They are cramming a lot of Villas down there, but seriously you need some documentation to be throwing the 25% out there.

Maybe the cost of the fireworks were subsidized by local businesses?

To be honest, most of Wildwood looks like a place that would benefit from the extra money from the Villagers that are part of Wildwood. It's certainly not going to improve if they have less money. The city has lots of potential. I don't really care that part of my taxes goes to Wildwood. It's like a rounding error compared to my overall expenses.

My part of the Villages is in Wildwood and I would be very unlikely to vote for a Villages candidate over a non-Villages one. I don't think Wildwood needs retiree's whose main agenda is to not spend money telling them how to run things. They would absolutely NOT be a shoe in for Villages candidates to run the city.

I used to enjoy fireworks displays, until one year a friend invited me to her friend's neighborhood, and they were shooting a huge multi-hundred-dollar kit in the middle of the residential street. The smoke, the sound of M-80's, the sparks flying into the trees - it was just all WAY too much for me and I ran away, horrified. I've hated them ever since.

My next door neighbor used to set them off in his back yard from June 1 til the end of July, almost every night. Sometimes the rockets would explode right above my maple tree and the sparks falling onto the branches had me panicking. They thought it was rather entertaining that they were creating explosions in a wooded neighborhood. I thought it was horrible, insensitive, nasty, and uncivilized. It was also illegal in my state, but half the cops in the town were shooting their own kits off in their own yards so there was really no one to report it to.

If that maple tree didn't merely have sparks on the branches, but any of those sparks had turned into an actual fire, it could've been a catastrophe.

The sound still sets me on edge, the closer it is to the house the more nervewracking it is. I am not fond of the sound of guns, or bombs, or explosions. Humbug, sure. I'll own that. I don't apologize for it.

The little town I came from
still puts on a very nice professional fireworks show for 30,000.

At this end of the Villages (far north), we get people shooting off guns and what definitely sounds like illegal fireworks for HOURS 2 days prior to NYE and a couple days after. Our dog is terrified all night for multiple nights. 1 night for 20 min would be welcomed (almost). Just waiting for a major fire during this time of the year and 4th of July holiday.

& Brownwood and South......it's duck hunting season.
Can hear gun fire every morning.

Welcome to America.

As a young person fireworks were only on the 4th of July. Now they go off for most any excuse. For this reason I have lost interest, except on the 4th of July.

Flowers, talk about blowing money (not literally). We pay for them to pull out perfectly healthy, beautiful flowers that have just started to mature and fill in, to be replaced with new flowers. And the pollen that is released doing this. One persons enjoyment is another persons sinus headache. I guess the point should be that if you have an issue, it is up to you to deal with it. I'm a person "at risk" regarding health. I will avoid crowded spaces, I will wash my hands repeatedly and I have my home cleaned multiple times a week. I wouldn't ask others to change their lives because of me. I had a dog who didn't like fireworks, or thunder, or loud motorcycles. I did what I could to comfort him. He is my responsibility. It gets so bad that at a local July fourth parade a resident tried to get bass drums removed from the band.

Making noise at midnight (ie fireworks)is said to ward off evil spirits and intentions as you enter a new year. The noise scares off ill will and welcomes in happy celebration. Ancient Romans believed that if they spent the first day of the new year in a happy and pleasant manner, the rest of the year would follow along in the same way. Modern Romans continue this superstition by throwing massive parties with elaborate fireworks displays every New Year's Eve.

Any holiday all about making money. Making money means taxes and that makes it OK.:MOJE_whot:

If you go to DISTRICTGOV.ORG and look at each districts adopted budget you can find the number of units in each district. Pretty easy to separate the districts that are within the city of Wildwood.

So Gracious
 

Tax and spend mentality is for you, but not most retirees. To you a 100 dollars plus per month is nothing. To many retirees it is more. A lawn service, a couple nights out, a church donation, the electric bill, money for a grandchild?

Don’t kid yourself by thinking people don’t care if they are paying for nothing while their neighbors who live in other unincorporated area don’t pay a dime.


Over 10 years, without raises in the rate, taxes are 15,000 dollars on a home. Nothing to you.

Let’s ask the rest of the villagers who are unincorporated if they would like the same privilege.

Not seeing any point here.

[that is a great plan to bring the community together. And spend money to help local businesses. QUOTE=Normal;2285640]Come on out and see your Wildwood tax money blown up on New Years!

A $138,000 contract with Zambelli Fireworks to provide a 20-minute display on July 3 this year and a seven-minute display for New Year’s, possibly at midnight.
That’s about 5 thousand dollars a minute![/QUOTE]