected, then watch what they do to us. Sleazy behavior!

[Bogie Shooter]

Question: are these meetings televised and if not, why not?? Wouldn’t seem to be a big deal to do so. Anyone have any info or thoughts on that? How could this be made to happen if not already being done?

See link in post #15.

[BrianL]

Please keep in mind that regardless of how much your home may appreciate, in Florida, for tax purposes the most the taxed value of the property can go up in a year is 3%. If a county/school board wish to have a larger increase, then the mil rate would need to be raised.

Another think to keep in mind is that if you have not paid off your bond, the bond payment is on the same bill as your property taxes and the bond IS NOT part of your property taxes.

[Rainger99]

Question: are these meetings televised and if not, why not?? Wouldn’t seem to be a big deal to do so. Anyone have any info or thoughts on that? How could this be made to happen if not already being done?

They are not televised and they are not online. I wouldn’t think it would be too difficult to record them with an iPhone and then put them online.

[Cindy619]

Maybe we'll still pay the same amount because the value of our homes is up so much.

[Hardlyworking]

Eastport is in Sumter County, not Lake.

[champion6]

I believe much of the new builds are in Lake County in that direction, not Sumter. Although some new builds in Sumter, Villages of DeLuna & Richmond will help, they are smaller in comparison to the Eastport area.You are incorrect. Only a small percentage of future build will be in Lake County. Only the future villages of Newell, Lake Denham and Dabney will be in Lake County. You mentioned Eastport - it will be entirely in Sumter County.

[jrref]

As other's have mentioned the article Only talks about the Sumter county taxes so it's not misleading. Every homeowner should know and if not it's clearly on their tax bill that depending on where they live they may have Wildwood city taxes and School taxes are totally separate. It's funny that many put a negative spin on this news. I think Any tax reduction is a good thing and i'm glad we are getting one. It's also nice to know that our commissioners are doing their job effectly with a goal of good fiscal management and doing their best to keep taxes under control and not spending like drunken sailors. I guess people just like to complain.

[srockey]

Election year tax cuts

I read inflation is north of 9 percent now. The cost of doing everything is up. I also read the Sumter County commission will cut the real estate tax. Two things confuse me about that. If costs to run the county are up, is a tax cut timely? Or is the tax cut decision timely because some commission seats are up for grabs? Either way, show me the money.:thumbup:

[Altavia]

With the current rate of 100 new homes sold per week, over two billion dollars of homes are being added to the tax base each year.

[merrymini]

The windfall is temporary. More people means more services and infrastructure, hence more costs.

[Goldwingnut]

The windfall is temporary. More people means more services and infrastructure, hence more costs.

This is called organic growth, as more people move here there is more cost and also more tax revenue - property tax, sales tax, etc.
The goal is to keep the growth in expenses below the growth in revenue, which the FY23 budget does. We're fortunate that the growth in Sumter County is very robust in this time of high inflation.
It is when the expenses outgrow the organic growth of revenue that we see a tax increase.

[crash]

This is called organic growth, as more people move here there is more cost and also more tax revenue - property tax, sales tax, etc.
The goal is to keep the growth in expenses below the growth in revenue, which the FY23 budget does. We're fortunate that the growth in Sumter County is very robust in this time of high inflation.
It is when the expenses outgrow the organic growth of revenue that we see a tax increase.

Or when we need to fund $110 million in roads so the developer can build more homes the rate goes up 25%.

A rate increase that large is poor management by the board however you slice it.

The tax cut comes from the county counting on the special fire district being passed if it isn’t where you going to get that 10 million. We will not be saving money on our taxes it will just be another line item on our tax bill to pay for the special district.

[ElDiabloJoe]

I read inflation is north of 9 percent now. The cost of doing everything is up. I also read the Sumter County commission will cut the real estate tax. Two things confuse me about that. If costs to run the county are up, is a tax cut timely? Or is the tax cut decision timely because some commission seats are up for grabs? Either way, show me the money.:thumbup:

Tax cuts are ALWAYS timely. Tax exists for very few reasons: To fund our national defense, to provide security and emergency services, to create and maintain infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.), and to provide education.

