Fire District Rejected

[Rainger99]

It appears that the Fire District has been rejected in a close vote.

The vote was 35,207 against and 33,225 in support of the measure.

[Babubhat]

It appears that the Fire District has been rejected in a close vote.

The vote was 35,207 against and 33,225 in support of the measure.

Yay. The people have spoken against black hole tax proposals

[Two Bills]

The big No! No! for the yes vote was their lack of firm financial info.
In already austere financial times, a threatened increase in tax of any description is not a front runner in any election.
I thought the idea of an independent Fire Service was a good idea, but it was a badly presented campaign, with to many if, buts and maybes.
JMO.

[shut the front door]

Yay. The people have spoken against black hole tax proposals

Amen.

[heron848]

It appears that the Fire District has been rejected in a close vote.

The vote was 35,207 against and 33,225 in support of the measure.

Interesting that the “day of” voters and the “early in-person” voters approved the measure but the “mail-in” voters overwhelmed those two.

I’m sure someone will claim fraud in the results.

[justjim]

Sometimes it’s much easier and better for your “psychic” to just say no! No to anything that is going to take more money out of your pocket. I get that. I see Orange County (Orlando) voted no for a penny increase in their sales tax even when much of the increase would be paid by others who visit there. Some call it “cutting off your nose to spite your face”. Given the times , I get that.

[collie1228]

This is a classic case of your representatives telling you "This will be good for you, trust us". The financial information put forth was simply way too confusing to understand, and obviously people don't appreciate uncertainty. I have a degree in business/finance, and after reading several different explanations, I still didn't have a clue as to how much this proposed change would cost me. So, I voted no.

[vintageogauge]

That's a shame, when it comes to safety and health I don't mind spending a few dollars. I hope we're not going to get stuck with those 20 minute blue ambulances that seem to be hiding under shade trees for most of the day.

[Altavia]

Sometimes it’s much easier and better for your “psychic” to just say no! No to anything that is going to take more money out of your pocket. I get that. I see Orange County (Orlando) voted no for a penny increase in their sales tax even when much of the increase would be paid by others who visit there. Some call it “cutting off your nose to spite your face”. Given the times , I get that.

Well said, unfortunately the result of saying no to everything is often throwing the baby out with the bath water.

[Mleeja]

The Independent Fire District is not totally dead. It could be put on the ballot again. If there is a second attempt to establish the district I hope the Fire Department and the District Offices get out front in better explaining the cost and benefits. The “simplified funding” was confusing at best. The was a lot of misinformation floating around about this proposal which likely lead to its defeat.

[Bill14564]

The Independent Fire District is not totally dead. It could be put on the ballot again. If there is a second attempt to establish the district I hope the Fire Department and the District Offices get out front in better explaining the cost and benefits. The “simplified funding” was confusing at best. The was a lot of misinformation floating around about this proposal which likely lead to its defeat.

What was confusing about 0.75 * (market value - land value) / 1000?

This cannot be put on the ballot again without the legislature passing a new bill and the governor signing it.

[Aloha1]

Interesting that the “day of” voters and the “early in-person” voters approved the measure but the “mail-in” voters overwhelmed those two.

I’m sure someone will claim fraud in the results.
It just shows why early voting needs to be shortened. people voted without full knowledge.

[Aloha1]

Yay. The people have spoken against black hole tax proposals

The people did NOT speak. Only Sumter County to the detriment of the rest of TV. Good luck with your politicized ambulance service.

[Bill14564]

The people did NOT speak. Only Sumter County to the detriment of the rest of TV. Good luck with your politicized ambulance service.

I thought the question was only on the ballot for those that live within the proposed district.

We did this to ourselves. Or, more accurately, our Villages neighbors did this to us.

[Rainger99]

This cannot be put on the ballot again without the legislature passing a new bill and the governor signing it.

What is stopping the legislature from passing a new bill and the governor signing it?

If the people in power lose on an issue, it always comes back. If they win, the issue is decided for all time.

I don't mind it coming back but there should be a law that they have to wait five years.

[Bill14564]

What is stopping the legislature from passing a new bill and the governor signing it?

If the people in power lose on an issue, it always comes back. If they win, the issue is decided for all time.

I don't mind it coming back but there should be a law that they have to wait five years.

