City Taxes Paid
 

Most of properties in The Villages do not pay city taxes (can check on the Sumter County Treasurer tax bill research site). We pay about 1,300 per year to the distant town of Wildwood. I’m wondering where our tax money goes that most others near us do not pay? What are the benefits of being incorporated within the tax roles? Is this just a scam to get permissions for the developer to build? Should unincorporated Villages be incorporated into adjacent towns to boost the tax roles and assist the county? An unincorporated surcharge to the county?

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The Villages of Pine Ridge and Pine Hills are in the city of Fruitland Park, and they pay city taxes.

Yes
 

I know some do besides of us, but a majority don’t. Generally south of 44 pays to Wildwood. It put in more than a few addresses into the Sumter Tax system and most homes in the central area do not.

Can anyone explain what those of us living in Wildwood get for the $700 plus dollars we pay to Wildwood that those living outside of Wildwood don’t get??

Fire and water
 

For sure fire stations and city water. You do use the streets there more than we do and don’t pay a bond. Even a bigger mystery is why do we pay Leesburg electric for electricity? Maybe the lines need redrawn? Maybe get disincorporation on the ballot while Villages numbers exceed the actual township?

Most (all?) of the Villages in Sumter County north of 44 are not in any incorporated area and only pay Sumter County tax.

The City of Wildwood incorporated a lot of the area south of 44 so those Villagers pay Wildwood tax. Areas in Lake and Marion counties might have city taxes too (it sounds like Pine Hills does).

There was another thread a year or so ago asking what benefit Villagers received for paying Wildwood taxes. It didn't apply to me so I don't recall if there was ever a good answer.

To me, it feels like Wildwood (and Leesburg) saw the writing on the wall and took steps to incorporate the areas before the Villages built on them. It is not inconceivable that there was an agreement between the Villages and the cities to facilitate the incorporation in return for favorable zoning decisions but I have nothing to back that up.

Should unincorporated Villages be grabbed up by the city of Wildwood to fatten their tax purses? Absolutely not! The Villages are a boon to Wildwood without additional taxation. Wildwood provides little (nothing?) to the Villages yet receives business income from them. If there are Wildwood services that I could receive if I paid additional taxes I don't know what they are and I'm certainly not missing them.

Unincorporated surcharge to the county? That would be called a tax increase; the last substantial increase was added in 2018. There are three ex-commissioners who can attribute their defeat at least partially to that surcharge.

The joy of living within the city limits of Wildwood.

What do those living in the 5 boroughs of NYC get for their city taxes that residents of surrounding towns don't get? More crime, homeless on the street, litter, pollution, and hookers for a start. So, I guess you get what you pay for:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

My Federal income tax bill is higher than everything else that I spend money on combined.

Am I complaining? Yes, I am.

What do TV residents get from the Wildwood city tax? More police presence in the form of traffic enforcement and little else.

I was going to say something similar for Pine Ridge & Pine Hills, they get to pay the higher rates in Lake county & taxes to Fruitland Park & they get: police who lurk near stop signs looking for Villagers who don't come to a complete stop & thereby garner a hefty fine. (I'm not supporting the Villagers who only slow at stop signs, I think everyone should stop. But I also don't support those picking the low hanging fruit).

And we thought we escaped outlandish taxes. They get it one way or the other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=valVixMpzQY

Most of the Villages land that is in Wildwood was annexed by Wildwood when the old owners of the land agreed to it. Old timers could tell you the stories about how Wildwood dealt with the developer when they were eyeing what is now Trailwinds/Beaumont.

I would say Wildwood has taken money from the Federal Gov and is mass populating the area now with the "affordable" housing you see popping up everywhere. T V is boosting $$ for Wildwood while T V sees little if no return. Just a lot more traffic and challenged medical care. Hey whatever happened to that massive southern end hospital planned the T V used for sales ? Oh... same predestined fate as the Brownwood theater? Lol

nothing much

UF Hospital pulled out because of the Miller / Search / Esteep impact fees promised. Not the fault of TV

Join the club. Probably 80% of folks here can claim the same. More you pay in income taxes means the more you earn. It’s all relative.

Wildwood and The Villages dispute over the Trailwinds property
 

I am newcomer and would like to know more why that area is not part of The Villages

Not really. The proposed impact fees were quickly blown out of the water by Hage getting a bill passed that blocked raising the impact fees. The official and more likely reason is that they couldn't staff it if built.

The only way to reduce your Wildwood City taxes is to run for City Council positions. They are the ones that have the capability of reducing taxes. Remember 'no taxation without representation.'

I can't spell it out in plain language on this site, but consider this: Who dominates the Wildwood City Council, how do most Villagers vote, and what happens to those in power in Wildwood if 4,000+ Villagers move inside the city limits.

Great Point
 

We need to do what Ocala was afraid of. We can vote for all the city council positions if we pay taxes to Wildwood. There are more than a few Villagers who vote. It’s time to upend this 100 dollar plus a month tax when we get nothing.

Joe Elliot and Julian Green terms expire in December 2024. We will have to wait til 2026 to cancel out the rest. The mayor’s seat is over in 2026. We might as well have a lockstep Villages town.

