[charlie1]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

The rates that were passed were tied to an existing study.

Your property tax rate is NOT capped which is why the commissioners prior to the suspended commissioners were able to raise the rate by 30%, an amount you and I are still paying.

You are right, the millage rate is not capped but the assess value of property for Florida residents with homestead exemption is capped at, I believe, 3% per year. The assess value is used to calculate your property taxes. This last year, my market value went up almost $150,000 thousand but my assessment only raise by 3%. Had this cap not been in place, My taxes would have gone up substantially this year but, instead, the total amount due went down!

As far as the study, there was NO study done that justified the increase that was passed. That's why it could not be implemented.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by charlie1

You are right, the millage rate is not capped but the assess value of property for Florida residents with homestead exemption is capped at, I believe, 3% per year. The assess value is used to calculate your property taxes. This last year, my market value went up almost $150,000 thousand but my assessment only raise by 3%. Had this cap not been in place, My taxes would have gone up substantially this year but, instead, the total amount due went down!

As far as the study, there was NO study done that justified the increase that was passed. That's why it could not be implemented.

Thank you for the Save Our Homes discussion. You can find a little more information on the thread about property taxes going up. In particular, if the homestead exemption does not apply then residential assessments are capped at the lesser of 10% or the CPI.

But as you point out, the rate is not capped.

You should find that the increase in impact fees proposed by the previous commissioners matches very closely the rates in this Sumter County Roadway Impact Fee Study.

The increase could not be implemented for a well-known reason that had nothing to do with it being tied to a study.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

Did not the Sumter County Board raise impact fees only to see a state representative who was on the developer's payroll get a law passed to severely limit said increase ?

I'm shocked!

[Speedie]

Originally Posted by RUCdaze

I have to laugh, Charlie and others say they are done with the POA. They don't tell you that they are life-long Democrats and were never in favor of the POA in the first place. Me? I'm in favor of anyone who will help me fight corruption.

Run Forrest Run

[ThirdOfFive]

Can’t help but wonder if this discussion isn’t just a microcosm of the win-at-any-cost mentality that currently infests our political system.

Most (some) people here will remember the phrase “the loyal opposition”. That phrase reflects the idea that even though we may have differing opinions, in the end we all play on the same team. The goal of politics was not to win at any cost, but to get the other side to the table to hammer out some compromise. Not necessarily a pretty sight, but it DID work, for well over 200 years. As Otto Von Bismarck once observed, “no one should ever watch laws or sausage being made”. But the end result, of done well, is pretty palatable. Not a feast, but at least you won’t get indigestion.

Today? Nope.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

I’m not anti-developer. That being said, no for profit entity should have anything close to absolute power and the developers almost iron clad grip on Sumter County is like nothing else I have ever seen before anywhere in the USA. A system of checks and balances is absolutely a good thing.

Agreed. The developer has done a great job building this place but has way to much political power in Sumter cty

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by charlie1

You are right, the millage rate is not capped but the assess value of property for Florida residents with homestead exemption is capped at, I believe, 3% per year. The assess value is used to calculate your property taxes. This last year, my market value went up almost $150,000 thousand but my assessment only raise by 3%. Had this cap not been in place, My taxes would have gone up substantially this year but, instead, the total amount due went down!.

Thanks for the information, I knew the homestead exemption helped by exempting up to $50K of property value from taxes, but I was unaware it also significantly capped increases in accessed values. Perhaps it should be renamed the “Screw Part Time Residents” exemption.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Thanks for the information, I knew the homestead exemption helped by exempting up to $50K of property value from taxes, but I was unaware it also significantly capped increases in accessed values. Perhaps it should be renamed the “Screw Part Time Residents” exemption.

You don't get a discount for /not/ doing something to promote full-time residency. Part-timers don't contribute full-time to the economy, and therefore they don't get the full-time break.

They get a part-time break, in that they can rent their property when they're not there, which will cover the mortgage, taxes, utilities, and hopefully provide a few bucks' profit for their efforts.

If you want the full-time tax break, then you have to be a full-time resident. And you only get that break on the home you actually live in. So if you own 4 homes in Florida you only get one break.

Just like you can't whine about NOT getting a senior discount, when you're not yet a senior. Or the happy-hour special price, if you show up during prime-time dinner hour.

Part timers aren't being shafted. They're paying the regular price. Homeowners who live in their home full time are just getting a discount. They still pay the regular price on additional homes in the state.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Part-timers don't contribute full-time to the economy, and therefore they don't get the full-time break.

Really? So the people we hire to mow our lawns, pull our weeds, put chemicals on our lawns, spray for pests, power wash our homes, tune up our irrigation systems, seal our driveways, take care of our swimming pools, service our air conditioning systems, trim our shrubs, repair our screens, etc…., which all has to be done whether we are there or not, aren’t part of the local full time economy. Many full timers can do those things themselves, so they don’t hire people who are part of the local economy. Furthermore, part timers pay for amenities, trash pick-up, base water and sewer rates, etc… for extended periods of time while not there using any of those services, effectively subsidizing the costs for full timers. In return for that they get to pay significantly more in property taxes and they get blamed for just about everything that annoys many full timers. Hmmmmmm!

[Bilyclub]

Homeowners/ Homestead exemptions pretty much work that way everywhere. You must decide where you get the biggest tax break and make it your residence.

[charlie1]

This really went off track and I am a lot to blame for it. I am sorry for that. All I wanted to get across is that I really do not feel the POA, or any POA for that matter, should endorse or subsidize a political candidate. It is OK in my mind to have candidate forums for the residents to learn about the candidates so they can make an informed choice but that should be the extent of a POAs involvement.

[Marathon Man]

I saw the anti-developer attitude right away when we moved in several years away. I will not be involved with an organization that has that direction of thinking. They claim to work for the residents, when they actually seem to simply work against the developer. "For" would be great, but it does not seem to be there.

[Love2Swim]

Originally Posted by Marathon Man

I saw the anti-developer attitude right away when we moved in several years away. I will not be involved with an organization that has that direction of thinking. They claim to work for the residents, when they actually seem to simply work against the developer. "For" would be great, but it does not seem to be there.

Many people would disagree with you. If you ever read the POA newsletter you would see that the POA explores both sides of troubling issues, then states why they have chosen to take a particular stance in favor of the residents. Its not "anti Developer" its "pro residents". Big difference.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Love2Swim

Many people would disagree with you. If you ever read the POA newsletter you would see that the POA explores both sides of troubling issues, then states why they have chosen to take a particular stance in favor of the residents. Its not "anti Developer" its "pro residents". Big difference.

Agreed. Read a variety of posts on the issues of the villages and decide for yourself.

[Bilyclub]

Originally Posted by Marathon Man

I saw the anti-developer attitude right away when we moved in several years away. I will not be involved with an organization that has that direction of thinking. They claim to work for the residents, when they actually seem to simply work against the developer. "For" would be great, but it does not seem to be there.

It is here. The VHA does some good things, but has never gone against the developer even when it would have been good for the residents.