What is stopping the legislature from passing the same bill a second time:

1. Why would they spend the time and effort to give us another chance to turn it down? The legislature and governor don't care if we have an IFD. They went through the process to make it available to us and we said, "no thank you." Yes, they *could* do it again, but why would they bother.

2. Your proposed 5-year waiting time.

[Babubhat]

We lost nothing. Nada. Zilch. Emotional arguments and speculative promises did not fly. Carry on.

[Bill14564]

We lost nothing. Nada. Zilch. Emotional arguments and speculative promises did not fly. Carry on.

We, the residents, lost the chance to control our VPSD. The failure of the IFD leaves it in the hands of the Developer (somewhat) and the BoCC.

[twoplanekid]

That's a shame, when it comes to safety and health I don't mind spending a few dollars. I hope we're not going to get stuck with those 20 minute blue ambulances that seem to be hiding under shade trees for most of the day.

It's my understand that the new ambulances are already in the Villages fire department stations and are being used. So, no changes to the placement of these ambulances because of this no vote.

[Bill14564]

It's my understand that the new ambulances are already in the Villages fire department stations and are being used. So, no changes to the placement of these ambulances because of this no vote.

Let me fix that for you:
It's my understand that the new ambulances are already in the Villages fire department stations and are being used. So, no changes to the placement of these ambulances today because of this no vote.

The IFD would have ensured there were no changes tomorrow as well.

[oldtimes]

Let me fix that for you:
It's my understand that the new ambulances are already in the Villages fire department stations and are being used. So, no changes to the placement of these ambulances today because of this no vote.

The IFD would have ensured there were no changes tomorrow as well.

Exactly!

[Happydaz]

It looks like the residents of the Villages have narrowly defeated the IFD. The voters have spoken. I don’t think all the scare tactics were very productive. Life will go on. We already have our own ambulances in The Villages so that is not jeopardized by the Villagers rejection of this proposal.

[spk7951]

It looks like the residents of the Villages have narrowly defeated the IFD. The voters have spoken. I don’t think all the scare tactics were very productive. Life will go on. We already have our own ambulances in The Villages so that is not jeopardized by the Villagers rejection of this proposal.

Really? So what is to stop the County from trying to take over control of VFD again?

[ScottFenstermaker]

It appears that the Fire District has been rejected in a close vote.

The vote was 35,207 against and 33,225 in support of the measure.

It is interesting that the proposed fire district won a majority of the votes in some of the newer districts. I would submit that this is because the new arrivals have not yet learned to be skeptical of projects and candidates promoted by the Developer, the Developer's appointed officials, the Developer's million-dollars-a-year-for-part-time-work-employee State Representative Brett Hage, the Developer's newspaper, and the Developer's VHA. Villagers should be aware that "The VHA" trademark is registered to the Developer. https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/-vha-trademark-villages-developer-336491/

The proposed fire district was, indeed, a pig in a poke that we were being asked to buy. It went down to a well-deserved defeat. The present system is working, and there was no need to change it.

[Mrs.Guy]

chilout Only thing worse than a BAD LOSER is a :censored:BAD WINNER! IMHO :cryin2:

[ScottFenstermaker]

Really? So what is to stop the County from trying to take over control of VFD again?
That is the boogeyman set up by the proponents to try to sell us the pig-in-a-poke fire district. But why in the world would the county commissioners, who under One Sumter are ALL elected by Villagers, going to do something opposed by Villagers?????

[villagetinker]

I believe there was way TOO MUCH confusion on the ballot item. The ballot stated FUNDING of the IFD, it did NOT appear to stop the IFD. I tried to understand the issues, and never found the suitable answer(s).
Bottom line IMHO, the whole situation was badly handled on both sides.

[Kenswing]

I guess we can add Pig-in-a-poke to sweetheart impact fees as the most overused catch phrases of the year. Hopefully we'll not have to hear anymore of this obsessive hatred toward the Developer for another two years when I'm sure he'll be back to endear us with a new catch phrase.

[justjim]

It just shows why early voting needs to be shortened. people voted without full knowledge.

IMHO early voting had nothing to do with the failure of the Fire District Referendum Early voting is a good thing and two weeks is about right. Prior to early voting and mail-in voting remember those long lines?

[dewilson58]

It just shows why early voting needs to be shortened. people voted without full knowledge.

