[JP]

People voted in those new commissioners because they didn't want a tax increase(ignoring the fact that taxes had not been raised for 14 YEARS!!!). That's somewhat logical. What they didn't realize was the consequences of not having that particular tax increase was going to cause other unwanted tax increases that will stymie business and county development. Most people don't really think beyond "I don't want MY taxes going up 25%". Sad and shortsighted.

[kappy]

Please explain to me how a $1458 increase in the impact fee for all new homes in The Villages would slow down growth. The Daily Sun had an article several weeks ago about The Villages being the #1 fastest growing adult community in the country. If the developer passed on that increase to all new buyers, do you believe that The Villages would not continue to sell homes at the pace they have previously? If you do, I have a bridge to sell you. With the increased population every year, comes the increase in the businesses. Do you have any proof that increasing the impact fees to 100%, where they should have been in the first place, would have any detrimental effect on the continued Sumter County growth? OR, are you just making assumptions? If the three new Commissioners each honored their pledge to increase the impact fees and roll back the 25% tax increase, in a year or two we would know if there were any slow down in growth. At that time, adjustments could be made. I’m betting that there would be no slow down and we all would be happy living in Florida’s Friendliest Home Town.

I believe that the developer has done a wonderful job in building The Villages. I tell all my friends up north, that there is no better place to retire than here. I also do not object to the expansion. I just feel that there should be fairness in how the costs for this expansion should be paid. That is the purpose of impact fees, just look up the definition.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Annie66

I have sent Mr. Estep an email asking him to lay out the background and his current thinking on the impact fee and property taxes. I requested he make it a personal statement to all of his constituents to help clear the air. I hope he takes the time to lay out the background and the balancing of priorities allowing a rollback of some or all of the 25% tax increase. We'll see if he comes through with my request.

I asked him this question and yesterday he sent me his response. Thought about posting it here and after some time decided there was nothing wrong with doing so.

I will keep my thoughts of this to myself for now but do welcome comments.

Dear Stu and Sheila

Thank you for your email. My platform is still to represent you fairly. I am more than happy to share what I am taking into consideration with regards to impact fees. First and foremost, my position has not changed. The 25.5 % increase put some of our taxpayers in distress, and I am working to try and help alleviate that. With regards to impact fees and the adjustments thereof, there are 71 line items regarding those fees. They include such people as newlyweds that would like to build a house, and industrial businesses that may or may not want to locate here and hire local workers if the fees are too high for them to do so. Generally speaking they cover residential, retail, medical, institutions, office, services, and industrial. So you can see there are a lot of people affected, both in the employer as well as the employee sides of the house. My greatest concern is to make sure we get the best possible outcome for the taxpayer, without hurting our taxpayers in this county that may be negatively affected by a too aggressive increase. I am working diligently to identify where in our 76 or so revenue streams available to us the best methodology to relief the pressure on our taxpayers. It may take me some time to do it, but my goal is to have it back where it was prior to the large increase. Please remember, impact fees are only one of those 76 streams, and yes…Covid-19 has taken a toll on some of those revenue streams as well. Thank you for your email and have a great day…Craig










Craig Estep
County Commissioner District 3

[Two Bills]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

I asked him this question and yesterday he sent me his response. Thought about posting it here and after some time decided there was nothing wrong with doing so.

I will keep my thoughts of this to myself for now but do welcome comments.

Dear Stu and Sheila

Thank you for your email. My platform is still to represent you fairly. I am more than happy to share what I am taking into consideration with regards to impact fees. First and foremost, my position has not changed. The 25.5 % increase put some of our taxpayers in distress, and I am working to try and help alleviate that. With regards to impact fees and the adjustments thereof, there are 71 line items regarding those fees. They include such people as newlyweds that would like to build a house, and industrial businesses that may or may not want to locate here and hire local workers if the fees are too high for them to do so. Generally speaking they cover residential, retail, medical, institutions, office, services, and industrial. So you can see there are a lot of people affected, both in the employer as well as the employee sides of the house. My greatest concern is to make sure we get the best possible outcome for the taxpayer, without hurting our taxpayers in this county that may be negatively affected by a too aggressive increase. I am working diligently to identify where in our 76 or so revenue streams available to us the best methodology to relief the pressure on our taxpayers. It may take me some time to do it, but my goal is to have it back where it was prior to the large increase. Please remember, impact fees are only one of those 76 streams, and yes…Covid-19 has taken a toll on some of those revenue streams as well. Thank you for your email and have a great day…Craig
Craig Estep
County Commissioner District 3

A reply worthy of any government official, that states nothing, can be interpreted in many ways, and paves the way to change direction at any time.
Brilliant!

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by kappy

Please explain to me how a $1458 increase in the impact fee for all new homes in The Villages would slow down growth.


If the three new Commissioners each honored their pledge to increase the impact fees and roll back the 25% tax increase, in a year or two we would know if there were any slow down in growth. .

