[rickdankert]

For 3 months, all activities in The Villages were cancelled. Rec centers, pools, outdoor activities all closed. Dog parks closed. But still, we paid our Activities Fees every one of those 3 months. I think we should receive a rebate from The Villages. I received one from my auto insurance provider because I wasn’t driving. I even got money from the government. How about it, Developer? We paid for 3 months and received nothing. A full or partial rebate seems appropriate.

Rick Dankert
Briar Meadow

[UsuallyLurking]

Who collects amenity fees, and could therefore give rebates or whatever, depends on where you live in The Villages. North of 466 it is the Amenity Authority Committee; south of 466 and north of 42 it is the Project Wide Advisory Committee; and elsewhere it is the developer. The two committees are government entities and would require public hearings, advertisements, and votes to do such a thing. To do it villages-wide would require agreement among all three entities. As a practical matter I don't see it happening even if there was sentiment to do so among the various powers that be, and I haven't seen any indication of that.

[Chellybean]

Originally Posted by rickdankert

For 3 months, all activities in The Villages were cancelled. Rec centers, pools, outdoor activities all closed. Dog parks closed. But still, we paid our Activities Fees every one of those 3 months. I think we should receive a rebate from The Villages. I received one from my auto insurance provider because I wasn’t driving. I even got money from the government. How about it, Developer? We paid for 3 months and received nothing. A full or partial rebate seems appropriate.

Rick Dankert
Briar Meadow

I see your view and agree, i brought up this topic a month ago and got bullied: as long as it didn't affect the golfers of the Villages no one gives a cra*p good luck in your post

[Stu from NYC]

Wonder where the money that was not used went to? If it is saved and keep our cost down or prevents an increase for a few years not so bad.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

The golf courses were still open and being maintained. The pools were being maintained, even though they were closed. The grounds at the parks were still being maintained, mowed, raked, leaf-blown, trimmed, flowers switched out for other ones, etc. etc. The electricity for the rec center was still running, water was not turned off. All of these amenities were still being maintained. It doesn't cost any less to maintain when there's no one in the building, than it costs when there are 5 people in the building.

[davem4616]

Originally Posted by rickdankert

For 3 months, all activities in The Villages were cancelled. Rec centers, pools, outdoor activities all closed. Dog parks closed. But still, we paid our Activities Fees every one of those 3 months. I think we should receive a rebate from The Villages. I received one from my auto insurance provider because I wasn’t driving. I even got money from the government. How about it, Developer? We paid for 3 months and received nothing. A full or partial rebate seems appropriate.

Rick Dankert
Briar Meadow

I would think that when the financial breakdown is completed on what actually wasn't spent the amount of any rebate that you'd actually receive back would be peanuts

The insurance companies are doing this because the other insurance companies are doing this. The government did it because thousands suddenly were without any income coming in

Most of us living in TV didn't need any stimulus money...yet we received it.

My wife and I are fortunate that we accumulated enough wealth in our lives to be able to gift half of our stimulus to charity and the rest to a small businessman that we hired to do some work that I normally would have done.

Now if you truly need a freaking minuscule rebate to continue to live here...then perhaps you're living way over your head and need to rethink that.

But most likely this is purely all about some 'principle' of yours being crossed

I hope you're able to get beyond not getting a rebate

[mulligan]

The authorities that control your amenity fees owe you 0 transparency. It is a privately held corporation, not a democracy. That's what most people don't realize. The Villages has NO central government.

[skip0358]

What about the people who are here that either don't use the or rarely use the amenities and they pay every month. This sounds like the same stuff after the big hurricane about wanting refunds & rebates. Not going to happen period. As others have said those buildings, pools etc are still running whether being used or not!

[Marathon Man]

Originally Posted by mulligan

The authorities that control your amenity fees owe you 0 transparency. It is a privately held corporation, not a democracy. That's what most people don't realize. The Villages has NO central government.

Are you sure about that?

[John_W]

Originally Posted by rickdankert

For 3 months, all activities in The Villages were cancelled. Rec centers, pools, outdoor activities all closed. Dog parks closed. But still, we paid our Activities Fees every one of those 3 months. I think we should receive a rebate from The Villages. I received one from my auto insurance provider because I wasn’t driving. I even got money from the government. How about it, Developer? We paid for 3 months and received nothing. A full or partial rebate seems appropriate.

Rick Dankert
Briar Meadow

First off, you're late to the party, you are about the fifth poster to ask this same question. It's not an activity fee, it's an amenity fee. Since the poster Goldwingnut has not responded yet, and he gave an explanation in great detail in March when this was first asked, I'll repost his comments.

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

Your "holiday" idea lacks the an understanding of the Amenity Fee.
First off, the squares and theaters are not amenities and not supported by the amenity fee directly, yes the recreation activities that do occur there help bring business to the merchants but no amenity fee funds are paid to the merchants, and the cost for the nightly music does not come out of the amenity fees.

