[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Happydaz

Orlando has a fire impact fee in place. Many other areas in Florida charge developers a fire impact fee. People make it sound like this is some kind of novel, special tax that people are dreaming up but it is a fee charged in many communities. The reason they charge these fees is to have the developers share in financing all the new fire stations and firemen they need to hire to provide service to all the new homes and buildings these developers are building.

And the new buyers of new properties reimburse the developer. The developer never ACTUALLY has to pay a dime.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Guy

Yes, the PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS of the VPSD will still be there for you..... even though you you were NOT there for them!

If he owns the property he's living in, or owns other property in the Villages, then yes he is there for the firefighters. As you say - they are professional. That means they get paid. They're paid through our tax dollars.

[Happydaz]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

And the new buyers of new properties reimburse the developer. The developer never ACTUALLY has to pay a dime.

The developer also in the end pays not a dime for the land, construction materials, plumbing, electricity, etc., that go into building new homes and commercial buildings. These developments do have an impact on services and infrastructure like roads in a community and that is why many counties have impact fees. Why should existing residents pay for all the improvements needed because of these new buildings? These one time impact fees are helpful in providing a community with some of the money they need to build new schools, roads, fire stations, purchase new fire trucks, hire more policemen and firemen, etc..

[Altavia]

Did The Developer or the County pay for existing firehouses?

[Dond1959]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

And the new buyers of new properties reimburse the developer. The developer never ACTUALLY has to pay a dime.

Actually that is for residential development. For commercial development it will be passed onto the consumer through higher prices on goods and services. If the taxes are too high then maybe a commercial development is not done which will make the current crowding in restaurants, stores, golf courses, and other commercial properties seem like nothing. And before you say it, the Villages developer is not the only one developing commercial properties, look at 466a.

Unfortunately there is no free lunch, someone has to pay.

[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by Altavia

Did The Developer or the County pay for existing firehouses?

The developer built and paid for them and then either deeded them over to the VCCDD (with the stipulation that they always be fire stations or they are returned to the developer) or they lease the property to the VPSD (a much more palatable cost structure than building or buying).

[Aloha1]

Originally Posted by NoMo50

He won't be going to prison (although he should). The former commissioner you speak of took a deal, and testified against his co-defendant. Part of his deal was that all charges against him were dropped. So...one former commissioner is now a free man, while the other is a convicted felon.

What I said. One convicted, the other pleaded guilty. Both were brought to us by the OP.

[tuccillo]

No, he didn't plead guilty. He made a deal for immunity from prosecution. There are conditions that he must abide by for the immunity. If he fails to abide by those conditions then he will have implicitly plead guilty. So, he just needs to follow the rules for a designated amount of time and he is clear.

Originally Posted by Aloha1

What I said. One convicted, the other pleaded guilty. Both were brought to us by the OP.

[Fltpkr]

Originally Posted by oldtimes

Which the county could move to other areas of the county if they are in control.

The more I read about government in The Villages, the less I understand about how it operates and who is responsible for what.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Fltpkr

The more I read about government in The Villages, the less I understand about how it operates and who is responsible for what.

Go get educated!

Community Development District Orientation

District Orientation

You are invited to attend our “Introduction to your Special Purpose Local Government” informational program. You will learn how the districts operate and learn other important community information about the people, services, and other supporting entities that help make The Villages a premier community.

No sign-ups or fees are required for this presentation. This valuable program is held on the second and fourth Thursday of the month at 10:00 AM at the District office located at 984 Old Mill Run in Lake Sumter Landing.

For additional information, please contact the District Customer Service Center at 352-753-4508.

[ScottFenstermaker]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

The developer built and paid for them and then either deeded them over to the VCCDD (with the stipulation that they always be fire stations or they are returned to the developer) or they lease the property to the VPSD (a much more palatable cost structure than building or buying).

Serious questions: Do you know how much the Developer charged the VCCDD for the stations he sold to that District (i.e., to the Villages Public Safety Department) and how much the Developer is charging for the station he rents to the VPSD?

Those amounts are difficult, if not impossible, for the public to ascertain. However, we, as taxpayers end up paying up paying them through our county taxes. Do you know where those amounts can be found and where the underlying deeds/lease agreement are recorded?

[collie1228]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

No, he didn't plead guilty. He made a deal for immunity from prosecution. There are conditions that he must abide by for the immunity. If he fails to abide by those conditions then he will have implicitly plead guilty. So, he just needs to follow the rules for a designated amount of time and he is clear.

Are you sure he didn't plead out? I'm no lawyer and I don't play one on TV, but I do know that in many cases, prosecutors won't offer "a deal" unless the subject agrees to plead guilty as a condition of the deal.

[tuccillo]

My comments were based on what I read in The Daily Sun. What was printed was that the deal involved resigning his county seat and testifying at Miller’s trial, plus a bunch of other restrictions.

Originally Posted by collie1228

Are you sure he didn't plead out? I'm no lawyer and I don't play one on TV, but I do know that in many cases, prosecutors won't offer "a deal" unless the subject agrees to plead guilty as a condition of the deal.

[ScottFenstermaker]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

And the new buyers of new properties reimburse the developer. The developer never ACTUALLY has to pay a dime.

You apparently have never run a business. You assume that a business can simply pass its costs on to it customers. If that were so, no business would ever go bankrupt.

If the Developer's sweetheart impact fee (40% of the cost of his county roads and 0% of the cost of his other county infrastructure) were increased, he would TRY to pass the costs on to home buyers and the price of new houses and commercial property would increase somewhat. However, unless his finance department has left money on the table in establishing the current prices, the Developer already has priced his houses at a level to maximize profits: markup per house times number of houses sold.

Any increase in price would reduce profits by reducing the number of houses sold. Therefore, the probable result of a cost increase from reasonable impact fees would be: a profit hit for the Developer and somewhat higher prices on new houses. That outcome is fine for us, the present residents, since the cost of growth would then be paid by the persons causing the cost (the Developer and new buyers), not by us (the current residents). As a result of the Developer's sweetheart impact fee, we are currently subsidizing the Developer's business.

Why do you think the Developer paid our State Representative Hage almost a million dollars after Hage sponsored legislation protecting the Developer's sweetheart impact fee???

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by ScottFenstermaker

You apparently have never run a business. You assume that a business can simply pass its costs on to it customers. If that were so, no business would ever go bankrupt.

If the Developer's sweetheart impact fee (40% of the cost of his county roads and 0% of the cost of his other county infrastructure) were increased, he would TRY to pass the costs on to home buyers and the price of new houses and commercial property would increase somewhat. However, unless his finance department has left money on the table in establishing the current prices, the Developer already has priced his houses at a level to maximize profits: markup per house times number of houses sold.

Any increase in price would reduce profits by reducing the number of houses sold. Therefore, the probable result of a cost increase from reasonable impact fees would be: a profit hit for the Developer and somewhat higher prices on new houses. That outcome is fine for us, the present residents, since the cost of growth would then be paid by the persons causing the cost (the Developer and new buyers), not by us (the current residents). As a result of the Developer's sweetheart impact fee, we are currently subsidizing the Developer's business.

Why do you think the Developer paid our State Representative Hage almost a million dollars after Hage sponsored legislation protecting the Developer's sweetheart impact fee???

Hage is an employee of the developer so thought he sponsored the legislation as part of his salary. How do you know he was slipped an additional million?

Either way new meaning to conflict of interest.