The Villages 25% tax increase debacle explained
 

Hi all, I'm a resident of St. James since 2018. I remember when this went down thinking how in the heck can property taxes go up 25%?! Well I just came across the article in The Intercept entitled The Villages Crush a Grassroots Revolt, and my mind is blown. What a crazy, sad story!

Linky? Synopsis? Maybe even just a blurb?

I tried to include the link but was not allowed, possibly because I don't have enough posts on TOTV. If you search the headline I gave you'll find the story. It's long and in-depth but wow, what a story.

Search: The Villages Crush A Grassroots Revolt


I haven't listened to it yet but there is a podcast of the same title regarding the story too:

"In 2019, residents of The Villages, an iconic retirement community in Florida, were suddenly hit with a 25 percent hike in their property taxes. In the master-planned community of 130,000 across the state’s Sumter, Lake, and Marion counties, many residents are on fixed incomes. The tax hikes were intended to subsidize new developments south of the community, rather than cover new amenities or upgrades for current residents. The entity known locally either as “the developer” or “the family” benefited from the tax hike and could then escape paying fees associated with the expansion of their development. This week on Deconstructed, host Ryan Grim takes us to The Villages to meet residents who banded together to rollback the tax hike but who were ultimately blocked by powerful players. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the local political machine run by The Villages fought the residents, leading to one of their champions being thrown in jail."

A 2024 post referencing a 2023 article about a 2019 event. Dude! You have some catching up to do!

Really old news……

I do! My primary residence is in Utah so I miss out on a lot of the juicy gossip. The story is a shocker though and I figure I'm not the only one who missed it.

IMO the shocker was the set up and ousting of two commissioners. :throwtomatoes:

Incredibly disturbing. Sounds like it's been swept under the rug. Maybe Villagers are now afraid that they will be put in prison next if they speak out.

Wait until you hear what President Nixon did and what happened to him! Buckle up!!

The Intercept is an American left-wing nonprofit news organization. Quoted from Wikipedia. They have a history plagued with scandals. Go to Wikipedia and read about them and then believe what you want about their bias journalism.

Just read an article about this 'tea pot dome scandal'. Boy that Harding...what a scoundrel.

The story is very disturbing. I’m surprised it didn’t get national attention.

Hilarious posts. Time stands still in the time warped Twilight Zone.

O.P. - Just rest assured, Villagers... are not afraid.

I know extreme bias is at play when i read things like: "many are on fixed incomes." Most pay cash for their homes.

When you let other people control your purse strings this is what happens. Right now Lake county has had two back-to-back large increases larger and the inflation rate