A $1500 increase will not slow TV growth. BUT you can not roll-back the 25% based on a $1500 increase. To roll-back (reverse) the 25% increase, the impact fee would have to be well over $20,000.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

A reply worthy of any government official, that states nothing, can be interpreted in many ways, and paves the way to change direction at any time.Brilliant!

Agree.
Save the reply for the next TP shortage.

[rogerk]

Who would get the biggest benefit from a Property tax roll back? Who is the largest property owner in Sumter County? The developer!

[heenables]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

I asked him this question and yesterday he sent me his response. Thought about posting it here and after some time decided there was nothing wrong with doing so.

I will keep my thoughts of this to myself for now but do welcome comments.

Dear Stu and Sheila

Thank you for your email. My platform is still to represent you fairly. I am more than happy to share what I am taking into consideration with regards to impact fees. First and foremost, my position has not changed. The 25.5 % increase put some of our taxpayers in distress, and I am working to try and help alleviate that. With regards to impact fees and the adjustments thereof, there are 71 line items regarding those fees. They include such people as newlyweds that would like to build a house, and industrial businesses that may or may not want to locate here and hire local workers if the fees are too high for them to do so. Generally speaking they cover residential, retail, medical, institutions, office, services, and industrial. So you can see there are a lot of people affected, both in the employer as well as the employee sides of the house. My greatest concern is to make sure we get the best possible outcome for the taxpayer, without hurting our taxpayers in this county that may be negatively affected by a too aggressive increase. I am working diligently to identify where in our 76 or so revenue streams available to us the best methodology to relief the pressure on our taxpayers. It may take me some time to do it, but my goal is to have it back where it was prior to the large increase. Please remember, impact fees are only one of those 76 streams, and yes…Covid-19 has taken a toll on some of those revenue streams as well. Thank you for your email and have a great day…Craig










Craig Estep
County Commissioner District 3

I think this is a great answer. Seems like most of you think you understand the complexities of what needs to be done. It looks to me like Craig is stating that he is figuring out how to do what they said through various avenues. Did you expect something to change overnight? The good part is that most people here can keep running their keyboard mouths while these 3 figure out how to do what they said.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by heenables

I think this is a great answer. Seems like most of you think you understand the complexities of what needs to be done. It looks to me like Craig is stating that he is figuring out how to do what they said through various avenues. Did you expect something to change overnight? The good part is that most people here can keep running their keyboard mouths while these 3 figure out how to do what they said.

There are numerous ways to interpret what he wrote.

One is what you said. The other is he was bought by the developer.

I am not sure but time will tell.

[PugMom]

either way, Stu, thx for posting his reply

[claylayer]

I don’t understand why a community would jeopardize all of this growth and job security to save $300-$600 per year per home. I’m new here so I am probably missing some parts of this puzzle

[sloanst]

[Worldseries27]

Over lunch at a 5 star restaurant the developer , county officials, current and new home owners are having an amicable discussion over the current financial situations facing them all. Before the luncheon bill is presented the developer and county officials excuse themselves and say they'll be right back. A glance out the window reveals them peeling out of the parking lot tires smoking .

[drrichard]

AMAZING COINCIDENCE - Word for word, EXACTLY the same reply I got from Estep!!

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

I asked him this question and yesterday he sent me his response. Thought about posting it here and after some time decided there was nothing wrong with doing so.

I will keep my thoughts of this to myself for now but do welcome comments.

Dear Stu and Sheila

Thank you for your email. My platform is still to represent you fairly. I am more than happy to share what I am taking into consideration with regards to impact fees. First and foremost, my position has not changed. The 25.5 % increase put some of our taxpayers in distress, and I am working to try and help alleviate that. With regards to impact fees and the adjustments thereof, there are 71 line items regarding those fees. They include such people as newlyweds that would like to build a house, and industrial businesses that may or may not want to locate here and hire local workers if the fees are too high for them to do so. Generally speaking they cover residential, retail, medical, institutions, office, services, and industrial. So you can see there are a lot of people affected, both in the employer as well as the employee sides of the house. My greatest concern is to make sure we get the best possible outcome for the taxpayer, without hurting our taxpayers in this county that may be negatively affected by a too aggressive increase. I am working diligently to identify where in our 76 or so revenue streams available to us the best methodology to relief the pressure on our taxpayers. It may take me some time to do it, but my goal is to have it back where it was prior to the large increase. Please remember, impact fees are only one of those 76 streams, and yes…Covid-19 has taken a toll on some of those revenue streams as well. Thank you for your email and have a great day…Craig










Craig Estep
County Commissioner District 3

[Kenswing]

Originally Posted by Worldseries27

Over lunch at a 5 star restaurant the developer , county officials, current and new home owners are having an amicable discussion over the current financial situations facing them all. Before the luncheon bill is presented the developer and county officials excuse themselves and say they'll be right back. A glance out the window reveals them peeling out of the parking lot tires smoking .

We all know this is a lie.. There are no 5-star restaurants anywhere near The Villages..