[biker1]

Yes, the incremental amounts do add up with time. Keep in mind that some of the revenue will be needed for services for the continually growing population and presumably cannot be all applied to infrastructure. I would like to see an analysis from the county of how much the new construction impact fees would need to increase in order to rollback the 25% county tax increase of 2 years ago. I suspect that increasing the impact fee to $5K (a SWAG) would not impact sales (that would be a 2% increase on average and I agree that the cost would be passed through to the buyer). I have no idea what real number would be needed, which is why an analysis from the County would be nice to see.

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Point conceded. So 3 million year 1, 6 million year 2 = 9 million first 2 years, 18 million for 3 years, 30 million for 4 years, 45 million in 5 years.

So it might take 5 years to pay back the 50 million in original infrastructure expense, but after that it's all gravy to Sumter County residents

I'm sure there are some here who think "the developer' should just write a check for 50 million to the county, well.........:1rot fl:

[Vernon Hud]

YES>>>>>Let the builder pay them, and they will pass it on to the home owners. And by the way, this community is growing to fast anyway, and some people always say you can move. Well, I think we all know that, we did move here for a better retirement, but why should we pay for these sweetheart deals for the developer to keep lining their pockets. When we bought here in 2007, the builder was worth 3 Billion dollars then , can you imagine what they are worth now. It is the same old story with the rich, if I cry enough, I will eventually get my way.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

How does 60 million PER YEAR take 15-20 years to cover a 50 million debt????? Common care math?????

And if the previous poster is correct about 60,000 new homes, that's approx. 180 million PER YEAR, so the 25% tax hike could be rolled back in 4 months

They are building 2,000/3000 homes per year............it will take years to get to 20,000 homes. 20,000 (or the new 60,000) WILL NOT be built in one year.



Also, It's not $50mil in debt, it's $50mil in increased taxes every year (generated by the 25%)

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Vernon Hud

YES>>>>>Let the builder pay them, and they will pass it on to the home owners. And by the way, this community is growing to fast anyway, and some people always say you can move. Well, I think we all know that, we did move here for a better retirement, but why should we pay for these sweetheart deals for the developer to keep lining their pockets. When we bought here in 2007, the builder was worth 3 Billion dollars then , can you imagine what they are worth now. It is the same old story with the rich, if I cry enough, I will eventually get my way.

And you care how rich the developer is, because........

Remember, the developer will just pass any impact fees along, just as you said, so I've lost the point you were trying to make, if any

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by angiefox10

Is it worse that I am Miller’s wife than the developers own the Daily Fun?

I don’t know this person. 😊

“ To the Editor:

What a load of BS. Talk about state-controlled media. The Villages Daily Sun, owned, operated, and controlled by The Villages developer has sunk to new lows.
I don’t think you could see more one-sided reporting and attack propaganda media reporting in state-controlled Russia or China.
Wednesday’s “the world is coming to an end” article was so blatantly slanted and self serving, it was almost comical.
And then they doubled down in Thursday’s paper. Wow, complete arrogance. They obviously believe we are indeed that stupid. They had quotes from Villages officials, and of course all their business partners who contributed to the ousted commissioner’s campaigns and are now lining up to vilify the new commissioners, no doubt at the urging of the master.
“We the People” not the Developer or his loyal suck-ups, voted overwhelmingly to oust the previous yes men commissioners and their 25 percent tax increase (mine was 28 percent).
The new commissioners were elected to address this ridiculous increase and the equally ridiculous low impact fee the developer pays per housing unit. The owners of these new housing units and area businesses are the ones that will be using 95 percent of the new roads and infrastructure these impact fees pay for. And all these whining business leaders are going to continue to profit enormously from the new homes.
So why are the residents north of SR 44, and especially the residents north of 466 and 466A, who will rarely if ever use these roads being asked to foot the bill? Where the Hell was all the outrage from all these businesses we support when they raised our taxes? These two Daily Sun articles tell us over and over that “Tax Increases” will destroy the county and “cripple business growth.” Give me a break. Apparently, according to the Daily Sun and these business leaders, the current increase in impact fees is very bad, but the 25 percent increase on residents was very good. Talk about hypocrisy.
Why was this commission meeting so far south away from the voters most affected? It was very convenient to be so close to construction sites so all of those construction vehicles and pickup trucks could take up all the parking spaces. Gee, I wonder who could have coordinated all of that.
So now it’s clear the Developer has chosen to try to control and intimidate the newly elected commissioners through attacks using their newspaper and their loyal and wealthy business partners, as well as stacking commission meetings. When the “State” controls the press they will always use it to try to control and contain their opponents.
By the way, I have been here long enough to remember the substantial tax increase they wanted to fund the first hospital. It couldn’t possibly be built without the new tax the Daily Sun told us over and over. Well we voted the tax down and guess what, the hospital was built and doing quite well. Now we hear that the new hospital would be in jeopardy if we increase the impact fee. More BS, just like the rest of it.”

