Taxes to Leesburg and Wildwood
 

This is a serious question on the confluence of taxes here. If I remember correctly, a taxing municipality must render basic services to its citizens. In the case of those living in St. Catherine and Citrus Grove (I’m sure there are others), taxes are paid to two separate municipalities with no choices.

We pay taxes on our utilities to Leesburg on the utilities (about 18 percent) on a little over a 100 dollar electric gas bill.

We pay Wildwood an annual tax of around 1400 (guesstimate).

Our fire fee of a 127 dollars is paid to Sumter Co.

Can two different municipalities legally force tax the same residential property?

It seems to me that the Wildwood tax is a property tax, but the Leesburg tax is a utility service tax. Two different types of tax used for different purposes.

Don’t forget
 

Primary revenue streams after property taxes for a municipality are utility services. A residential property can’t escape utilities and the high tax rate on them a municipal authority sets. Wildwood may have jurisdiction but, they are doing everything they are needed to do to sustain their jurisdiction claims.

Different fees and taxes based on where you live and who provides service. It seems like the source of confusion is Leesburg Electric providing service inside Sumter County. If that is where you send your electric payments then I guess they do.

I believe you pay the following:

Because you live in Sumter County
- Sumter County property tax
- Sumter County school tax
- Sumter County fire protection fee

Because you live in an area incorporated by Wildwood City
- Wildwood City tax

Because you live in this part of Florida
- Southwest Florida Water Management Division (SWFWMD) fee

Because you live in a CDD
- Annual bond payment
- Annual CDD maintenance payment

Because of who provides your water service
- CSU water and irrigation and any associated tax

Because of who provides electric service
- Leesburg electric bill and any associated tax

Because you live in the Villages
- Villages amenity fee
- Villages trash pickup


Difference between your bill and mine:
- I live in an unincorporated section of Sumter County so I don't pay Wildwood taxes
- My electric company is SECO so they get my bill payments

The same situation occurs for the Pine Ridge and Pine Hills Villagers who live in Fruitland Park. They pay property taxes to Fruitland Park, and utility taxes to Leesburg. I don't know if it is legal.

:ohdear: Now if someone will explain " The Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions" to him, he will know pretty much everything he should have researched before signing on the dotted line. :rolleyes:

///

The taxes on my electric bill are $0.42 State tax on the lease of a surge protector and 2.5625% State Gross Receipt tax on the transport of electricity. Taxes only collected for the State and nowhere near 18%. So in my case, the taxing authority is the State that I live in.

It would be interesting to see the breakdown of a Leesburg Electric bill (I couldn't find one online) to see what taxes are included.

EDIT: This Leesburg Utilities page has some useful information:

Electric Information - Effective 10/1/2022
The residential electric rate applies to an electrical service supplying electricity to a single family residence. Service provided here under shall not be shared with or resold to others.

Customer charge -> $15.00 per month
Residential 0-1000 kwh -> $0.092940 per kwh
Residential over 1000 kwh -> $0.115492 per kwh

The Bulk Power Cost Adjustment is a separate charge which could vary each month and is included in the total utility bill. Residents inside the City pay a 10% Public Service Tax. Residents outside the City pay a 10% surcharge. Total charges are subject to the Gross Receipts Tax of 2.564%.

You pay a $15 service charge and I pay $0.02 more for my first 1,000 kwh. For most months you pay less than I do.

I pay $0.023 more than you for any usage over 1,000 kwh.

You pay a 10% surcharge that I don't have. Since they carefully note that this is a surcharge and not a tax (and since it has not been challenged) it must be legal. One could certainly make an argument that if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck then it is actually funding for a municipality that does not provide any service to you. But again, there is probably a reason it has not been successfully challenged in court.

Here is my last Leesburg Electric bill:

Bill Date : 11/17/23 Due Date: 12/08/23
Bill Period : 11/ 23
Balance forward : $0.00
Payments / adj. : $0.00
Current charges : $79.57
Bill amount : $79.57
Reading information
Actual Demand
Service Read date Type Meter_number Days ______Consumption______
EL 11/09/23 Regular EL54702282 30 452.00 .00
Current Charge Detail
Code Description Amount
EL ELECTRIC 66.05
TAXES 13.52
Total Actual Charges 79.57

Balance : $79.57 as of 11/20/23

Yeah, not enough detail to be terribly helpful.

At 452kwh used the electric usage charge would be $42 with the 10/1/22 numbers. Add the $15 customer charge and it would be $57. That's pretty close; maybe the electric usage rates have increased (I know mine have) but that would require a rate of 0.11294 which is an increase of 0.02 over the 10/1/22 number. They could also be calling that the bulk PCA adjustment.

$13.52 tax on $66.05 is a rate of 20.469%. The 10/1/22 numbers explain 12.564% but that still leaves 7.905% or $5.22 unexplained.

I think I would make a quick call to Leesburg Electric to ask for more details to include an updated rate chart.