Taxes have been expanded time and time again to pay for all kinds of questionable feel-good social, health, and financial assistance to multitudes not entitled to it (non-citizens, felons, etc.). These have the long-term impact of causing people to NOT rely on their own volitions, motivation, skills, families, and communities. This enables bridge-burning and unacceptable behaviors because they don't need those bridges to their families and communities.

Tax cuts are ALWAYS timely because there are way too many that add up to way too much for way too many things.

[Normal]

I believe much of the new builds are in Lake County in that direction, not Sumter. Although some new builds in Sumter, Villages of DeLuna & Richmond will help, they are smaller in comparison to the Eastport area.

Eastport will essentially be the newest town in Sumter county in its entirety. It will be a huge plus for those residents living in Sumter.

[kkingston57]

I read inflation is north of 9 percent now. The cost of doing everything is up. I also read the Sumter County commission will cut the real estate tax. Two things confuse me about that. If costs to run the county are up, is a tax cut timely? Or is the tax cut decision timely because some commission seats are up for grabs? Either way, show me the money.:thumbup:

Figuring out property taxes in Florida has more ?s than 1st ten moves in a chess game. For example if I sold my house(bought 4 years ago and appreciated 30-40%) to a new owner, the new owner would pay the taxes on something close to the purchase price of the home. My increase would be capped at a lot less than 30-40%. In other words the county(Sumter) would be getting 30-40% more on the same home. If that person was a Floridian, the taxes would be less than if the person came from out of state.

Key in Florida is to make sure you are homesteaded.

[rogerk]

Look at the County budget. It’s not a secret, don’t speculate on a public forum. If you really learn the facts!

[Bill14564]

Look at the County budget. It’s not a secret, don’t speculate on a public forum. If you really learn the facts!

Have you tried that lately? For the 2022 budget they are using an "interactive budget." I still cannot find good information on any of the pages of that. Please send a link if you can find a simple page showing the list of revenue lines and expense lines.

For 2023 all we have is the information coming through the paper, I can find nothing online. No minutes from the budget committee workshops and no minutes from the general commissioners meeting.

"Look at the County budget" is what I would like to do. "It's not a secret" is a nice theory but if you can't find the budget then in reality it is.

[Bogie Shooter]

Have you tried that lately? For the 2022 budget they are using an "interactive budget." I still cannot find good information on any of the pages of that. Please send a link if you can find a simple page showing the list of revenue lines and expense lines.

For 2023 all we have is the information coming through the paper, I can find nothing online. No minutes from the budget committee workshops and no minutes from the general commissioners meeting.

"Look at the County budget" is what I would like to do. "It's not a secret" is a nice theory but if you can't find the budget then in reality it is.

You just need to try a little harder.

Sumter View Page (http://sumterclerk.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2)

[Bill14564]

You just need to try a little harder.

Sumter View Page (http://sumterclerk.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2)

... or check every day until it shows up.

Good to have the information.

[Goldwingnut]

You just need to try a little harder.

Sumter View Page (http://sumterclerk.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2)

Great link! I’ve been looking at the county website for over 8 years and have never come across this page, always had to dig through other pages to find the information. Thanks!

In response to the originality quoted post, look at the two budget workshops that happened this week for the full budget documents. If you have questions ask a county commissioner, we either know the answers or can get them for you.

[wamley]

My question is How many new homes are being built in Sumter County?

[Bogie Shooter]

My question is How many new homes are being built in Sumter County?

Last year, this year, last month?

[Goldwingnut]

My question is How many new homes are being built in Sumter County?

In 2021 there were 3882 new single family home permits issued and a total of 20,141 building permits issued. 3882 represents all of Sumter County, not just The Villages. The information is in the budget cover letter from the County Administrator as well as a lot of other good and useful information about the county budget.

[xNYer]

That also doesn’t include the assessment increase due to increased property values.