Luke Courtemanche
Village of Haciendas of Mission Hills

I am guessing the editor used the above letter to wipe his butt. If the letter was published in the Daily Sun, the editor would be looking for a new job.

[fastboat]

Originally Posted by jrandall

As a resident of Sumter County, I oppose the proposal by Oren Miller and Gary Search to raise road impact fees. Sumter County is a model for the State of Florida for Economic Growth and has been attracting business to it for the past several years. The proposed increase is outrageous! The increase will further decimate businesses impacted by the Pandemic and will make investing in Sumter County by potential incoming business less palatable and will likely steer many away. Also I am even more concerned that we may lose the potential for UF to build a hospital and medical facilities in the south which is definitely needed with our growth in population. The raising of the impact fees will damage our Community for years to come.

Boy they got to you didn't they? Just how is raising the developer's impact fees going to affect businesses or the UF hospital for that matter? If it affects anything it will be the cost of new house being built below Rt 44 by a couple hundred dollars because the developer refuses to take anything less than the $100K+ profit they make on each and every house they sell. Wake up. I don't begrudge them making a profit but how much is enough? They're all BILLIONAIRES already?

[biker1]

I doubt an increase of "a couple of hundred dollars" is going to accomplish anything. The 25% increase in the County Tax two years ago increased the revenues by about $48M. If you are trying to replace that with impact fees on residential construction only, you would need to increase the impact fee by about $22K (per new home). I'm not sure that is the whole story, which I why I would like to see some perspective from the County.

Originally Posted by fastboat

Boy they got to you didn't they? Just how is raising the developer's impact fees going to affect businesses or the UF hospital for that matter? If it affects anything it will be the cost of new house being built below Rt 44 by a couple hundred dollars because the developer refuses to take anything less than the $100K+ profit they make on each and every house they sell. Wake up. I don't begrudge them making a profit but how much is enough? They're all BILLIONAIRES already?

[EviesGP]

Agree(with above). The Impact Fees and the 25% tax increase are not precisely related.

The Impact Fees are/have been an ongoing concern, as the developer has been allowed to pay a reduced portion. I think this is wrong, as the developer planned, purchased, and executed this expansion, without us tax payers having input(only the commissioners, whom encouraged it). Hence, the burden should be put on the developer, who has every right to pass that on to the purchaser. Never have I seen a place, where a developer proposes a development to a town or municipality(county), have it approved, and then pass the impact costs onto other areas of the county???

As for the 25% tax increase, the Impact Fees are only a portion of that. There were many other items included. Like, pay increases for themselves. School Resource Officers(SRO), which were already (mostly) being provided, but they opted to add more staff, to cover it, now that the state law came into effect. Yada Yada Yada.
Regardless, you can argue for and against some of these initiatives, and determine which are important and worthy of a tax increase. My issue is/was, that they were ALL piled into one omnibus spending bill with very little debate?! Again, I have never seen anything like it? Even in a very liberal(tax heavy) state that I came from, a 25% increase in one year would be totally unacceptable! Regardless of the tax liability history of the county, that is VERY POOR planning on their parts, to wait and decide this increase was needed all at once?! And, when questioned, they stated it was all necessary. THEN, they decide to reduce it? Just what kind of planning was really done??? So, yes. They can opt to roll back some of the 25%, and if some of those initiatives are defunded, those agencies will have to make tough budgetary decisions, like everyone else.
NOTE: I love TV, and all it has to offer. And I am NOT anti-developer. I love what the Morse's have done. And I am quite disappointed that this issue has been brought into "Florida's Friendliest Hometown".

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

And if "we" weren't, "we" still would be paying in higher new home prices. "The developer" is never going to eat those impact fees.

What do you think? That a developer in Collier County pays $2300/home impact fee and just takes it out of his profit???? Or is the average home cost $2300 more than it would have otherwise? Get real, "the developer" is not greedy, or evil, just a business entity and a successful one at that, which probably leads to jealousy and the concept that he should pay more because he is "rich". Go out and earn 1 billion yourself and you can pay whatever you want in unnecessary taxes and fees

That is nuts. Sure, the Developer will pass along as much of the higher impact fee as market forces will allow, but probably not 100% and he will take a profit hit. Why do you think he is fighting so hard to keep his sweetheart deal?

But whether he passes on his costs or not is no concern to us, the current residents. The new residences are causing the additional infrastructure, not us. If new house prices go up, so what? It will increase the value of our homes. In the last election, we overwhelmingly decided we want our 25% property tax hike rolled back!

[kappy]

The developer currently pays $972 per new home built. If the 100% impact fee is $2430. The difference is $1458. I just rounded to $1500 , which we all know will be passed on to the buyer of the new home.

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Apples & Oranges.
1/2 of Collier is for Schools.
Collier has dollars for parks, etc., which do not apply to TV.

No, it is apples and apples, for illustrative purposes. It illustrates the approximate size of the Developer's sweetheart deal when he only pays 40% of appropriate road infrastructure costs.

Collier County requires developers to pay for ALL their infrastructure: roads, libraries, government buildings, fire stations and equipment, parks, etc. The Developer, thanks to his puppet Commissioner, only pays for roads and then only 40% of his share. You, the other current residents, and I are making up the shortfall. This amounts to us giving the Developer hundreds of millions of dollars.

Certainly, I don't have a number as to exactly how much the Villages Developer should be paying, but it is crystal clear that he has set up a sweetheart deal for himself. Calculating the appropriate amount for him to pay is why impact-fee studies are conducted and why one needs to be done for all infrastructure (in addition to roads) in Sumter County.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

And you care how rich the developer is, because........

Remember, the developer will just pass any impact fees along, just as you said, so I've lost the point you were trying to make, if any

The developer will pass the impact fee along to the new homeowner. That fee will be paid once, and it'll be however more more than whatever they are paying for the current $900 impact fee being imposed on that same property now. Once that finite dollar amount is paid, it never has to be paid again.

Compare to an increase in taxes, which has to be paid every year, and will easily exceed the *increase* in the already-existing one-time impact fee within 5 years.

Anyone already living in the Villages, OR looking for a resale and not new construction, will NOT have to absorb the developer's cost of the impact fee, because there exists no impact fee on already-existing homes.

The ONLY people affected by the impact fees are builders (and therefore) buyers of new construction. They are affected by it ONCE.

Who is affected by increased taxes? EVERYONE living in the county. And they will pay it EVERY YEAR.

That's why I'm for a lower tax increase, and a higher impact fee.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by kappy

The developer currently pays $972 per new home built. If the 100% impact fee is $2430. The difference is $1458. I just rounded to $1500 , which we all know will be passed on to the buyer of the new home.

And -only- the buyer of the new home. No one else.

Compare now to the 25% increase which might be as little as $50/year, or might be as much as $1000/year.

For the next 5 years. For every single property owner in the county.

[MIskra]

I just read the Executive Summary from the Sumter County Board of County Commissioners, dated January 5, 2021 with the Subject of "Other Impact Fees than Road Impact Fees (for Direction)." The commissioners are researching the possibility of imposing additional/new impact fees. In this meeting they discussed the following impact fees:
• A fire services impact fee
• A law enforcement impact fee
• An impact fee for the public safety radio system
• A jail and court impact fee
• An animal shelter impact fee
• A recreation impact fee
• A library services impact fee
You can be sure that, just like the roads, more of these hidden fees will have a big impact on your wallet.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Advogado

Collier County requires developers to pay for ALL their infrastructure: roads, libraries, government buildings, fire stations and equipment, parks, etc. The Developer, thanks to his puppet Commissioner, only pays for roads and then only 40% of his share..

Apples to Oranges.............The Developer pays for their own parks. The retirement community does not need schools. Libraries are dying.