I pulled up my copy of the current year's budget for the amenity district south of CR466 and took a look at what costs could be cut if we cut the revenue as a result of your "holiday" idea. Remember, in the state of Florida the law requires a balanced budget.
Here's the major categories:
Total budget: $71,814,495 (south of 466)

Debt Service: $23,342,191 - this is the payback of the bonds from 2016 used by the CDD to purchase the amenities, can't not pay this bill, it is a contractual obligation with the bond holders.

Operating Supplies: $2,656,666 - we might be able to cut a little here, the Recreation supplies are $258,00 of this and since few activities are going on they may be a savings in the $21,500 costs but not much. The rest is made up of repair and operating costs of the facilities that will still be incurred.

Printing and binding: $565,020 - this cost will probably go up a little as things are rescheduled and new materials will need to be produced.

Repairs and Maintenance services: $16,079,147 - nothing to cut here, the buildings and landscaping will still need to be maintained.

Insurance: $696,443 - Good luck there getting an insurance company to lower their rate, if asked they would probably raise the rate because of the added risk right now.

Rentals and Leases: $112,241 - all of these will expect to be paid regardless of what is going on.

Utilities: $2,983,124 - Still have to keep the air conditioning on. The toilets may be flushed a few times less each day and it may save a little out of the $263,256 in the water sewer portion of this cost.

Contract Services: $7,258,557 - this includes $2,547,773 for the executive golf courses operation and $2,063,859 that goes to the Dept of Safety (fire stations) that provides a higher level of service than the rest of the county. Nothing can be cut here, the firemen still work and the grass still grows.

Professional Services: $15,318,804 - this is the cost for staffing the amenity portion of The Villages - Administrative, Community Watch, Property management, Recreation dept ($6,733,088), engineering, legal, technology services, etc. These people are still working, shall we lay them off or just not pay them during this "holiday"? Because of this mess they are probably working harder than ever to support the community.

That's most of the costs, there are a few minor additional cost, I've attached this year's budget for amenity fund and project wide fund if you want the detail.

Since we are obligated by state law to balance our budget, which services shall we cut to fund this ill-conceived "holiday"? What bills shall we not pay? What facility shall we not maintain? Who shall we layoff and not pay?

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Total budget: $71,814,495 (south of 466)

Debt Service: $23,342,191 - this is the payback of the bonds from 2016 used by the CDD to purchase the amenities, can't not pay this bill, it is a contractual obligation with the bond holders.

Operating Supplies: $2,656,666 - we might be able to cut a little here, the Recreation supplies are $258,00 of this and since few activities are going on they may be a savings in the $21,500 costs but not much. The rest is made up of repair and operating costs of the facilities that will still be incurred.

The operating supplies could probably be reduced somewhat more, by putting out supplies to bid. When the developer opened this place he had all HIS people doing all this work - companies run by his friends and family and business partners, etc. I'd like to see the list of CURRENT contractors, and I'd like to see if there were any competitors at the time the current batch was chosen, what their offers were, and what was the winning "bottom dollar?"

Printing and binding: $565,020 - this cost will probably go up a little as things are rescheduled and new materials will need to be produced.

This can be slashed dramatically by the elimination of inclusion in the Holding Company's Daily Sun newspaper. It would still be printed. It would still be available to view online, in rec centers, at the sales offices. But take it out of the Daily Sun OR - post a quarterly page of all club and regular activities - with a weekly "change" column, which would fit on half of a single page of newsprint as a PSA or even a paid advertisement. No need for weekly inserts if the only thing printed are the changes. New club listings, eliminated club listings, new addresses or phone numbers or contact info - all that would be listed. But the things that didn't change from the last time it was printed - wouldn't be printed again.

Repairs and Maintenance services: $16,079,147 - nothing to cut here, the buildings and landscaping will still need to be maintained.

How is this different from the Operating Costs above, where you specify that the majority of the Operating Costs cover repair of the facilities? Seems like there might be some redundancy going on that could be slashed from the former. Also see my response with regards to contract bids.

Insurance: $696,443 - Good luck there getting an insurance company to lower their rate, if asked they would probably raise the rate because of the added risk right now.

Rentals and Leases: $112,241 - all of these will expect to be paid regardless of what is going on.

Utilities: $2,983,124 - Still have to keep the air conditioning on. The toilets may be flushed a few times less each day and it may save a little out of the $263,256 in the water sewer portion of this cost.

Nothing to comment about in the above.

Contract Services: $7,258,557 - this includes $2,547,773 for the executive golf courses operation and $2,063,859 that goes to the Dept of Safety (fire stations) that provides a higher level of service than the rest of the county. Nothing can be cut here, the firemen still work and the grass still grows.

No complaint about Dept. of Safety, they earn what they get and then some. Curious about contracting for exec golf though. Again - bids?

Professional Services: $15,318,804 - this is the cost for staffing the amenity portion of The Villages - Administrative, Community Watch, Property management, Recreation dept ($6,733,088), engineering, legal, technology services, etc. These people are still working, shall we lay them off or just not pay them during this "holiday"? Because of this mess they are probably working harder than ever to support the community.

