[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by John41

Obviously you have no supporting facts for your assertions and I am not going to do your research for you.

All you have to do is look at Collier County Impact Fee.
Knowledge is priceless.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by John41

Obviously you have no supporting facts for your assertions and I am not going to do your research for you.

You must learn, just because it's posted on the internet does not mean it's true.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by John41

4. Were the voters in the last election misinformed?

I don't know what they were told.

Each voter must answer this question, I can not answer for each & every voter.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Yes.............he just realized the County can not reverse the 25% increase without a plan. The light bulb has not come on for the other two newbie commish's.

Exactly!

At the end of the day, there is no budget Santa Clause for the county.

[Bilyclub]

After that reply from Mr. Estep, check your shoes. Mr. Estep has had over a year to "gather as much information as possible".

They only took office in November. I'm sure he was not privy to a lot of information until he was sworn in.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

If funds accumulate, that means they're no longer in debt. That's a good thing. Right now Sumter County is in the red. They have spent, and spent, whether wisely or not, doesn't even matter anymore. What matters is that they have debts. A city with debts is a city that has to make up the loss, and has to get the money from somewhere. Part of the cost of being a municipality needs to include a buffer - call it a roof fund, or

According to Fitch municipal bond rating Sumter county is rated AA+ so I dont know why you think Sumter is in the red and needs a tax increase. Note "very low long term liability burden".
--------------------

The latest Fitch report attributes Sumter County’s strong rating to “the county’s superior gap-closing capacity, very low long-term liability burden, and solid expenditure flexibility.”

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

After that reply from Mr. Estep, check your shoes. Mr. Estep has had over a year to "gather as much information as possible".

They only took office in November. I'm sure he was not privy to a lot of information until he was sworn in.

Thanks. Thats what I thought too but I've lost track of time since being shut in with covid social distancing

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Yes.............he just realized the County can not reverse the 25% increase without a plan. The light bulb has not come on for the other two newbie commish's.

The EMS team was crystal clear that the 25% tax increase would be rolled back by increasing the Developer's sweetheart impact fee! The light bulb has been turned off by Commissioner Estep. What is going on here????

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

If you read, you will learn.
Collier fee includes schools, parks, etc., which either does not apply to a +55 community or the developer pays for.
Check the facts, then you will know who states facts.

Exactly the point. The Developer's puppets have offloaded those costs onto the residents, and now Mr. Estep, contrary to his campaign promise, is allowing it to continue. In any other county, not controlled by the Developer, those costs would be covered by impact fees. Here the costs are offloaded on to the residents.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Advogado

The EMS team was crystal clear that the 25% tax increase would be rolled back by increasing the Developer's sweetheart impact fee! The light bulb has been turned off by Commissioner Estep. What is going on here????

What's going on is simple math...........to reverse the 25% increase, the impact fee would have to be over $20k per house (just for roads, not schools, parks, etc....so don't talk Collier) and an increase from $1k to $20k ain't going to happen.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Advogado

In any other county, not controlled by the Developer, those costs would be covered by impact fees.

Wrong.


Most all counties discount the fee.
Consultants determine the cost per and the consultants recommend discounting and most counties end up discounting.

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by ton80

I understand all of that. My point is that the Commissioners need to watch how the money is spent. If too much money is continually spent and spent perhaps unwisely as you mentioned, they will continue to add debt to satisfy their appetite. The debt will not be reduced despite the high tax rate increase.
Another point is should we have confidence in County management that did not realize that they had a problem? All of a sudden a large tax increase is necessary. Where is the emergency you allude to? I would like to see where the extra $33.3 M per year is going. Don't you?

The large tax increase was necessary for one reason: To protect the Developer's sweetheart impact fee. For Pete's sake, he would pay twenty times more in Collier County. We need to ask ourselves, What is going on here? We need to insist that politicians keep their campaign promises.

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Wrong.


Most all counties discount the fee.
Consultants determine the cost per and the consultants recommend discounting and most counties end up discounting.

Of course studies by consultants are necessary. One was already done regarding the road-impact fee. Then the Developer's puppets imposed a road-impact fee of only 40% of the amount calculated by the study! Can you explain why the Developer would pay 20 times more in Sumter County?????

The Developer's puppets also imposed no impact fees for other county infrastructure. Honest question: Are you affiliated with the Developer or do you just enjoy writing him a check each time you pay your county tax bill????? I honestly don't know how anybody can rationally defend what has been going on in Sumter County.

But this whole issue should have been decided in the last election. The voters decided, by about a 2-to-1 margin, when they elected the EMS team: Roll back the tax increase and make up the lost revenue with reasonable impact fees to pay for the new infrastructure. Only because Mr. Estep has reneged on his campaign promise are we even debating this now! What is going on? is what we ought to be asking ourselves.

[Advogado]

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

After that reply from Mr. Estep, check your shoes. Mr. Estep has had over a year to "gather as much information as possible".

They only took office in November. I'm sure he was not privy to a lot of information until he was sworn in.

The information is public. Mr. Estep had plenty of time to review it before telling voters that he would roll back the 25% property tax increase.

It is clear that the Developer has a sweetheart deal on impact fees. Whether the 25% tax increase can be totally reversed with an end to that sweetheart deal is yet to be calculated and will require an impact fee study covering non-road infrastructure. Maybe it can be rolled back by more than 100%. What is clear is that the tax increase can be rolled back.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Advogado

The information is public. Mr. Estep had plenty of time to review it before telling voters that he would roll back the 25% property tax increase.

It is clear that the Developer has a sweetheart deal on impact fees. Whether the 25% tax increase can be totally reversed with an end to that sweetheart deal is yet to be calculated and will require an impact fee study covering non-road infrastructure. Maybe it can be rolled back by more than 100%. What is clear is that the tax increase can be rolled back.

One more time, for those of us that don't catch on quickly.

The "developer" is not getting "a sweetheart deal". New homeowners are getting it, if it is in fact a "sweetheart deal" (which I don't dispute). So the only question that remains is whether the cost should be shouldered, one time, by a new homeowner or shouldered by all taxpayers over time.