18 new county deputies?
 

1) The Sumter County sheriff is asking for 18 new deputies in the next two years - how many deputies does the county now employ? 180 - which would be a 10% increase...90 currently would mean a 50% increase..???

2) Will all 18 of these be assigned to the area located within The Villages? If so, would that mean a person living in Bushnell will be paying for all these additional salaries or is there a separate county fee assessed to Village residents that will cover the cost of these new hires? What is the total number of positions Sheriff Farmer is asking for? How many support staff will need to be added in addition to the 18 deputies?

3) I was under the impression that a CDD is not able to have an armed police force. Is Buttonwood part of The Villages or is it part of Wildwood? If it is part of The Villages and is built on land owned by the developer, how can there be a Wildwood Police Station located in Brownwood?

4) Has there been a noticable increase in reported crime that makes this necessary? How serious is our safety issue as our size grows?

I don't have the answers to many of your questions, they may be best addressed directly to Sumter County. Sumter County is quite large and includes many towns, including Wildwood. Part of The Villages, including the Brownwood town square are located in Sumter County and law enforcement is present throughout our community. The Villages District government does not employ armed law enforcement. Community Watch is a patrol and report organization and is not armed. The hiring of 18 new sheriffs may have nothing to do with us and can be stationed throughout the county. My best guess is that they are budgeted with the property taxes of all homeowners within the county.

They have to find some way to spend all our tax $$$$ Heaven forbid they should try to manage cost and lower taxes. They have extra money and they are going to find a way to spend it.

I think I am reading a fiscal conservative.

And that ain't bad.

If you want answers and not just to vent (which is ok, we all do it), I suggest you contact the Sumter Sheriff's Office instead of Villagers. Not sure why you are asking questions here as if any of us know. We don't. So go ask Sumter County and let us know if you would like to.

I do know this much, Brownwood is in the City of Wildwood. yes it is.

nanance -

Sheriff's Office wants to increase its deputies for The Villages - Daily Commercial: News

that's an article i posted some time ago from the leesburg daily commercial...it may not answer all of your questions, but it does give clarifying information.

How many times were taxes raised in the past 7 years ?

What village do you live in?

If I read it right, Bushnell has no police department any longer and is patrolled by the Sumter County sheriff dept. So, that will account for some of the deputies being hired. And, IMHO I look forward to seeing more police and/or deputies around to make sure we are safe.....and if they catch some of the speeders that we all get angry with, it's okay with me.

:agree:

X-2

Why is it that there are always people questioning the hiring of Law Enforcement- but not Fire Department? They both save lives and put their lives on the line to obey the law and protect the citizens.

Police give tickets--because "people" break the law. They also show up to crime scenes, get shot at, run after criminals and even deliver babies (well maybe not many in The Villages) but they do.

Taxes go to help with the cost of living in any city. Do you think that Sumter County- just picked 18 out of a hat? Or do you think they really need 25 or more and opted for 18? How many patrol at one time on one shift? What if you have a few calls that require more than one officer on two parts of the county? Ever thought they might need "backup" for their safety or your safety? When you need an officer in an emergency and can't get one to your house because there are not enough on the streets--I bet we would hear complaints on this forum--(that is if they ever let the ER get some slack).

Hats off to all the Police/Fire Departments that always put their lives on the line. I think it is great Sumter County is going to hire more officers and dispatchers!

Sumter County is a lot bigger than just TV.....so whyis the thought these additions are just for TV?

I contend they could assign all 18 to TV and do nothing other than ticket traffic violations on the road and the multi modal paths. The ticketing will more than offset their pay and could be used to fight the lessor issue in TV.....crime.

When they get TV to the status that everybody who drives here adhere's to the rules of the road then maybe assign them to something else (what was that cracking sound....musta been hell freezing over!!).

btk

I always wonder who "they"are and why "they" always seem to be out to get "us".

:agree:

None, they have lowered the tax's

I remember reading in the "Happy Paper" that when Brownwood was being built, which is located in Wildwood. The villages agreed to pay for two officers from Wildwood. I can't remember if it was the Developer himself, or the merchants or the homeowners that would pay for the officers.

Even though I'm a Rays fan, I have to agree. :^)

It is the rampant crime wave here in the Villages that the Sheriff is trying to get under control. And of course there is those 70 year old plus gangs that have been roaming the streets, robbing, killing and who knows what else. It's getting so a Villager isn't safe going outside their homes after dark. And don't forget about all the Illegal drugs and meth labs that can be found in every neighborhood. Well, I can assure you those 18 deputies will stamp out the crime in short order.

https://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-...w=1600&bih=768
Population chart for Sumter County up to 2010

At this link is the contract between the Sheriff and Bushnell. This alone requires additional officers and staff, much less The Villages growing by 300 new homes per month!

http://www.sumtercountyfl.gov/Agenda...48?fileID=3649

And along with this growth of 300 homes per month, the tax base increases accordingly. A sheriff deputy I met a few months ago told me that the county commissioners are excellent in budgeting and spending wisely, and accordingly, our taxes have gone down. He said the sheriff dept. has returned a large surplus to the county commissioners each year lately. Give credit where credit is due. I'm glad they are increasing patrols here. Population 100,000+ and 32 square miles in TV is a huge place to police.

BRAVO--BRAVO--BRAVO

:ho:

The Villages, Wildwood, Coleman, Webster, Center Hill, Tarrytown, St. Catherine, Wahoo, Lake Panasoffkee, Oxford and all the area in between. That is Sumter County. Big area to cover. Surprised they have not asked for more positions.

I have learned a great deal so far on this thread. Taxes have not been increased in recent years. The increase in police would be ten percent which seems fair given the amount of growth we have seen in the past couple of years and that we all agree we like the police and feel safe with them and trust them. We are all hoping that the new ones will be shared among the tax payers in and out of The Villages.

I think there is an argument in here somewhere or if not one will soon appear. Beats the heck out of a real or imagined crime wave.

This is a very safe place and fortunately we aren't adding much here in The Villages to drug dealing, prostitution and gang fights, murders and armed robberies... although we did have a meth lab up in the attic of someone's hot garage, and there has been a recent break in...I guess. Not clear just what did happen in Sanibel. Also not clear if someone was running around naked in a sheet.

So I guess that I will go to bed again feeling pretty comfy here with my friends and neighbors armed if we need them and a goodly amount of police officers at the ready.

I love this place.:BigApplause: