Exactly. It is all about the Developer. How much more can you want than a Billion dollar net worth each?

Every person running for public office has an agenda. Why else would the run? personnel gain? Do you actually think they care about public citizen after the elections is over?

Disgusting, to propose that kind of a tax increase, and yes, it is a tax increase, after running against a large tax increase.

The impact fees only apply to new development. Keeping the impact fees low encourages new development and new businesses. Existing retail and restaurant establishments struggling with the impact from Covid may not want the competition of new development in the area.

I have seen a post by an existing business that is looking to expand. The increased fees would absolutely influence that decision.

Impact fee might be $1200 per unit. The developer would pay it once, per unit.
Taxes might go up $600 per unit. The property owner would pay that extra $600 every year.

I think it's in the homeowner's best interest to impose the impact fee, and pay that $1200 spread out over the course of their mortgage (or pay it up front via cash purchase), rather than pay $600 per year extra for every year they live there, until such time as the rates go up again.

The problem with calling it a tax increase is that readers become confused (which I truly believe was the intent of the headline in the paper).

The commissioners ran against the 25% property tax increase. The argument was that the taxes were increased on existing properties in order to keep the impact fees lower on new development. If I remember correctly, the commissioners campaigned that they would roll back the property tax increase and remove some or all of the discount being applied to the impact fees. This is exactly what they seem to be proposing now.

Of course the developer should pay the impact fees. Why should Sumter County residents, who are watching their once beautiful area be destroyed, pay.... that's adding insult to injury. It's outrageous that any Sumter County resident should have their taxes raised 25% to pay for something the developer is building and will profit from.

In addition, businesses can (and do) write off every little expense THAT YOU AND I CANNOT😭😭😭😭😭

Yeah, God forbid that any taxes are not thrown on the residents to absorb. Then there is always those residents who like to be abused and like paying extra fees as if we're not paying enough now!

Please don't confuse an increase in property tax with an increase in the rate of property tax. Perhaps it was not necessary to increase the rate of tax over the past decade because each property owner has paid a slow but steadily increasing amount of tax because that fixed rate is applied to the increased assessed value of his/her property. And as a general comment to this post, I would like to point out that growth has its detriments as well as its benefits. You would not know this from reading the Daily Sun in which growth without end is only beneficial, as thousands of acres of productive Florida land is converted to what is considered necessary for human habitation. This is land that is no longer naturally growing trees and grasses, providing homes and habitats for wildlife, replenishing the aquifer, etc. The economic justification for impact fees is to incorporate the true and total costs of development (not just the direct costs) into the process so as not to transfer it to others (the environment, existing property owners, etc.)

I wonder if all those people who brought the trucks and attended the hearing were on the clock and getting paid for it by the developer's favorite contractors.

When in doubt, smear the truth Sayers. Good tactic :)

Right on.

Do you have any doubt?

An interesting conflict. Actually has always and will always be so. We want but we want anyone but us to pay for it. True for all of us-including me.