:shrug:
I voted early and I had full knowledge.
:shrug:

[Bogie Shooter]

I guess we can add Pig-in-a-poke to sweetheart impact fees as the most overused catch phrases of the year. Hopefully we'll not have to hear anymore of this obsessive hatred toward the Developer for another two years when I'm sure he'll be back to endear us with a new catch phrase.

And he’ll be reincarnated with a new name.:laugh:

[dewilson58]

Some of the haters might not be around because of the slow response time.

[Babubhat]

If they arrive in time it was irrelevant. If they are late it won’t matter anyway. People need to live and stop worrying.

[dewilson58]

If they arrive in time it was irrelevant. If they are late it won’t matter anyway. People need to live and stop worrying.

Clueless Dude................I know people who have been saved. If they are late, they missed an opportunity. "live & stop worrying"......that's the point, live........not late & die.

WOW.

[Papa_lecki]

The financial answer could not be answered clearly.

The IFD will cost each house $X and $Y will come off your county taxes.
X and Y should have been the same or within a few dollars

[tophcfa]

Some of the haters might not be around because of the slow response time.

I suppose in the cases when faster arriving first responders can jump start a stopped heart it would help, but if the patient requires timely and competent care from the Villages hospital the faster response time is highly unlikely to matter.

[Bill14564]

The financial answer could not be answered clearly.

The IFD will cost each house $X and $Y will come off your county taxes.
X and Y should have been the same or within a few dollars

Did you happen to see any information or posts or meetings or articles that mentioned an average increase between $85 - $125? What did you think that meant?

And before we start with the definition of "few dollars," everyone in the county who pays taxes contributes to the VPSD whether they are in the Villages or not. When you change that and only have those in the Villages pay then the cost per household goes up a little - about $85 - $125.

The information was presented dozens of times - some just chose to not hear it.

[Bill14564]

///Misunderstood point of comment I was replying to///

[tophcfa]

Is "highly unlikely" your professional opinion, your personal experience, what you saw on television, or did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

Personal experience, and worst experience of my life. Spent twelve hours there with a severe life threatening illness, barley got any care, finally misdiagnosed and sent home after midnight to die. Couldn’t possibly comprehend worse experience even if they were trying to do worst possible job. There isn’t a rating low enough to give the hell hole.

[Bill14564]

Personal experience, and worst experience of my life. Spent twelve hours there with a severe life threatening illness, barley got any care, finally misdiagnosed and sent home after midnight to die. Couldn’t possibly comprehend worse experience even if they were trying to do worst possible job. There isn’t a rating low enough to give the hell hole.

My apologies. I misunderstood your point. I have removed my comment.

[Aloha1]

We lost nothing. Nada. Zilch. Emotional arguments and speculative promises did not fly. Carry on.

Time will tell, but you cannot say you have lost nothing because you have no idea what the politicians might decide to do with your service. Would have been much better with an independent system and an elected board of Villagers. But you said no.

[Aloha1]

It is interesting that the proposed fire district won a majority of the votes in some of the newer districts. I would submit that this is because the new arrivals have not yet learned to be skeptical of projects and candidates promoted by the Developer, the Developer's appointed officials, the Developer's million-dollars-a-year-for-part-time-work-employee State Representative Brett Hage, the Developer's newspaper, and the Developer's VHA. Villagers should be aware that "The VHA" trademark is registered to the Developer. https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/-vha-trademark-villages-developer-336491/

The proposed fire district was, indeed, a pig in a poke that we were being asked to buy. It went down to a well-deserved defeat. The present system is working, and there was no need to change it.

Maybe the newer areas are more aware of how isolated they are from the "main" part of Sumter and understand they would have been better off with a Villager run system.

[Aloha1]

That is the boogeyman set up by the proponents to try to sell us the pig-in-a-poke fire district. But why in the world would the county commissioners, who under One Sumter are ALL elected by Villagers, going to do something opposed by Villagers?????

Because they tried to do that at least once before Remember the people YOU promoted to the SCBOC?

[Aloha1]

:shrug:
I voted early and I had full knowledge.
:shrug:

Good for you. Not sure about others though.

[Rainger99]

People always talk about slow response times. I have tried to get accurate numbers on how many people died because of slow response times (or had severe health consequences) but no one has them.

I also tried to find out how response times here compare to response times across the state and the country.

Does anyone have this information??

[Babubhat]

Time to close the thread. The voters have spoken. If you want to lament the unknowable you are already dead. move next to a hospital and the issue is moot. Problem solved.

