[kansasr]

The district government has posted a link where you can calculate what your new tax bill will be for the proposed fire district:
Florida Fire districts quicksearch
I suggest you check it out if you're a disabled veteran or even someone who has a significant save our homes deduction.
Neither of these benefits are applicable for the fire district assessment. Instead, it is based upon the total market value (relative improvement value)
Depending upon the level of disable veteran discount and/or save our homes allowances, property taxes could increase anywhere from 15% to 25%.
I seriously doubt the homes are going to see a similar reduction in their Sumter County taxes when the adjustment is calculated for the new fire district.

[cheweycat]

Another fine bill left to us by Brett Hage. Not only these problems but it will be almost 5 years before we actually have our own elected representatives on this board. During this time, the "appointed" representatives will have the power to do or change almost anything they want. Add to this the unknown "decrease amount" we will see from Sumter County because they no longer have responsibility for fire safety in The VIllages, this seems like a pig in a poke to me.

[Dond1959]

We need to remember the reason we went down this path to establish an independent fire district. The previous Sumter County commissioners decided to form a committee to recommend what to do with the fire department’s given the issue with ambulance response time. That committee, which included newly elected commissioner Jeff Bogue, recommended that the Sumter County and Villages fire departments be combined. There was immediate outrage from Villagers and the commission backed down and the idea of the IFD was born.

The purpose of the IFD is to take it out of Sumter County politics and ensure the Villages will have our own Fire Department addressing the needs of our citizens.

If you read the post from Don Wiley (Goldwingnut) he did a good job trying to explain what is going on. Bottom line, we will see a reduction in our county taxes because they will not be funding the Villages Fire Department. We will not know the exact amount of the cost until next June. But Don stated based on his analysis he does not believe there will be a significant overall change in what we pay. Your county taxes should go down and your fire assessment will go up.

I am interested in how you determined the 15% to 25% increase in the property taxes, do you mean fire assessment? The fire assessment is different from property taxes and no one has stated county property taxes will go up (as Don Wiley stated property taxes will go down because the county will no longer have to support the Villages Fire Department).

As a veteran myself I am very much in favor of establishing the IFD to get the Villages Fire Department out from under the political influence of the county commission.

[Bilyclub]

Originally Posted by Dond1959

We need to remember the reason we went down this path to establish an independent fire district. The previous Sumter County commissioners decided to form a committee to recommend what to do with the fire department’s given the issue with ambulance response time. That committee, which included newly elected commissioner Jeff Bogue, recommended that the Sumter County and Villages fire departments be combined. There was immediate outrage from Villagers and the commission backed down and the idea of the IFD was born.

The purpose of the IFD is to take it out of Sumter County politics and ensure the Villages will have our own Fire Department addressing the needs of our citizens.

If you read the post from Don Wiley (Goldwingnut) he did a good job trying to explain what is going on. Bottom line, we will see a reduction in our county taxes because they will not be funding the Villages Fire Department. We will not know the exact amount of the cost until next June. But Don stated based on his analysis he does not believe there will be a significant overall change in what we pay. Your county taxes should go down and your fire assessment will go up.

I am interested in how you determined the 15% to 25% increase in the property taxes, do you mean fire assessment? The fire assessment is different from property taxes and no one has stated county property taxes will go up (as Don Wiley stated property taxes will go down because the county will no longer have to support the Villages Fire Department).

As a veteran myself I am very much in favor of establishing the IFD to get the Villages Fire Department out from under the political influence of the county commission.

I remember some of that differently. It was the Fire Chief Cain who didn't want the merger and campaigned for an independent fire district.

[kansasr]

Since the Sumter County tax is supposed to go down to compensate, I just took that portion of a tax bill with the current fire levy and compared that to the county tax with the new tax levy. I looked at several properties on the property appraiser's web site that had disabled veteran exemptions and each would be looking at increases in the 15-25% range. Again, for these homeowners, I seriously doubt they will see the same reduction in the Sumter County levy when it is adjusted next year if this boondoggle passes.

[Babubhat]

I don’t care what they tell me. No recourse when it turns out badly. Put BINDING numbers in writing first. Not interested in excuses. Will wind up with another unaccountable agency

[Rainger99]

I find this very confusing. Is there any possibility that, before the election, there will be informational meetings where both sides can present the arguments for and against the new district? And take questions from the audience?

That would be more useful than having the issue discussed on TOTV?

[charlie1]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

I find this very confusing. Is there any possibility that, before the election, there will be informational meetings where both sides can present the arguments for and against the new district? And take questions from the audience?

That would be more useful than having the issue discussed on TOTV?

Agreed! Common sense would say that the overall cost should not change much but we are all guessing at this point since we are all getting fire service today! The one thing I like is that the Villages can control their own service level which is urban vs the rest of the county which is rural. Based on population density, the acceptable response time would surely differ between the two area but cannot be enforced in a combined district. That's the reason why cities (even small cities) have their own fire district. That all being said, I am sure the cost will rise to have our own fire district, just wish someone would tell us how much. I AM willing to pay more for a high level of service.

[Papa_lecki]

My fire assessment is $125. What are we talking, a savings of $10 - $15???

