A message from the Property Owners Association (POA)
 

My name is Joe Gorman and I am the president of the POA (The Property Owners’ Association of The Villages, Inc.). I am responding to the many postings on local Forums that have voiced concern and questions about the recent Lauren Ritchie columns in the Orlando Sentinel about the IRS investigation of bonds issued by the Central District government here in The Villages.

Ms. Ritchie’s recent columns are informative, but they contain several errors that may be unnecessarily alarming to our residents. These are a few of the errors:

First, the calculation of $18,000 as being the average debt per person in The Villages is a meaningless number. This is equivalent to listing the total US debt of $10.9 trillion, dividing it by the US population, and then quoting the average per capita debt of $37,875. We will not be asked to immediately pay either the $37,875 in the US or the $18,000 in The Villages. Any debt incurred to purchase common property from the developer is being paid off in an orderly manner as a part of our monthly amenity fees.

Second, the monthly amenity fee cannot be increased to an unreasonably high number because the amenity fee increased is capped at the increase in the Consumer Price Index in the previous 12 months on an individual basis.

Third, the Central Districts cannot impose any taxes or assessment on residents, because the Chapter 190 law that regulates Community Development Districts (CDDs) prohibits a central district from assessing or taxing anyone outside its geographic boundaries.

For any resident concerned about this IRS investigation, we would direct you to the article on page 4 of our March issue of the POA Bulletin (available on the POA website www.poa4us.org) which states the following:

"We have received numerous questions about the IRS investigation of the VCCDD and the tax-exempt bonds issued by it to finance the purchase of common property north of Hwy. 466 from the developer.

"This was written up in a two-part commentary by Lauren Ritchie in the Orlando Sentinel in September, 2008. These [older] Ritchie columns are still available on the Internet. [Two new columns have just been written by Ms. Ritchie and are what you have read most recently.]

"Basically, the IRS questioned whether the bonds were issued properly, whether the valuations were correct, and whether the interest being paid qualified to be tax-exempt.

"The IRS investigation has thus far resulted in a preliminary summary of findings which questions the details of the bond issue. The VCCDD has been asked to respond to the analysis. Thus, the whole matter is in the very early stages of review and it could be many months before we hear anything definitive.

"Some of the inquiries to us questioned what effect an adverse ruling would have on us, on the developer, and on the bonds with the related interest. Again, it is just too early to give a definitive answer, much less even speculate on the outcome.

"We feel that if there is any potential adverse effect for us, the developer will exercise the same good judgment and concern for the residents that he exhibited in the lawsuit settlement in early 2008 and do what he can to protect this community and its residents. We are hopeful that, if the worst case scenario occurs, the developer will do the right thing for the residents. And, we encourage residents to support the efforts of the developer and the VCCDD to resolve any issues.

"As we hear more, we will report developments in future issues of the Bulletin."

In closing, it should also be noted that the IRS did investigate the bonds once before in 2003 and found no problem. Also, the CDD financing technique in question is used regularly by many of the over 600 CDDs in the state.

The IRS investigation is in a preliminary stage and has so far just asked for comment from our Central District on the initial assessment by an IRS investigator. The comment of the Central District is expected in a few weeks (late March) and after that there will be a response from the IRS.

It is much too early to speculate on any outcome, and many of the speculative postings here, as well as Ms. Ritchie’s columns, are unnecessarily alarmist. It is possible that a more careful consideration by the IRS will result in no significant financial impact on our community.

We would ask Villagers to stay informed, understand the issues, don’t jump to conclusions, and wait until more definitive information is available.

And, as the POA Bulletin article pointed out, we expect that the developer of The Villages will act to protect the residents of The Villages however possible. The developer wants to build-out The Villages and sell houses. He doesn’t want a cloud of financial uncertainty hanging over the heads of residents which would impact the selling effort. So, we trust that the developer will do what is right for us.

Thanks for reading this. If you have comments for me on any of this, you can respond on this Forum or on the POA Forum at www.poa4us.org. We will also be discussing any new developments during the Open Forum section of our monthly meetings on the third Tuesday of the month at Laurel Manor rec center.

Thanks Joe. Informed input is always much better than mere speculation - maybe just not as much fun.

Hi Joe - Welcome to TOTV - thanks for the info!