[JoMar]

Time will tell, but you cannot say you have lost nothing because you have no idea what the politicians might decide to do with your service. Would have been much better with an independent system and an elected board of Villagers. But you said no.

And when the politicians do what they do it will start more threads of complaints.

[Bridget Staunton]

Not true it didn’t matter how long the early voting length. We voted early and we did our analyzation before we voted. We try to understand the reason for the vote.

[Worldseries27]

well said, unfortunately the result of saying no to everything is often throwing the baby out with the bath water.
villagers are tired of escalating costs to live here. The graph is always heading north
whatever you point out. Even gasoline rises and falls but not the cost of living in the villages. Vote was a protest

[Romad]

It appears that the Fire District has been rejected in a close vote.

The vote was 35,207 against and 33,225 in support of the measure.

It was good to see that the longer term Villagers knew this was all about who gets to pay for fire/EMS and had nothing to do with ambulance response times.

The new people never heard about the county roads agreement, the previous time the developer tried to offload some of their costs to the residents.

[Rwirish]

The voters have spoken.

[La lamy]

I assume this "no" vote outcome will not affect our real estate taxes that included over $300 of extra charges this year, or will it? I'm just about to send in my check.

[jimkerr]

It was a bad proposal and was nothing more than another money grab. The ambulance response times have already been fixed.

We didn’t need another useless tax.

[Sandy and Ed]

The Independent Fire District is not totally dead. It could be put on the ballot again. If there is a second attempt to establish the district I hope the Fire Department and the District Offices get out front in better explaining the cost and benefits. The “simplified funding” was confusing at best. The was a lot of misinformation floating around about this proposal which likely lead to its defeat.
Very true, very true. Sometimes it takes more than “try it, it’s moms apple pie” to convince folks. I attended two sessions of “explanation” and nonexistent Q&A sessions and left determined not to buy this pig in a poke. The general concept sounds good but you gotta scratch below the surface and no one was willing to do that

[Bill14564]

I assume this "no" vote outcome will not affect our real estate taxes that included over $300 of extra charges this year, or will it? I'm just about to send in my check.

The IFD vote does not affect the tax bill you are about to pay.

My bill was a bit lower this year than last - no $300 of extra charges. But I am full-time here and benefited greatly from the homestead exemption.

[VApeople]

My bill was a bit lower this year than last - no $300 of extra charges.

Yeah, same here. We are not complaining.

[seecapecod]

The big No! No! for the yes vote was their lack of firm financial info.
In already austere financial times, a threatened increase in tax of any description is not a front runner in any election.
I thought the idea of an independent Fire Service was a good idea, but it was a badly presented campaign, with to many if, buts and maybes.
JMO.

Absolutely! The minute the threat (real or not) of taxes increasing, people shut down and don’t hear/read/learn any further.

[coleprice]

It appears that the Fire District has been rejected in a close vote.

The vote was 35,207 against and 33,225 in support of the measure.

Voters avoided a tax increase and will continue to receive excellent service from the existing Fire Department. Current Fire Department support is superb, so there was no "problem that needed to be fixed". If the new Fire Department had been approved, it is very possible that Villagers would be paying more taxes for diminished services (More for Less).

[jmpate]

Ambulance response time was one of the reasons I voted YES to the Fire District amendment esp given the growing size of Sumter Co. AED purchase for your Village section might be a good way to ensure a defibrillator is onsite for a cardiac situation. Ventricular Fibrillation is one of the cardiac conditions that needs electricity intervention quickly and a major reason for deaths outside the hospital. THIS was my greatest concern for a delayed ambulance response time.

It appears that the Fire District has been rejected in a close vote.

The vote was 35,207 against and 33,225 in support of the measure.

[GmaLisaG]

It's a shame. People vote no because they don't fully understand or think oh my taxes could go up. Well, I've had 4 times already here where someone was injured and needed an ambulance and it was well over 15 minutes for them to arrive..thank god we had a nurse most of the times to assist before they got there. I'm sorry but if a $100 or so a year tax increase (and no one even knew if it would increase) could help save a life and someone voted no well shame on you. And on a side note... to see that the majority of yes votes came from the south side (Ezell, etc) makes me just happier that I chose to live south rather than north..