Property Management - aren't they the ones responsible for ensuring that the 55+ status is maintained from a legal standpoint? And are the Rec center employees, or the Community Watch, or the Property Management responsible for ensuring that teenagers aren't playing basketball without their grandparents present? Who's responsible for making sure that the videos of gate-crashing golf cart drivers are checked and provided to the police? In other words - are all these "professionals" doing the job that some of us believe they were hired to do? The safety and security and 55+ legal status of our community is in the hands of someone or someones. Who are THOSE someones, and who are they accountable to? Are they doing what they're being paid to do? If they are, then no complaints. If they're not, then someone - or someones - are overpaid and the job should go to someone or someones who earn it.

[Stu from NYC]

Thanks for educating us newbies.

[Velvet]

My experience, money flows only one way. Out of my wallet.

[Goldwingnut]

Perhaps some should take it upon themselves to learn and understand how the government here in The Villages works and how and what the various budgets are used for. With over half a Billion dollars in assets to manage and maintain a large portion of the Amenity Fee we each pay monthly is required to just maintain these facilities. These cannot be simply turned off and left to sit idle, nor can they be ignored and left to their own devices. Only a small portion of the Amenity Fee you pay goes to buying playing cards and pickelballs. I tried to break this down in simple terms back in March when this idiotic idea first came about, thank you John_W for resharing that post.

As for those that want to armchair quarterback the budgeting process with your digital courage all you continue to do is show you lack of understanding and knowledge. My recommendation to you is get up out of your chair and join in the game, get involved with the budget process, ask questions, put the district staff and your supervisors on the spot and make them answer hard questions about how the money is spent and why we budget what we do. Florida law requires all government business be done in an open public forum (the Sunshine law). I've said word to this affect a dozen times over on this forum.

Sadly I must report that in the 6 years I've served as a district supervisor and on the PWAC I can count the number of residents who have attended budget meetings and workshops that I have sat, on one hand. The number of questions and comments from the public during these nearly 50 meetings is exactly 1. 1 question in 6 years! Only at 2 meetings has there ever been any significant public response, that was when it became necessary to abolish the deferral rate, the vast majority of those who spoke demonstrated a near complete lack of knowledge and understanding of the issue, but this in and of itself has been the topic of many treads so I'll let it go.

For those that actually want to understand how The Villages government works, start with attending the Resident Academy, then talk to your district supervisors, most have a pretty good idea of what and how things work. You can email or call me and we can meet and I'll take as much time as is needed to answer your questions and explain things.

VCDD Resident Academy

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

Perhaps some should take it upon themselves to learn and understand how the government here in The Villages works and how and what the various budgets are used for. With over half a Billion dollars in assets to manage and maintain a large portion of the Amenity Fee we each pay monthly is required to just maintain these facilities. These cannot be simply turned off and left to sit idle, nor can they be ignored and left to their own devices. Only a small portion of the Amenity Fee you pay goes to buying playing cards and pickelballs. I tried to break this down in simple terms back in March when this idiotic idea first came about, thank you John_W for resharing that post.

As for those that want to armchair quarterback the budgeting process with your digital courage all you continue to do is show you lack of understanding and knowledge. My recommendation to you is get up out of your chair and join in the game, get involved with the budget process, ask questions, put the district staff and your supervisors on the spot and make them answer hard questions about how the money is spent and why we budget what we do. Florida law requires all government business be done in an open public forum (the Sunshine law). I've said word to this affect a dozen times over on this forum.

Sadly I must report that in the 6 years I've served as a district supervisor and on the PWAC I can count the number of residents who have attended budget meetings and workshops that I have sat, on one hand. The number of questions and comments from the public during these nearly 50 meetings is exactly 1. 1 question in 6 years! Only at 2 meetings has there ever been any significant public response, that was when it became necessary to abolish the deferral rate, the vast majority of those who spoke demonstrated a near complete lack of knowledge and understanding of the issue, but this in and of itself has been the topic of many treads so I'll let it go.

For those that actually want to understand how The Villages government works, start with attending the Resident Academy, then talk to your district supervisors, most have a pretty good idea of what and how things work. You can email or call me and we can meet and I'll take as much time as is needed to answer your questions and explain things.

VCDD Resident Academy

I work retail. I can't schedule a night off just because I want to go to a meeting, most of which won't even apply to me or my area of residence. I don't live in a district, therefore, as I understand it (with limited knowledge because I work retail and have been scheduled to work on meeting nights or cancelled due to the virus) my residency is not governed by a district government.

As for Resident Academy, it apparently goes into great detail about the district governments, from what I understand (by reading the website). I had initially thought to go to one of these nights, but the first two times I was scheduled to work - and after that, they were cancelled because of the pandemic closures. At this point, I've already been living here over 6 months.

I had questions in response to your post. I asked them, in the thread. I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you. I'll just continue not knowing the answers to the questions. I can live with that.