Mr Gorman... thanks for taking the time to post this info; if the entire POA newsletter was written as factually and objectively as your post, your organization would have a lot more support throughout the community. I hope you are impressing this upon your newsletter authors...many a resident has been turned off by the alarmist, 'get the developer' tone of past issues.

Let's all hope this bond issue becomes a non issue.

" ...many a resident has been turned off by the alarmist, 'get the developer' tone of past issues."

Mr. G, thank u for posting here. The above inane drivel certainly does not represent all of the members of this site. We do hope u will continue to post here even though you may experience such uncivil and rude attacks.

Village 07's post wasn't meant to be rude I am sure. She is one of the fairest people who post here. I very much agree with what she just said.

I too am very pleased with Mr. Gorman's post as well and I wish too, that the people writing the POA newsletter emulated the style of Mr. Gorman's post.

Thank you Joe. Your clarifications overall and particularly regarding the inability of the CDD to tax those outside of its geographic boundary made me feel a lot better.

regards... Barry

Talk about "uncivil and rude" posts . . . Is inane drivel something like specious twaddle?

Anyway Joe, I too would like to thank you for your detailed response to what I considered an almost ad hominem attack on the Morse family and TV. Ritchie seems to have a large axe to grind whenever she discusses this place. And I would also like to repeat my thanx and congratulations for your very timely refutation of the columns in the March bulletin, serendipitously issued right after the columns were published. That took some last minute work on your part to get it in.

Like 07 and a significant number of others, I've not been a big fan of the POA -- I could be the poster child of the opposition. And it does kinda hurt a bit to say this, but I sincerely salute you for what you've done in this matter for all Villagers.




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Wait a minute all you previous posters. A mere 'thanks a lot Joe' just won't do!!

Joe Gorman is in our midst. He is one of our most esteemed neighbors. His leadership, dedication and knowledge of how TV works may be unparalleled outside of the Morse circle. We owe him and his POA colleagues a great deal, especially those of us who live north of 466.

While we have never met, and I have no idea if he's a nice guy, Joe's work speaks for itself. It's really refreshing that he would take the time to offer so much accurate information about a recent post which has attracted tons of comments, many of which are emotionally charged speculation. And notice the balanced approach! Can we finally stop stereotyping the POA as a gray-haired version of some 60's underground rebel rag?

I keep seeing this pattern in TOTV. A rumor starts, then turns rather crazy until someone, usually one of a tiny group of well informed members or a Talk Host posts some real facts. The posts about the Developer really get crazy because so few of us have any real facts about His operations.

So please Joe, if you are reading this, please accept my sincerest thanks, my admiration, and please keep sharing what you work hard to learn with us. Please!!!

I, too, am grateful to Joe for the information he gave us. As hostile as some have painted the POA, I like the fact that there is a watchdog group out there making sure the residents have a voice in what happens to us, even if everybody doesn't always agree with their words or newsletter. Joe has to be aware of these disagreements, yet he still took the time to help all of us with the important and helpful information. I know that I feel better about the whole situation. Maybe we could all try to be a little more respectful towards each other on these threads, especially towards someone who is trying to help us.

Thank you, Joe. As a Villages' "wannabee", I view all sources of information available to me. I know no one source can be believed 100% of the time. But, knowing a lot of the work you've done in the POA has generally been counter to the developer's side, I accept the facts you've provided in your note because your history has shown your vast knowledge of the workings of The Villages. The info you've provided makes me less stressed about the IRS investigation and its potential impact on residents. That's one less thing I'll worry about. (Well, maybe I'll worry a little bit, but only a little.) If I do get to make The Villages my home, I will join the POA and the VHA. I too hope you continue to use TOTV to share your knowledge.

Thank you Joe. Also thank you Janet Tutt for your article in the Daily Sun Recreation News this morning.

Graet informative post. As a soon to be resident of TV, I am glad to see folks are trying to do the right thing and put the facts out.

Army Guy

Ahhh... the voice of reason....
 

Joe,

Thank you for your detailed and well-developed response. As one of the frequent posters on the Lauren Ritchie column, I appreciate input from someone who understands the situation and takes time to explain it.

Kudos!

Kate

Joe:

Thank you for the clear unbiased update on the situation. Please use this forum to keep us informed.