Nice buzzwords but not reality. The Developer does not believe in low taxes for everyone, just for him. Every tax or fee he does not pay is paid by somebody else, like me. Every special rule carved out for him, see the limit set on impact fees that he bought via his paid for Florida legislation, creates an unfair tilted market, to his advantage.

That is the problem with an oligarchy. They make the rules, control the market, adjust the taxes and fees to their benefit.

The exact same thing everyone else and every other business in the county expects, to be treated fairly and honestly. Nothing else has be promised to the developer or anyone else.

I was half kidding BA....but you’re right. I posted about TIF agreements earlier in jest. Yet it is a valuable tool for developers to circumvent. What people don’t realize here.....is every quarterback needs a lineman to protect him. I know you get the metaphor!

Do you need Developer, TV management or vendor contributions to accomplish that goal sir? Will you return those contributions to level the playing field and stand on your own ,edits and principles....and show your independence from the aforementioned? It’s not a hard question to answer!

*merits

Thank you Don. I do expect to vote for you but am uncomfortable as to the contributions you have received from the developer and his subs.

I come from a world where men put their very lives in the hands and integrity of one another, that level of moral values has not varied for me. I spent 20 years on submarines defending this county and doing a job few are willing to do and even fewer are capable of doing with men whose values and integrity were second to none, and we staked our lives on these values and trusted each other.

If you believe that the price of a man's integrity is a $1000 donation then that speaks volumes of your own personal values and integrity, not mine.

Nobody here has ever questioned your service to our country Don. Your resume speaks for itself. Let’s not confuse the topic here. You’ve been in elected capacity before....you know the terrain. It’s more than 1K and you know it. It’s the family, TV management and the vendors that do business in TV. Most of which....don’t live here (which is a big bone of contention for others here). Stakeholders come in all shapes and sizes...yes, some are part year but no less a constituent. You don’t need that appearance of conflict.

How does the developer's "p*** power" effect us? Personally, I think the developer has created a pretty nice place. If I didn't like it, I have the freedom to move elsewhere. As for those that feel it necessary to gripe about the "evil developer" I hope they feel better by letting it all out. The developer making tons of money, has absolutely NO effect on me. I can find a hundred good things to say about The Villages to every ONE negative issue, that some feel must be a major life changer. I do feel empathy for those that hate it here and have absolutely no ability/means to escape this dreaded place. Be careful as a big black car may come visiting the home of those that complain about the great power that the boogieman developer surely has. :22yikes:

👍,,

The developer and their subcontractors are as much a part of Sumter County as you, I, and every other individual is a part of Sumter County. Each and every one of us play a part in making Sumter County successful and prosperous. The business of Sumter County serve the residents and the residents support these businesses by giving them their business.

Take the example of a restaurant and its customers, if the county raises the taxes on the restaurant they have not choice but to raise their prices, the higher prices drive customers away. This reduces 1) sales tax revenues that help fund the county, 2) the need for employees who then have less to spend at other businesses, 3) the property values of the restaurant and its property tax contribution to the county budget, and these are just the tip of the iceberg. The reduced revenues have to be compensated for by raising taxes on everyone, leaving them less money to spend with business, leading to more business decline. This spirals out of control very quickly.
If the county raises the taxes on the residents the same spiral of decline is the same with just a slightly different starting point.
Ultimately rising taxes will drive residents away and drive businesses away, and result in even higher taxes for those that remain. Once this downwards trend starts, it is very difficult to reverse.
The only answer is to treat every part of the county - residents, businesses, farms, industry, etc. - fairly and not favor any one over the other and any favor or disfavor of any part starts the negative spiral. Working for the best interests of ALL of Sumter County is the only direction possible for the success of everyone.
What was happening 3 years ago when new members of the BOCC went on a vendetta against not just the developer but all the businesses of Sumter County started the downwards spiral that through their own stupidity and disregard for the laws of the State of Florida was arrested before significant damage could be done to our county's economy and its residents.

I don't work for or favor any entity in Sumter County, I work for all of Sumter County because we are all a part of the county.

Well said, Don.

It would be great if more people here would understand how a successful business is run.

Thank you for your efforts here in The Villages, and in Sumter County.

That is standard, boilerplate political speak. Everything you just posted....with the exception of the sham prosecution of your fellow candidate....was true. The difference, once again is one is heavily funded by a single entity....the other is not. I said this earlier, yes, it’s all legal.....but you know that these types of contributions are at the core of what is wrong with the system. Even the appearance of it. You have a good resume and a track record in this seat....you don’t need that to get your message out and maintain that independence. Case in point....how much did these exchanges cost you? Exactly The most important and relevant part of your post was you drawing distinctions between you and the other candidates....that’s what people want to see. As long as you take thousands from individuals that have been mentioned many times before....win or lose....the cloud of suspicion remains

I’ve known Don casually since we moved here over three years ago. I believe him to be a very principled person. Although we rib each other about which branch of the military we chose to serve in he seems to make the right decisions otherwise.
My thinking for why he was the beneficiary of the contributions he’s received is because the Developer knows there’s absolutely no chance of being treated fairly by Don’s opponent, given their history. I don’t believe that Don is a darling of the Developer either. They have butted heads plenty in the past. I think it’s a matter of the Developer feels they have a better chance of being represented fairly if Don is in office.
Whether you’re going to vote for him or not. You at least have to respect the fact that he’s on here willing to subject himself to what pretty much amounts to a no win situation. Where are all the other candidates?.

The phrase that popped into my mind when reading some of these posts was, "all are equal but some are more equal than others."



On the issue of taxes, a few recent items stick in my mind:
- An agreement was made many years ago that resulted in the County raising the tax rate by nearly 30% to pay for road improvements made necessary by additional development
- When an increase to the road impact fee seemed about to pass, a state law was rushed through to retroactively cancel the increase and we know what happened to two BoCC members who were in favor of the increase
- When a new fee structure was proposed for fire protection that would have increased fees for businesses and decreased taxes for residents, the BoCC listened to those businesses and rejected the plan that they had initially supported.
- When separate MSBUs were proposed for TVPSD and SCFEMS, studies found that outside the Villages the burden should be shouldered by the businesses while inside the Villages the burden should be shouldered by the residents.
- With the cost of fire protection removed from the general fund, the BoCC is proposing to keep the tax rate at the rollback rate, add the MSTU rate, and promote this as a tax reduction when it is effectively a 13% tax increase for residents of the Villages and more for those outside the Villages

all taxpayers are equal, but some are more equal than others
taxes (and fees) should be applied fairly, but more fairly for some than for others