Thoughts about Proposed Property Tax Increase
 

1. In attending the Meeting at Colony Cottage last month Mr.Arnold
presented the reasons for the tax increase in a well thought-out
manor. I commend him for his presentation.

I have a problem in the question and answer section. Mr. Arnold is
an employee of the County and not an elected official. The elected
Officials of the county who make the final resolution should be on
the front lines to answer questions. The Commissioners are voted
into office by the citizens and should be held accountable.

The question and answer session was set up where Mr. Arnold
stated he would answer any concerns after all citizens made their
comments. From my perspective, he answered only the comments
he wanted to and left things open. Those who wanted clarification
were not allowed to follow up.

2. The Commissioners pay increase is designated by the state, but it
was not said that the State sets their pay schedule by the
population of the county. The larger The County grows the higher
the salaries. Who pays for it ..... the citizens.

3. This year my assessed value of my home went up on top of the
increase of the millage rate (my increase is 28%). My wife and I
receive Social Security and have no pension so the increase comes
out of savings. The local eating establishments and other local
businesses will take the hit because of this.

4. If the Commissioners knew of the expansion of The Villages in
2016, they must have known there would be increased costs over
additional revenue being brought in. Why did we have the
rollbacks in the millage rate? This brings me to one of the reasons
we purchased a house in The Villages 6 years ago. We were told
by our salesperson that because of the growth in The Villages, the
tax millage had been going down and once the building stops our
house value would greatly escalate since they only own property
to the Brownwood area.

5. Are the commissioners making the best business decisions for the
citizens? If we did not have the rollbacks in millage this tax hike
would not be so drastic.

Another way could be to increase the taxes in the areas where the
growth and additional costs are occurring. They could have sold
bonds the past 3 years based on the increased revenue being
projected.

6. I believe the commissioners have mismanaged the county and are
not making the existing citizens a priority. They are making
decisions that could benefit themselves.

7. In all of this, I put no blame on the developer. I believe they are
great business people and do whatever they can to continue what
they have built and trying to evolve to greater things.

When I moved here in 2014 I too was pleased by the tax rates we paid. I also knew that couldn't go on forever as infrastructure wears out and eventually needs maintenance. I also was told by my sales person that Sumter is not The Villages but The Villages is part of the County and to support the growth through out the County will eventually require tax increases. That was not a surprise as where I lived before that was also necessary and our taxes increased.....and they still do. I guess the Commissioners could have increased taxes every year to soften the blow but I suspect we would be asking for the justification and don't know that any of us would have accepted they were being raised to build a cushion for the future. I also suggest that you can vote out the current group and hire a new group but they would face the same challenges. I hear folks complain about the resurfacing on Buena Vista and Morse then in same breath complain about the cracking and pot holes with a solution of just fill the holes or seal the cracks, which never lasts. I salute those that are willing to run for office and serve, but as we continue to condemn those that do, will any of the voices that are raised be willing to step into this firestorm and go through the election process.

One question to ask is: what percentage of total tax revenues are collected from The Villages areas as compared to the rest of the county. Another is; does the proposed spending in The Villages areas approximate what was collected or is the major spending going to other area? In other words, what value are The Villages areas really getting for all their money that is being collected into the County wide coffers. The same should be asked of the bureaucrats running the local towns in which the Villages has expanded. I know that Lady Lake has built some nice rec. fields for the locals, and now wants to build a "nice" community hall so the locals "have something as nice as our Villages rec centers", and Fruitland park has gone on a spending binge with new muni. buildings, a library, etc. A lot thanks to Villages dollars.

my thoughts,...I am not pleased that the reason for the justification for the raise is only to benefit the growth south of 44. I personally do not like that we are expanding their in the first place, and won't gain any benefits from it..taxes should only be raised for those living south of 44. Just my opinion

This is how a community works. Everyone pays in to the same bucket and then the money goes to where it is needed.

We live in the US. We live in Florida. We live in Sumter/Lake/Marion county. We live in The Villages. We give some of our money to each of those communities and it is spent where they decide to spend it. Spending in proportion to who paid in is not part of the deal.

What is about to happen here in Sumter County is not any different than what I’ve experienced in other communities over the last several years. Government tends to “put off” tax increases until it becomes a near crises. As a general rule, “Planning” is minimum at best. Ideally Sumter County should have been planning for this and gradually raised the rates as opposed to a large increase that taxpayers now will have to scramble to cover.

The Tax increase that I received is about what my school taxes would increase each year in Pennsylvania. We have been without an increase for many years. Hiring more deputies for the schools as mandated by the state helps the increase.

MOST counties would have forecasted increased costs when population expands and would have put additional impact fees on property being built.
The commissioners probably don't worry about being voted out, because they could have already been promised jobs with developer.

Just wondering. Has anyone contacted the local news stations to see if they are interested in covering the meeting bringing the information out to more people about the proposed tax increases?

Lets see...the Commissioneers are raising our taxes 25% and giving themselves a pay raise...makes sense to me. VOTE them out!!!!!!!!!!

I've read all the information on the tax increase and understand to a certain degree why they need it. What I don't understand is why the percentage is so large and all at one time. My husband keeps telling me they are asking for 25% but will vote for something less. I keep telling him, "Do you see enough opposition for that to happen? I don't."

It appears to me that just as they rolled back the millage in multiple steps with the intention of giving away monies more slowly than they had to, now they are asking for more than they need up front so they don't have to increase more than one time for a number of years. What kind of financial management does this county have? Don't answer. That was rhetorical.

And replace them with who? Are you willing to run?

I agree with JoMar!

I keep reading, "Vote them out." The statement ASSUMES that the commissioners will have opposition on the ballot. From my observation of recent Sumter County elections - commissioners and school board - I have little confidence that candidates who do not have the backing of the Morse family can successfully win elections.

Smoke and mirrors.

The tax increase is all about greed.
If you haven’t driven throughout the new development area then make a point of taking friends and do it.
The rate of growth is incomprehensible!

There is no way that the developer can finance the infrastructure with bonds as we have been strapped with over the years. There is no amount of money that can keep up with this insanely fast growth unless it gets TAKEN from us.

The slow growth ( perhaps a misnomer)
Of the past is history. It’s all about greed and making the rich richer.

It’s time for grass roots revolt.
It’s not rocket science! Go look for yourself. The new development area
Is HUGE. It looks as though they are are building a new city. The bond revenues
Are not there. Miles of construction is in progress and we pay our bonds as well
As paying for the new infrastructure in the Fenny area. It’s time to raise hell.