[Chamo]

That's a shame, when it comes to safety and health I don't mind spending a few dollars. I hope we're not going to get stuck with those 20 minute blue ambulances that seem to be hiding under shade trees for most of the day.
As long as they are hiding in the shade that means people are healthy. We pay enough taxes where they can beef up the service and add more ambulance to the fleets with more jobs. It’s not about paying a few extra dollars here and there it all adds up let them spend our tax dollars where they are needed

[dewilson58]

It's a shame. People vote no because they don't fully understand or think oh my taxes could go up. .

Bingo

Jus look at the posts on this thread.

People (lamy, kerr, etc) are showing the lack of knowledge.

Sit tight, the vote will come again.

[Pete Swanson]

Just wondering. If you are a PT resident or a "landlord" so-to-speak, how would you vote on this issue? Just askin!

[OhioBuckeye]

Feel bad for the firefighters but if it involves money, I’m guessing people are getting a little tired of seeing everything going up in prices, some people are dipping into their savings. Something has to give to help people get back to what we were used to!

[rstebbins]

Maybe all those mail in were people who, while Florida residents, are not here all the time. So they figure they don’t need the service

[Bill14564]

Just wondering. If you are a PT resident or a "landlord" so-to-speak, how would you vote on this issue? Just askin!

You vote where you established residency and registered to vote. If you have not declared Florida residency and registered to vote from a Villages address then this issue would not have been on your ballot.

[Mrs.Guy]

Bingo

Jus look at the posts on this thread.

People (lamy, kerr, etc) are showing the lack of knowledge.

Sit tight, the vote will come again.

:confused: I don't find it amazing there are so many uninformed/clueless people. I do find it amazing when they post and prove it. :oops: A lot of the time they are the most vocal. Add clueless to the fact so many are cheap and then add in this strange hatred for the Developer..... And don't even get me going on the part timers that can't vote or the non-citizens. Hope it doesn't come back to bite them on the a$$. :rant-rave: Rant over Thanks.

[yankygrl]

Absolutely! The minute the threat (real or not) of taxes increasing, people shut down and don’t hear/read/learn any further.
My taxes would have gone up $40. There was a lot of misinformation and people just didn’t know the facts. Glad I live in an AED neighborhood and I’m an RN

[Burgy]

What was confusing about 0.75 * (market value - land value) / 1000?

This cannot be put on the ballot again without the legislature passing a new bill and the governor signing it. All they had to do was give some examples. We could see the $124 on this years tax bill also but the plus this and that raise the question would there be offsetting minuses on the county tax bill. So how much?

[dougawhite]

It's my understand that the new ambulances are already in the Villages fire department stations and are being used. So, no changes to the placement of these ambulances because of this no vote.

At any time the BOCC can cut the number of ambulances, EMTs, fire stations, etc. They have little to no accountability since these items are a small part of their overall budget responsibility.

That's why the IFD is important, their ONLY responsibility would be the ambulance and fire service quality and cost for The Villages, which has very unique needs compared to the rest of Sumter County.

[VApeople]

The Villages, which has very unique needs compared to the rest of Sumter County.

What are our "unique needs"?

[dewilson58]

What are our "unique needs"?

old people, more health issues, close to death, etc.

[Bill14564]

All they had to do was give some examples. We could see the $124 on this years tax bill also but the plus this and that raise the question would there be offsetting minuses on the county tax bill. So how much?

There were two tables of examples in the YOU DECIDE information sent to residents and posted on the VPSD page.

Basically, you are currently paying $124 plus about 0.71mils towards the VPSD. The VPSD, the Villages, you, I, none of us can know what the BoCC would have done with tax rates next year. The projected budget that they published in September showed about a 0.8mils decrease. It looks like the BoCC planned to remove that cost from our property taxes but we would have to wait until next September to see what they actually did.

[Mrs.Guy]

What are our "unique needs"?

old people, more health issues, close to death, etc.

:oops: Who would of thunk it? :a20: Boy, you really are Mr. Helpful!

[Rosie1950]

Very true, very true. Sometimes it takes more than “try it, it’s moms apple pie” to convince folks. I attended two sessions of “explanation” and nonexistent Q&A sessions and left determined not to buy this pig in a poke. The general concept sounds good but you gotta scratch below the surface and no one was willing to do that

Because it’s considered double talk and gas lighting, many people believe “if it’s said often enough it’s true” and will never check the facts. In this case there were no facts to check, the cards were kept close to the chest.