Isn’t having better ambulance response time, if you, your friend, your spouse needs ambulance worth it?

I think most of us have seen incidents with 30 - 40 minutes waits for the ambulance.

[Dond1959]

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

I remember some of that differently. It was the Fire Chief Cain who didn't want the merger and campaigned for an independent fire district.

It was the citizens of the Villages who showed up in large numbers at the commissioners meeting and caused the County Commission to not implement the recommendation of the committee. So, I assume you are okay with combining the two fire departments? If so, you are in the minority as almost universally Villagers wanted to keep their Fire Department separate from Sumter County. Of course Chief Cain wants to keep the Villages department separate.

[charlie1]

The $125 fire assessment is not changing. It's allot like the base rate we see on our utility bills. What is changing is the "usage" fees so to speak. Today, All the cost for Sumter county fire protection is in the overall tax rate. With the new fire district, these cost will be separated for each fire district and charged to properties within each fire district according to their districts costs. The Villages Fire district has given an estimated cost but the county has not published the impact on the overall tax rate (reduction in rate) or the new rate for the other Sumter County fire district. We only have half the information we need!

[Dond1959]

Originally Posted by kansasr

Since the Sumter County tax is supposed to go down to compensate, I just took that portion of a tax bill with the current fire levy and compared that to the county tax with the new tax levy. I looked at several properties on the property appraiser's web site that had disabled veteran exemptions and each would be looking at increases in the 15-25% range. Again, for these homeowners, I seriously doubt they will see the same reduction in the Sumter County levy when it is adjusted next year if this boondoggle passes.

I can see the estimate for the new levy on the district website. I thought we still don’t know how much the Sumter tax will be reduced. For my property it is estimated to go up to $380 for the new levy. There will be some reduction in my property taxes to be determined, so I am in favor of making VPSD a separate IFD. Everyone should go to the calculator and see you individual impact and then make a decision.

[Kenswing]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

I find this very confusing. Is there any possibility that, before the election, there will be informational meetings where both sides can present the arguments for and against the new district? And take questions from the audience?

That would be more useful than having the issue discussed on TOTV?

September 14th 7:00pm at Lake Miona Rec Center.

October 24th 7:00pm at Ezell Rec Center.

Chief Cane and others from Villages Public Safety will be there to present and answer questions.

[Goldwingnut]

The $124 MSBU Fire Assessment only pays about 20% of the total cost of funding both fire departments, the rest comes from the General Fund. If the IFD is approved the $124 MSBU assessment will be replaced by a similar MSBU in both fire districts that will collect the same $124 from the properties in each of the fire districts for the properties they serve. This will represent about $2.5M in the Sumter County FD budget and about $6.5 in the V IFD budget. The $124 never has and was never designed to pay for the entire fire service costs, it is a minimum that every property pays because there are many properties in the county that pay $0.00 in county property tax.

The BOCC in July issued a contract to a company to determine the Sumter County FD costs from the General Fund, once determined the entire amount and the VPSD cost allocation will be removed from the General Fund budget and the millage rate will be reduced to everyone in the County that will equal that amount. The is being done so that you the taxpayer is not double taxed for either the same service and don't get taxed for the fire service costs of the other fire district. THIS IS THE PART OF THE PICTURE THE OP AND THE OTHER NAYSAYERS HAVE CONTINIOUSLY NEGLECTED TO MENTION AND DON'T WANT YOU TO HEAR. YOUR PROPERTY TAX WILL DECREASE. Yes, there will be a new fire assessment MSTU that will replace some or all of the decrease depending on your property value.

The VPSD and District Staff do not discuss the millage rate decrease because it is not under their control. It would be irresponsible to do so. Just because they do not discuss it does not mean that it is not being addressed, it is being addressed by Sumter County even now.

Making these uneducated posts such as the OP has is irresponsible!

I am working on a video that I will put out in about a week or so that will attempt to explain ALL the parts of the IFD process and answer the questions and fears most common to most people.

From my vantage point the IFD is a good thing for Villages residents, and I'll vote in favor of it, as a Sumter County Commissioner the IFD brings with it its own set of major headaches that I and the other Commissioner have no control over initiating or stopping but will have to deal with. I'll try to explain these in the upcoming video.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Dond1959

I can see the estimate for the new levy on the district website. I thought we still don’t know how much the Sumter tax will be reduced. For my property it is estimated to go up to $380 for the new levy. There will be some reduction in my property taxes to be determined, so I am in favor of making VPSD a separate IFD. Everyone should go to the calculator and see you individual impact and then make a decision.

You are paying more than $124 today. Approximately 1/3 of your property taxes goes to fire prevention today.

You can find the projected budget for 2023-2024 in the BoCC minutes. They removed $28M of fire protection funding from expenses and $14M of property taxes from income. For me, this means they removed about $200 of the $450 I was paying for fire protection.

My best guess on the IFD is I will be paying somewhere between $60 and $400 more depending on the variable Ad-valorem portion. I expect it to be closer to the $60 but that depends on how much the fire protection budget is increased and how much the BoCC decreases property taxes.