[Bill14564]

I attended the VPSDDD Funding Mechanism Public Information Session today (3/11) at Rohan. Here are some of my takeaways:

• - There were about two dozen attendees. This was not a very good turnout for a topic that is sure to get a lot of attention towards the end of the year.
• - It was a good presentation - both the slides and the speaker
• - The numbers that were presented match closely to numbers in the Sumter County budget for this year
• - Most residents of the Villages will pay less for fire protection than they currently are paying*
• - There was plenty of time set aside for the attendees to ask questions

* The bulk of what we actually pay for fire protection comes from our property tax - 1.3mils this year. The amount we will be asked to pay for the VPSDDD next year will be less than the 1.3mils we are paying this year. However, there is no guarantee that the Sumter County BoCC will lower next year's taxes by that same 1.3mils. Most Villagers will pay less for the fire protection protection portion of their annual bill but the bill will increase if the BoCC uses some the 1.3mils for other purposes.

There are two future sessions scheduled for this presentation, 3/14 at Laurel Manor and 3/25 at Ezell.

[shaw8700@outlook.com]

Thank you for this.

[Normal]

Thanks for the info. Please keep us posted. Most citizens we know of were/are concerned that they would be paying to subsidize Wildwood and The Villages fire if we were paying taxes to Wildwood already. We are already on the hook to pay for police for the unincorporated area of Sumter Co. through the sheriff’s office. Possibly the next phase would be to have a higher unincorporated Sumter Co tax rate for those that are not part of a municipality?. There is no need for a Wildwood/Villages resident to pay for both Villages fire and Wildwood fire. Leesburg, Fruitland Park and Lady Lake residents would also be in the same boat.

Florida law states: “the property assessed must derive a special benefit”. There would be no special benefit if incorporated residents were paying for fire for their city also.

https://www.districtgov.org/PdfUploa...w%203-8-24.pdf

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Normal

Thanks for the info. Please keep us posted. Most citizens we know of were/are concerned that they would be paying to subsidize Wildwood and The Villages fire if we were paying taxes to Wildwood already. We are already on the hook to pay for police for the unincorporated area of Sumter Co. through the sheriff’s office. Possibly the next phase would be to have a higher unincorporated Sumter Co tax rate for those that are not part of a municipality?. There is no need for a Wildwood/Villages resident to pay for both Villages fire and Wildwood fire. Leesburg, Fruitland Park and Lady Lake residents would also be in the same boat.

Florida law states: “the property assessed must derive a special benefit”. There would be no special benefit if incorporated residents were paying for fire for their city also.

https://www.districtgov.org/PdfUploa...w%203-8-24.pdf

There is no such thing as Wildwood Fire. Fire protection for Wildwood is provided by the Sumter County Fire Department (SCFD).

When the VPSDDD becomes active:
- Sumter County residents within the VPSDDD boundaries will pay VPSDDD assessments.
- Those outside the boundaries will pay a new, yet to be determined, SCFD MSTU assessment.
- No one will pay both assessments.
- Theoretically, the Sumter County property tax rate will be decreased by the 1.3mils that is currently funding fire protection in the county.

I did not hear the details on how the agreements with Marion and Lake counties may be adjusted to accommodate the VPSDDD assessment structure. The two upcoming meetings would be the ideal place for those residents to ask that question.

A higher tax for the unincorporated portion of Sumter County makes no sense. A property is either within a taxing district or it is not. My home is within Sumter County but it is not within Wildwood; from what you wrote it sounds like yours is within Wildwood which means it is also within Sumter County. There is no "outside Wildwood" taxing district or municipality to collect the taxes. Any increase to my Sumter County tax would also increase your Sumter County tax.

[Normal]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

There is no such thing as Wildwood Fire. Fire protection for Wildwood is provided by the Sumter County Fire Department (SCFD).

When the VPSDDD becomes active:
- Sumter County residents within the VPSDDD boundaries will pay VPSDDD assessments.
- Those outside the boundaries will pay a new, yet to be determined, SCFD MSTU assessment.
- No one will pay both assessments.
- Theoretically, the Sumter County property tax rate will be decreased by the 1.3mils that is currently funding fire protection in the county.

I did not hear the details on how the agreements with Marion and Lake counties may be adjusted to accommodate the VPSDDD assessment structure. The two upcoming meetings would be the ideal place for those residents to ask that question.

A higher tax for the unincorporated portion of Sumter County makes no sense. A property is either within a taxing district or it is not. My home is within Sumter County but it is not within Wildwood; from what you wrote it sounds like yours is within Wildwood which means it is also within Sumter County. There is no "outside Wildwood" taxing district or municipality to collect the taxes. Any increase to my Sumter County tax would also increase your Sumter County tax.

So there won’t be a Wildwood Department after all is said and done? The entire city of Wildwood will use VSPDDD?

That’s good to know, we already are paying for unincorporated’s share of police which theoretically is unlawful. It would make zero sense for us to pay for a Wildwood fire department (our city) and the VSPDDD.

Of course it would only make sense to have the county charge the unincorporated a higher rate if that were the case.

My guess is Bushnell, Panasoffkee, Coleman, Sumterville and Webster residents may have something to say if what you say is true. They will all utilize the VSPDDD.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Normal

So there won’t be a Wildwood Department after all is said and done? The entire city of Wildwood will use VSPDDD?

That’s good to know, we already are paying for unincorporated’s share of police which theoretically is unlawful. It would make zero sense for us to pay for a Wildwood fire department (our city) and the VSPDDD.

Of course it would only make sense to have the county charge the unincorporated a higher rate if that were the case.

There is no such thing as a Wildwood Department today and there will be no such thing as a Wildwood Department when the VPSDDD becomes active. The city of Wildwood collects zero dollars for fire protection.

The city of Wildwood is within Sumter County and is serviced by either VPSD or SCFD today. The city of Wildwood. If a property is within the VPSD boundaries today then it will likely be within the VPSDDD boundaries in the future and will pay VPSDDD assessments. If the property is outside the VPSD boundaries today then it will likely be outside the VPSDDD boundaries in the future and will pay SCFD MSTU assessments.

Outside the scope of this thread:

It is highly unlikely that any Wildwood taxes you are paying are used for anything in the unincorporated section.

As for county taxes, you don't pay a police tax or an auditor tax or an assessor tax or specific tax for anything else. You pay a county tax that is used to cover the cost of county services. One of those services is the county sheriff. Either the sheriff also provides services within the incorporated areas which means you have services protecting you. Or, the sheriff department is scaled to provide services only in the unincorporated areas and therefore costs the county less than if it covered all areas. I have no idea which is the case and no interest in finding out. If you care enough you can contact the Wildwood govt, the Sumter county govt, or ask the question at one of the board meetings of either body.

The county cannot charge the unincorporated section more. There is no legal definition for the unincorporated section. The county is the county and the county charges all properties in within its boundaries a uniform rate. Within the county is the city of Wildwood. The city of Wildwood assesses taxes on properties within its boundaries. If you happen to live within the boundaries of the city of Wildwood then you are also within the boundaries of Sumter County. You pay uniform taxes assessed to all properties within Wildwood and you pay the uniform taxes assessed to all properties within Sumter County.

Your question ought to be, "What additional services am I receiving in the incorporated area for the additional taxes I pay to Wildwood?" That is a good question and has been asked in several previous threads. But, it has nothing to do with the VPSDDD.

[Bill14564]

You added this later...

Originally Posted by Normal

My guess is Bushnell, Panasoffkee, Coleman, Sumterville and Webster residents may have something to say if what you say is true. They will all utilize the VSPDDD.

Those are all OUTSIDE the boundaries of the VPSDDD. (See page 7 of the document you linked above) They will not utilize the VPSDDD. They will not pay VPSDDD assessments.

[Normal]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

You added this later...



Those are all OUTSIDE the boundaries of the VPSDDD. (See page 7 of the document you linked above) They will not utilize the VPSDDD. They will not pay VPSDDD assessments.

Understood, Wildwood will never get their own fire department, the county will always service it. Answer this then, does the unincorporated portion pay for separate police just like Villagers in incorporated portions do? Or do they just utilize incorporated taxes that support the Sumter county sheriff’s department?

Of course newer sections contribute a much higher percentage of taxes to Sumter County all the while paying city taxes too. This is because purchase prices and the tax assessment policy correlate.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Normal

Understood, Wildwood will never get their own fire department, the county will always service it. Answer this then, does the unincorporated portion pay for separate police just like Villagers in incorporated portions do? Or do they just utilize incorporated taxes that support the Sumter county sheriff’s department?

I answered that in my other reply. The discussion is out of the scope of this thread - look for one of the other threads on that topic or start a new thread for more explanation.