[Advogado]

What Happened to the Rollback of Our 25% Sumter Property-Tax Increase?

Background: Last Year's Election of the Reform Candidates Estep, Miller, and Search, Who Pledged to Roll Back the Property-Tax Increase by Increasing Impact Fees. Despite the Developer's massive spending, the fielding of fake candidates (now under criminal investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement), and lies and half-truths by the incumbents: Last November, the residents of Sumter County overwhelmingly voted out three of the Developer's five puppet Sumter Commissioners; elected the EMS team of Estep, Miller, and Search; and took control of the County Commission back from the Developer.

The EMS team was elected on the basis of their promise to roll back the obscene 25% property-tax increase. That tax increase was enacted, in 2019, by the Developer's County Commissioner puppets to pay for county infrastructure necessitated by the Developer's massive expansion of The Villages, thereby preserving the Developer's sweetheart impact fee. The EMS team specifically promised to make up for the revenue lost from rolling back that property-tax increase by increasing the Developer's sweetheart impact fee to a reasonable level. To accomplish this, all the EMS team has to do, with a majority on the Commission, is to stick together and keep their campaign promise.

An Appeal to the Newly Elected County Commissioners. I was concerned that the Developer would use all the resources at his disposal to flip one member of the EMS Team and somehow convince him to renege on his campaign promise, thereby returning control of the Commission to the Developer and killing the property-tax rollback. Consequently, in a December, I made the following appeal to Commissioners Estep, Miller, and Search:
Please do not lose sight of what you were elected to do and be taken in by the Developer’s puppets’ specious arguments. You need to rollback the 25 percent tax increase (completely if possible) and make up the lost revenue by increasing the Developer’s sweetheart impact fee– to cover not just roads but also ALL county infrastructure necessitated by the Developer’s massive expansion of The Villages. Your doing so will be your legacy. Your not doing so will let down the residents of Sumter County and destroy both your reputation and your legacy. Remember, you were not elected to be friends with the Developer or with the Developer’s remaining puppet Commissioners. What was going on at the County Commission for a number of years was political malfeasance at its worst. You were elected to clean it up, not to be nice guys.

My concern, unfortunately, was justified.

The Developer's Actions to Try to Flip One Member of the EMS Team.
(1) A Pitch to the New Commissioners by Gary Lester. I understand that:
The Developer had his Community Relations Vice President, Gary Lester, separately invite EMS team members Estep and Search to meet with him in Mr. Lester's office to try to get them to back away from their promise to roll back the property tax by increasing the sweetheart impact fee. Such a meeting would not, in itself, be improper. Mr. Lester's expecting a Commissioner to traipse over to Mr. Lester's office to have it, however, was at the very least presumptuous and indicates how he was accustomed to dealing with the Developer's puppets. Most importantly, it shows that the Developer is not going to just sit back and “allow” enactment of the property-tax reduction/impact-fee increase that the voters wanted.
>Mr. Search told Mr. Lester that he would only meet with him in his (Mr. Search's) own office and did meet with him there. At the meeting, Mr. Search had County Administrator Bradley Arnold present for both advice and as a witness. Based on Mr. Search's vote at the last Commission meeting, Mr. Lester was clearly not successful in flipping Mr. Search.
>Mr. Estep also met with Mr. Lester, but I understand that the meeting was not in the office of either one. I don't know what was said or why the meeting was not in Mr. Estep's office, which one would think would be normal.
>Apparently concluding that Mr. Miller, based on his public statements, could not be flipped, Mr. Lester never even invited Mr. Miller to Mr. Lester's office and the two have not met.
(2) A Propaganda Campaign in the Developer's Newspaper. In the Daily Sun, the Developer has launched a propaganda campaign against impact fees by publishing lies and baloney disguised as front-page news*.
(3) Packing the Last County Commission Meeting. The Developer obviously dispatched his suppliers, his Republican Party insiders, and his other minions to the last County Commission meeting to pack the room and crowd out the public. His suppliers even parked their heavy equipment in the parking lot to make it impossible for the public to park there.

A Successful Flipping of an EMS Team Member? At the last Sumter County Commission meeting, the E (Craig Estep) of the EMS team, joined the Developer's two remaining puppet Commissioners (Gilpin and Breeden) to vote to delay even consideration of the road-impact-fee plan until July. Why did Mr. Estep do this? He has had over a year to study the matter, so he clearly does not need more time, as he claims. Was it something that Gary Lester said during their meeting? I don't know, but the delay marks a major victory for the Developer.

