Sumter County Fire Assessment Increase
 

161% increase, Yikes!

Have not seen or heard anything regarding. What is the new amount they are seeking?

$124 to $323.34

I guess now we know why Sumter County did not release estimated county fees for fire assessment during the referendum. I know people were worried about The Villages fees and the taxes for the Villages Fire Department but at least the Villages Fire Management was open as to what their fees and taxes would be. I am sure the fees would have been much higher for the rest of Sumter had the referendum passed. The Villages Fire district would have had the majority of the homes and the highest residential tax assessments in the county. The county wanted to spread these dollars over the whole county. Protection is very concentrated so cost are probably less per home in the Villages. The rest of the county is very much rural and very spread out which results in higher cost for the same protection! Hopefully this is a lesson learned! Again, than you to the Villages Fire Department for being UPFRONT on the cost of the department! By the way, this does not mentioned any increase in the county budget for fire protection which are paid with general county taxes.

Guess the village voters made an error in their vote

At one time the Villages EMS had a remarkable record of delivering heart attack victims to the hospital with their heart still pumping. To me that is the only thing that I am interested in. Is that EMS care is at least as good as their past results. We don't know yet what the true costs will be and we can always elect county commissioners that support the villages residents and not the developer in the future. From the information that I have seen a 1000 sq/ft apartment will pay $539-$344 each with no cap on the totals and no assessment ceiling.
This sounds like a Victory for everyone that voted against Villages fire district.

As I recall the "information" or possibly "misinformation" was so convoluted that neither me nor my wife could make heads or tails on how to vote. IMHO, the proposal was not handled well, and I do not believe the people actually got good information on what they were voting for or against, so I guess we are stuck with this for the next few years.....

Did the Villages even have an EMS service before last year?

Where did you find any information on the charges for an apartment? thought the building owner would be charged.

Under the fire district that was defeated my charges would have increased $60 at the most. Under this proposal they will increase $200 at the least. This certainly is not a victory for me but I didn't vote against the fire district.

Not that it matters now but I could share the calculations I used if you are still interested.

I agree with your assessment that the proposal was not handled well. I watched two presentations and was amazed that the funding was explained in such a confusing manner.

I expected a significant increase when the fire district was defeated so not surprised. I was disappointed that we lost a fire chief that gave his heart to The Villages, that defeat was more painful. I suspect the actual increases will be significantly less (aren't they always) but they are more than they needed to be. I also credit the POA for the defeat, many I talked to didn't try and learn, they just followed the POA and voted against the district because they were told by the POA to do that. Lot of that goes on here.

I wish people would see the POA for what it is - A bias
Political organization!

Hopefully Don Wiley will weigh in on this.

The fire tax doesn’t cover the cost so the county's general fund tax rate must be higher to cover the shortfall of fire.

The amazing heart attack survival rate in the villages mostly has to do with the AED program most villages have.

Not the first, and won’t be the last.