[SUENRAN]

I suppose in the cases when faster arriving first responders can jump start a stopped heart it would help, but if the patient requires timely and competent care from the Villages hospital the faster response time is highly unlikely to matter.

I guess you don't realize that a patient has a choice for which hospital they are transported to. That being said just where do you think Sumter County will transport patients to?

[SUENRAN]

What are our "unique needs"?

Our unique community-wide unique need is age. Oh...and the more advanced in age you are the greater your probability of needing emergency medical care increases.

[Daddymac]

This was for the “builder” Again!! My Taxes would have raised about $550 for the fire ambulance district. !! The “Builder would NEVER get an increase over the years, So now YOU the home owner would pay dearly. Also right now the Fire/ Ambulance district negotiate a Union contract with the county. If this went through, The “ Board “. Would negotiate the contract. With a private fire department/ambulance with the board on their side, Who would they be looking out for. AND REMEMBER, ONCE THIS IS DONE THERE IS NO GOING BACK. You are stuck with it, and you will live with it. NEVER PUT YOURSELF IN THAT POSITION !!

[Daddymac]

Just wondering. If you are a PT resident or a "landlord" so-to-speak, how would you vote on this issue? Just askin!

Vote NO.. This was to steal your money legally

[Bill14564]

This was for the “builder” Again!! My Taxes would have raised about $550 for the fire ambulance district. !! The “Builder would NEVER get an increase over the years, So now YOU the home owner would pay dearly. Also right now the Fire/ Ambulance district negotiate a Union contract with the county. If this went through, The “ Board “. Would negotiate the contract. With a private fire department/ambulance with the board on their side, Who would they be looking out for. AND REMEMBER, ONCE THIS IS DONE THERE IS NO GOING BACK. You are stuck with it, and you will live with it. NEVER PUT YOURSELF IN THAT POSITION !!

Unless you live in a $10M+ house your taxes WOULD NOT have increased $550!

EVERY property would be subject to the 0-1mil ad-valorem tax, including properties owned by the "Builder."

There is no union contract negotiated between the VPSD and the County. The County has nothing to do with the VPSD except hold the purse strings (which may turn out to be bad enough).

[Daddymac]

My taxes would have gone up $40. There was a lot of misinformation and people just didn’t know the facts. Glad I live in an AED neighborhood and I’m an RN

Where do you live to see a $40 increase.
$124 + .075 of you homes value!!
Now do the math again!!

[Daddymac]

Unless you live in a $10M+ house your taxes WOULD NOT have increased $550!

EVERY property would be subject to the 0-1mil ad-valorem tax, including properties owned by the "Builder."

There is no union contract negotiated between the VPSD and the County. The County has nothing to do with the VPSD except hold the purse strings (which may turn out to be bad enough).

They give you the website to go to. You put in your address and it will calculate your taxes. Go back and do your homework.

[Bill14564]

Where do you live to see a $40 increase.
$124 + .075 of you homes value!!
Now do the math again!!

No, the current cost is $124 + 0.71mil of your taxable value.

The new rate would have been $124 + 0.75mil of improved value + 0.1mil of taxable value.

[Bill14564]

They give you the website to go to. You put in your address and it will calculate your taxes. Go back and do your homework.

You might want to stop digging now. (probably won't, but should consider it)

The website shows what your cost would have been under the IFD. The website DOES NOT show what your costs are now! The INCREASE would NOT be what the website shows but rather the DIFFERENCE between what the website shows and what you are paying now.

[Daddymac]

[QUOTE=Bill14564;2156553]You might want to stop digging now. (probably won't, but should consider it)

The website shows what your cost would have been under the IFD. The website DOES NOT show what your costs are now! The INCREASE would NOT be what the website shows but rather the DIFFERENCE between what the website shows and what you are paying now.

[ScottFenstermaker]

No, the current cost is $124 + 0.71mil of your taxable T.

The new rate would have been $124 + 0.75mil of improved value + 0.1mil of taxable value.

None of us know what the real cost of the new district would have been to us because none of us know what the unelected fire-district board members would have decided to do with the tax rate or how much, if at all, the county commission would have reduced our county tax.

Another of MANY facts that none of us know, but the proponents do know: What would the new district have done to the Developer's taxes? (The $10 million cap on taxable value was a nice break for the Developer, but what would the other tax effects have been?) In other words, were we, once again, being asked to subsidize the Developer's business???