There are hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, and the delay, alone, is putting millions of dollars in the Developer's pocket at our expense--as he continues to pay impact fees at a sweetheart rate and we continue to accrue property tax at the inflated rate. Has Mr. Estep been irreversibly flipped by the Developer? We will see in the upcoming Commission meetings. In the meantime, kudos to Commissioners Miller and Search for trying to keep their promise to voters.

A Reminder to Commissioner Estep. Voters need to contact Mr. Estep and remind him of his promise to ROLLBACK THE 25% TAX INCREASE AND TO MAKE UP THE LOST REVENUE BY ENACTING REASONABLE IMPACT FEES and insist he keep his word. That is what the County Commissioner election was all about and what Mr. Estep was elected to do.

Remember, contrary to the picture painted in the front-page “articles” in the Daily Sun, this would not be a tax increase. It would be a tax shifting in order to put the cost of paying for new county infrastructure necessitated by the Developer's massive expansion of The Villages where it belongs, which is not on the backs of the existing residents. One can certainly make the argument that the massive expansion (with its resulting traffic congestion, environmental issues, crowding, draining of our aquifer, necessity of huge expenditures on county infrastructure, etc.) is detrimental for the existing residents. In any event, why should we be subsidizing it?

But central to understanding all this is the fact that the proposed impact-fee increase/property-tax rollback will not be a net tax increase. It will be a PROPERTY-TAX CUT for existing residents and existing businesses (and for future residents and future businesses as well). All Commissioner Estep needs to do to make it happen is, at the NEXT Commission meeting, remember his campaign promise, say that he has changed his mind about delaying consideration of impact fees, and vote accordingly.


*If any reader of this piece wants to understand more about impact fees and cut through the BS that was published about them in the Daily Sun, click on: Impact Fees FAQ: What Are They, Who Pays Them and Why | Development and Taxes)

[Stu from NYC]

It would help if you published contact info on the developers puppet in training.

Perhaps he can be flipped gain

[Bogie Shooter]

[Advogado]

Not a chance.

[Kenswing]

One trick pony. It's kinda like the RM guy..

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

It would help if you published contact info on the developers puppet in training.

Perhaps he can be flipped gain

It would be more effective if voters were to talk to him personally, but contact email and phone number are here: District 3 | Sumter County, FL - Official Website

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Advogado

It would be more effective if voters were to talk to him personally, but contact email and phone number are here: District 3 | Sumter County, FL - Official Website

Yep---I'm sure everyone here will get right on that

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Yep---I'm sure everyone here will get right on that

Everyone did get "right on" this issue in the last election and voted out the three Developer puppet Commissioners by a 2-to-1 margin. Apparently you are unconcerned about good government.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Advogado

It would be more effective if voters were to talk to him personally, but contact email and phone number are here: District 3 | Sumter County, FL - Official Website

Just sent an email reminding him why my wife and I voted for him.

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Just sent an email reminding him why my wife and I voted for him.

Hopefully more voters will do the same, or better yet, tell him face to face.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Not everyone, since 1/3 of the voters did not. And I suppose "good" government is that government that agrees with your views. But you are slipping---it's been at least 2 posts since we've read "developer's sweetheart impact fees"

You gotta admit, they are real sweet!

[dewilson58]

Board of County Commissioners' Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide the most efficient, effective, and responsive government that achieves economic growth, quality customer service, and a safe community for our citizens.


Their role is to do what is best for the County, not necessarily what is best for the residents.

[Happydaz]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Not everyone, since 1/3 of the voters did not. And I suppose "good" government is that government that agrees with your views. But you are slipping---it's been at least 2 posts since we've read "developer's sweetheart impact fees"

Let me see, 1/3 is bigger than 2/3? : :

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Happydaz

Let me see, 1/3 is bigger than 2/3? : :

Seriously????
Everyone = 100%
2:1 = 66.67%

Which do YOU think is bigger????

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by John41

If you don’t like his posts don’t read them. I am happy he posts reminders.

We still have the freedom to disagree with his opinion. I have been disagreeing with many of the opinions from Avocado for many years. I don't think the developer is doing anything but running a business in such a way that all of our properties here are much more solid than other property in this strange financial world now being dallied with by the young.

I do have advice of my own;.....Stay safe, stay away from those who run around close to others without a mask. No matter what they say about that virus...It's a killer.