EDIT (last one, this is long enough already):
$51.05 for electric
$15 for customer charge
$66.05 Total electric charge

2.56% applied to $51.05 = $1.309
10% city tax applied to $51.05 = $5.105
10% non-city surcharge applied to $51.05+$15+$5.105 = $7.1155
$13.53 Total taxes (rounding differently could get rid of one penny)

If THIS is correct, you are paying both city taxes PLUS a 10% surcharge on the total including the city taxes.

No
 

Of course, she did not. After a more thorough understanding through living here for a length of time it all does settle in. Since every Village differs, they likely don’t have a complete understanding on the differences between some areas.

In addition as originally posted, tax money goes in many different directions. We built here and do love it. Mostly my distaste for taxes is the fact that we pay Wildwood for nothing. They don’t provide the trash, water or utilities. Heck, they don’t even light the street lights at night.

Be thankful Leesburg Electric provides service to your area...otherwise you wouldn't have any service!

LOL

Mine explained to me where baby's comes from :)

Now that’s funny!

Homework
 

Dang. That's some serious homework! Impressive!

For those who live within the corporate limits of Wildwood, there are really only two things you can expect from them: Police protection, and street maintenance. The newer villages being built inside the Wildwood city limits will eventually have their streets (except those wholly within the Villa sections) turned over to Wildwood. But, Wildwood does not provide many services commonly associated with a municipality. They will not provide things like fire protection, water & sewer, trash pickup, parks, etc.

If you take a look at a population growth chart for Wildwood, you will see incredible growth the last five years. The median age is over 58 while Ocala's median age is around 39 which tells you that many of Wildwood's residents live in TV. Around 2006, Wildwood annexed about 5000 acres of land hoping one day that TV would develop it. That is happening now. They had the foresight to do it in advance because trying to annex parts of TV that are already populated would not succeed. I applaud them for their forward thinking. No doubt it has increased their tax base considerably. As the percentage of Wildwood's residents who are Villagers continues to grow, at some point, it is likely that those Villagers in Wildwood will demand more for their tax dollars than they are getting now. I suspect that one day the city's elected officials might even be comprised of several Villagers. That might be the only way to get anything done. In fact, I bet there are several in Wildwood that are afraid of such an outcome.

Actually, south of 44 in the Wildwood areas of The Villages, Wildwood owns the Villa roads as well. Whether that's good or bad is yet to be seen.

In the villas communities north of 44 in Sumter County, the CDDs own the villa roads and treats them with rejuvenator every 5 years to help the roads last longer, and mills and overlays (resurfaces) them on a 20 year schedule. Will Wildwood do likewise, that is yet to be seen. If you're paying Wildwood city taxes, be actively involved in your government to ensure you get the services you are paying for, if you don't, you won't.

easy
 

simple answer for taxes don't pay em lose your house and stand outside hollering but it's the principal of ...

Easier
 

Just run Villages citizens for council members in Wildwood. Villagers will vote you in hands down.

According to Wikipedia, in 2020, the population of Wildwood was 15,730. In the non-Villages area, I would expect that at least 20% would be under voting age and in the Villages area, 100% would be eligible to vote.
I would think the Villages has more than half of the voters in Wildwood. Since Wildwood isn’t giving us much for our taxes,
the town should hold a referendum where the Villages area can secede from Wildwood.

Every VLS has knowledge of every village, it’s on the paperwork, if it’s a preowned, and if new available for the asking. Maybe we just have been around long enough or due diligence of our money and what it’s paying for.

Our VLS gave us the run down in all the utilities, taxes, bond, how much water was in the prairie behind us, and yep sat on the empty property we about to buy and build, recorded the turnpike (4streets away) volume different times of the day. Then our friends did the same to get a second opinion.

So maybe we just have a great VLS, that knows we trust him. Although not perfect, why not tell the customer, if they ask? After all average move is 2.5, we are on #4.

Wildwood
 

The city of Wildwood is on track to be the largest city in the area.

Yes
 

They should but don’t. We found them happy to get our deposit check on the lot and then didn’t see them again after the design appointment! I guess not having paperwork on a house because it isn’t built yet is a valid loophole in knowledge. Great input!

Do you plan on running?

Our VLS gave us bond, compared houses on view lots at our 2700sf giving us estimates on taxes, water, TECO, Seco, and a ball park on cost for build.

He was within 5% on water, TECO,, Seco. Estimate on build was off by $40,000. We added 3 bath, most expensive grade of tile, for floors and baths, up grade appliances (told us not to buy W&D), and higher grade quartz.

All in all questions asked, answered and then some. Then again he is our third agent. He has sold 3 of our houses, and we bought 2, with him

When the houses were being built on our street in Osceola Hills in 2017, some of the workers parked in front of our driveway, blocking us from leaving. I called the Wildwood Police and they sent an officer out to tell the workers to move their cars.

It was kind of funny. They were working on 5 or 6 houses, but as soon as the police officer drove down the street, the workers all seemed to disappear inside the houses being built. They never parked in front of our driveway again.

You are paying Leesburg for utilities not taxes.
Wildwood is your city that you pay real estate tax too.