The proposed fire district was a pig in a poke being sold to us, and a majority of us said, "Sorry, we are not buying it."

[Daddymac]

You might want to stop digging now. (probably won't, but should consider it)

The website shows what your cost would have been under the IFD. The website DOES NOT show what your costs are now! The INCREASE would NOT be what the website shows but rather the DIFFERENCE between what the website shows and what you are paying now.

Here the website

[Romad]

My taxes would have gone up $40. There was a lot of misinformation and people just didn’t know the facts. Glad I live in an AED neighborhood and I’m an RN

CERT, AED program, and Smoke Alarm battery help is funded from the VCDD Amenity budget. $3 million per year, or a little over $4 a month per house.

Ask Don Wiley or another BOCC commissioner if you have questions.

[Bill14564]

None of us know what the real cost of the new district would have been to us because none of us know what the unelected fire-district board members would have decided to do with the tax rate or how much, if at all, the county commission would have reduced our county tax.

Another of MANY facts that none of us know, but the proponents do know: What would the new district have done to the Developer's taxes? (The $10 million cap on taxable value was a nice break for the Developer, but what would the other tax effects have been?) In other words, were we, once again, being asked to subsidize the Developer's business???

The proposed fire district was a pig in a poke being sold to us, and a majority of us said, "Sorry, we are not buying it."

You say "pig in a poke" and I say "cut off your nose to spite your face."

The Developers pay according to the same equation we all would have. Raise my ad-valorem by .1mil and the Developer's ad-valorem increases by .1mil. The ONLY difference: My increase would be about $30 while the Developer's would be $38,600 on ONLY those properties valued at over $10M (and they own thousands of others).

As for knowing real costs: I don't know what my property taxes will be next year; all I know is they change every year in this county. I'm still not packing up to go back to Md - I'm not willing to cut off my nose to spite my face.

[Bill14564]

Here the website

Yes, and???

Two things you might want to look more closely at:
1. It shows a total of $464.47, not the $550 you wrote in previous messages
2. You should probably hide the address as well as the name.

Also:
You are paying $342 for the VPSD today so your INCREASE could have been $122.50...
EXCEPT
Since the projected 2024 Sumter budget lowers the tax rate by 0.8mils, you would actually be paying only $95 more.

[VApeople]

What are our "unique needs"?

old people, more health issues, close to death, etc.

That's silly. Florida is full of old codgers like us and they have the same needs as we do. There is nothing 'unique' about us.

[Kenswing]

That's silly. Florida is full of old codgers like us and they have the same needs as we do. There is nothing 'unique' about us.

Yeah but there’s not 140,000 of them packed in like sardines. :1rotfl:

[dewilson58]

That's silly. Florida is full of old codgers like us and they have the same needs as we do. There is nothing 'unique' about us.

average age of florida is 42, we are almost double that :22yikes: ............unique.

[Rainger99]

I admit that I didn’t understand how the new fire district would work or how much it would cost.

Judging from the comments here (many people say it was a great idea and others say it was a horrible idea) I am amazed that no one else appears to understand it either.

The proponents of the new district should have been able to explain it clearly - why we needed it, how it would work, and how much it would cost.

The fact that they failed to do so is probably why it lost.

[Villages Kahuna]

Don’t be enthusiastic too soon. The last time there was a landslide vote to elect two county commissioners, wresting control of the county board in favor of residents, the Developer figured out a way to get the two indicted for short phone calls prior to board meetings, third degree felonies. Then their good friend Governor DeSantis replaced the two duely elected officials with Developer-friendly replacements. One of the indicted commissioners plea-bargained and the other is awaiting trial.

The main campaign plank of the two anti-Developer candidates was to repeal the 25% increase in Sumter County property taxes for use in building the roads and infrastructure necessary for the Developer to continue to build further south in The Villages. Prior to that, the Developer had paid for infrastructure expansion himself.

The Developer almost always gets what they want. It’s only a matter of time. And they definitely play hard ball.

[Rainger99]

The main campaign plank of the two anti-Developer candidates was to repeal the 25% increase in Sumter County property taxes for use in building the roads and infrastructure necessary for the Developer to continue to build further south in The Villages. Prior to that, the Developer had paid for infrastructure expansion himself.

If the developer used to pay for the infrastructure expansion, what caused the change?

And from experience, developers never pay for the infrastructure - they just pass it on to the new homeowners as part of the overall cost of the project.