In reality, not much. Some of the "normal" services a city provides, such as fire protection, city water, sewer, parks, streetlights, green spaces, etc are not provided by Wildwood. They do provide police protection and street maintenance, though. However, I have not seen any Wildwood Police cars patrolling the neighborhoods, nor have I seen a Wildwood street sweeper. In all fairness, Wildwood does not officially take over street maintenance until the new streets are turned over to them by the District.

You should have checked this before you bought. There are beautiful areas in the Villages that only pay county property taxes. You really get nothing additional for your city tax dollars. Look at the Wildwood City map on line, they were smart and annexed everything they could before major growth started in the area. They went from being cash short to having millions in surplus by doing that. Smart financial planning for them, not so good for you. Next time check taxes and tax rates prior to buying.

Municipalities have always viewed unincorporated areas as a way to broaden the tax base. The commercial/residential area on 466a was a coup for Wildwood. Improvements: police and fire are the most obvious. Wildwood has a tax decrease (I think) and as the base grows, rates should not increase at a high rate and may actually go down. Do we also pay schools taxes even though we have no children in the system? Yes. It’s property taxes, not the inhabitants taxes. It’s still much better than “up north” where I’m sure taxes were affordable and never went up! Oh and you always got what you paid for!😉

We pay larger bonds. In St Cats it’s around $40k.
Why doesn’t Wildwood pay this?

https://youtu.be/nGwf7AcmyEI?si=h6pSH2Bmh2UOd6dK

https://youtu.be/A120kMpc2ug?si=50nPYiOlkbj__Gkz

Residential Bond Assessment Information

https://www.districtgov.org/departme...financeFAQ.pdf

Great Info
 

Endorsement level info, but informative…what comes out at me is CDD 13 is in essence, its own town government. It does not need Wildwood, just like all the other CDDs. Since Wildwood has seen the wisdom to include the residents as voters, it’s time to take over the township through elections and permit the CDD to secede with its taxes.

They don’t get fire and do pay fire fees to the county
They are a qualified 55 and older set income community
They do have qualified infrastructure

The higher the number of residents, the better our voting turnout prospects

Apart from driving on 301, what do I get out of Wildwood? I eat at Casa Agave. I use the Post Office several times a year. I use the dry cleaner a couple times a year. I bought a set of tires in Wildwood. That’s it. But. Wildwood is growing fast, trying to dilute its crime rate by building lots of new houses and apartment complexes. I think Wildwood picks up a lot of money from the Trailwinds Village / Pinellas Plaza developments. This leaves the city cash flush, so it’s being spent on a city park and multistory parking garage that few Villagers will use. But the new construction means they also need to put in a much larger sewage plant, which is expensive. I think the mayor and city council are making a lot of smart decisions to improve the city, but I don’t think Villagers who are in Wildwood will be getting value for money. I wonder if that annexation of what is now Villages houses into Wildwood was a deal that had to be made by the developer to get permission to build houses on what had been empty pasture land.

You are right, the way to relief is to populate the city council. The two seats coming up next November will need candidates & a campaign, starting: now. The 2026 seats have a little more time for planing.

For historical purposes, the developer allowed Wildwood to annex the property in the southern area when they began building there in hopes that it would improve Wildwood by providing the town a lot of tax revenue. Wildwood, back then, was a lot worse than it is today in terms of poverty and crime. As The Villages expanded southward they wanted to rid the area of that reputation in order to calm nerves of potential buyers and visitors to Brownwood. If you are going to blame anyone, blame The Villages for encouraging it.

According to google maps, none of the Villages between 466A and 44 are in Wildwood. My property is between 466A and 44 but I do not pay Wildwood taxes.

Again from google maps, it appears a large section of the Villages south of 44 are within Wildwood. At the same time, it looks like Wildwood missed annexing a bunch of land. It would be interesting to learn how all that came to be.

Crooked Line
 

The township line is quite crooked. I noticed how it goes around to engulf some spots like the Neighborhood Walmart. They wanted the steak and none of the salad.

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I think the Alden Bungalows near Brownwood are in Wildwood.

Trailwinds could have been a regional attraction with proper planning and integration of businesses.

Some of the unique businesses from the current downtown could have been integrated into the planning using the downtown "revitalization" funds.

Instead we have Trailwinds with no apparent planning approving unconnected parcels with random, and several competing businesses within 100 yds of each other.

Instead a small fortune is invested planning for the "Downtown" boonoggle keeping 301 down the middle that echoed what the 1980's mindset local government who hired them wanted.

The development plan featuring a multistory parking garage is no more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Plenty of opportunity to be innovative and do better but some long term vision would be required. This is where the Developer excels.

According to the developer the land was annexed before they owned it.

The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Active Adult 55+ Retirement Community

We knew about the Wildwood City tax before we bought a brand new home down south here last December. Our agent printed out a summary of our taxes, bond payment, etc, while we were still looking for a home. We are still way better off than we were in SoCal. No mortgage, similar property taxes, lower utilities bills, no state income tax, lower homeowners insurance, an active & fun retirement in a gorgeous setting. It’s all good for us here in paradise. 😍

The only parts of The Villages north of FL44 that are within the Wildwood City limits are Antrim Dells, Alden Bungalows and Atwood. The map you're looking at isn't very accurate.