[biker1]

Let me get this straight, you believe all campaign promises from politicians? Seriously? We will probably get some rollback, I doubt it will all be rolled back.

Originally Posted by Northwoods

Their whole campaign was "roll back the 25% tax increase." And you're saying "No guarantees"? Seriously?

[Bill14564]

I can't decide which is worse:

- Politicians who make campaign promises they should know they cannot keep

- Voters who believe them

- Apologists that brush aside the broken promises as "just politics"

If a candidate's words and promises mean nothing then what are we electing them on, their good looks?

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

I can't decide which is worse:

- Politicians who make campaign promises they should know they cannot keep

- Voters who believe them

- Apologists that brush aside the broken promises as "just politics"

If a candidate's words and promises mean nothing then what are we electing them on, their good looks?

You have to vote for someone. So you come up with your own personal chart, on paper or in your head.

Mine:

What is the current situation?

What will happen if we do NOT elect someone new, based on what we already know about what the current batch has already done/not done?

Am I okay with the status quo? Yes? Then vote the incumbents back in.
No? Then vote for the other guy.


Pretty simple. The worst that can happen, is no change. The best that can happen is they keep all their promises. What will -probably- happen is at least one promise will be kept, which is an improvement over the status quo.

Never vote for a single issue. You are likely to be disappointed. Vote for the overall effect. If you feel the overall effect of the new regime will be superior to the current regime, then vote for it. If not, then vote for the current regime.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

I can't decide which is worse:

- Politicians who make campaign promises they should know they cannot keep

- Voters who believe them

- Apologists that brush aside the broken promises as "just politics"

If a candidate's words and promises mean nothing then what are we electing them on, their good looks?

The sad part is we keep voting in the same people who caused the mess we are in, in the first place.

[Notsocrates]

Counties usually issue bonds for such purposes amortizing the cost among present and future taxpayers who benefit. With interest rates close to zero now a 30-year bond for a little north of 1% would be attractive to investors and cheap for homeowners

[Stu from NYC]

The developer must be worried, todays article in their paper is about as one sided a piece as we have ever seen.

[Bilyclub]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

The developer must be worried, todays article in their paper is about as one sided a piece as we have ever seen.

Yes, they were inferring that Sumter County has a chance of landing big corporate headquarters like Miami has. The best was the quote from one of the county guys saying TV will never get a Costco, Trader Joes, or Whole Foods with the impact fee increase.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

Yes, they were inferring that Sumter County has a chance of landing big corporate headquarters like Miami has. The best was the quote from one of the county guys saying TV will never get a Costco, Trader Joes, or Whole Foods with the impact fee increase.

I was impressed at how many different topics they could cram into a single article. Enough to confuse the reader about the subject and to blame all the ills of the world on the proposed "tax" increase.

[Stu from NYC]

Journalists these days have no shame.

Guess the people that run the paper think we are a collective bunch of morons. Would have thought after the primary they would have given up that thought but guess not.

[blshep1224]

The Daily Sun is at it again trying to convince the unwary that an increase in impact fees is a tax increase (see pg. 1 of today's Sun owned by the developer). I think what the developer has done south of rt.44 is great, very attractive etc. I just don't want to pay for it. Any of it. I believed the developers when they said they were done, nothing further south of 44 etc. I didn't ask for any of the development going on now. I think the real tax increasers were the previous commissioners who were advocating close to a 25% Sumter county tax increase before they got bounced out of office by outraged voters. This tax would have applied to all Sumter county residents, not just to Villages residents. I don't see why a single Mom trying to keep her family together should pay for our roads , golf courses etc. The impact fee increase proposed by Search and Miller will keep the costs where they belong, with the actual beneficiaries, new homeowners in the southern sections and the developer. The Sun is virtually a bulletin board for the Associated Press and hatchet job character assassinations like in today's edition. If you want to hear the true history of this issue and not just the one-sided BS from the Sun I urge you to call Gary Search or Oren Miller. Gary Search is in the phone book.

[eyc234]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

These new county commissioners have promised something that they can't keep. The county is growing and there are services that are expected and go along with the increased population, which are they going to cut? Library hours? Police and fire service? the county services offices hours? wages? do any one of them have the backbone to make the hard and unpopular decisions? doubtful.

What exactly have they found now that they are in office that they can cut to recover the 25% increase? My guess is NOTHING! They are getting ready to go into the most shocking part of their new positions, the budget season, and the realities of operating a county of this size.

The budget process started tonight at their workshop. They were presented with information about county salaries for the workers. About a 4% increase across the board is proposed. All in about $2,200,000 increase in wages. This doesn't include any new hires, just increases for the current workers. Do they have the backbone to say no pay raises this year to the county workers? once again, doubtful. They can save 15% of the proposed increase in one quick and easy step, all they need do is forego their salaries and benefits, that'll save over $300K per year. Will they do that? keep dreaming!

The real test of their integrity will be in September when the final budget is decided, and the residents of Sumter County find out that they can't deliver on their rhetoric of the last two years; will they fortitude and the integrity to stand up at the board meeting and say to the public:
"We were wrong, we didn't know what we were talking about, we can't cut the budget."
Dream on!

Half of the 25% increase could have been given back in the most recent budget, but it wasn't, it was squandered by every department in the county with 10-20% budget increases that didn't exist in the previous year's 5-year proforma budget projections. They could have started setting money aside for upcoming maintenance and been prepared, instead of ignoring it like they did the previous 14 years. But nope, every department all of a sudden needed new computers, and tools, and other "stuff" since the money was there. The first rule of government budgeting is "if you have the money, spend it, don't give it back to the taxpayers".

As far as the South Sumter county resident expecting pools, town squares, and many of the other niceties that exist in The Villages, they are in for a shock, it's not going to happen, the county doesn't have the money for it. The county didn't build and provide all these nice things in The Villages, the residents did, by buying homes from the developer who invested of that money back into their development to make it what it is; the residents did when they paid their infrastructure bonds on every new home. The Villages isn't what it is because the county spent taxpayer money on these things, it is what it is because we, you, I and every other resident in The Villages invested our hard-earned money into it when we bought our homes. There're no free rides happening here. Each community must invest in itself if they want something better.

[eyc234]

Originally Posted by Aloha1

One item left out of this discussion is that of the fiduciary responsibility of the Sumter Commissioners. They have a LEGAL obligation to not make financial decisions that would damage the County. Failure to do so is a chargeable crime punishable by imprisonment.
I suggest they tread carefully, LEARN all the facets of the budget, current and planned fiscal needs, and not listen the mob. Act appropriately after you learn your preconceived ideas may not have been right.

Uh ooooh, watch out another logical thought, it could be getting contaigous.

[JoMar]

I guess I'm missing something....the elections are over, those that ran to increase impact fees won so they should increase the fees and roll back the tax increase right? It doesn't matter what the Daily Sun prints or how many contractors show up at a meeting....the three won't change their position or their minds right? The good news for the residents is that Lake and Marion Counties are close enough to us that if all those businesses that we want can build there and avoid paying the fees here and we still get to go shop them right? Granted the tax revenues will also go to Marion and Lake and not Sumter but is that important to us? The majority voted for Commissioners that will increase impact fees and not increase our individual taxes so they should vote for what the majority told them to do right? What am I missing?