[gman13]

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This November there will be a referendium on the voting ballot asking you to vote for Reversing One Sumter and accepting an "alternate "method of voting. Villagers and others who value their right to vote for their elected officials must Vote NO on this referendium. This is one of the most critical issues facing the Villages residents of Sumter County in many years. The following information will explain exactly what is being proposed on this Novembers ballot, and how it would take away our right to vote for all of our County Commissioners here in Sumter County.

A brief history - in 2004, the citizens of Sumter County voted for greater accountability and a modernized approach to county government by approving a referendum called ONE SUMTER. ONE SUMTER was a grass roots citizen’s movement that restored the right of all county voters to elect all 5 of their County Commissioners. ONE SUMTER was very simple – all citizens in the County elect all 5 Commissioners - fair and equal. That's the same way School Board members are elected, the same way the Sheriff and the Tax Collector and the Clerk of Court and every County official is elected. It's also the way that County Commissioners in our neighboring Lake and Marion counties are elected. In fact, it was the manner in which County Commissioners were elected historically in Sumter County up until 1994. That's when Villagers began living in Sumter County and the rules were changed to District Only elections where you only were limited to voting only in the election of the one Commissioner who lived in your District.

This voting by District method was used for 10 years and the results were disastrous for the people of Sumter County. We had constant bickering and division, less accountability, wasteful pork barrel spending and higher taxes.

Villagers, in particular, were taken advantage of by the district only voting method. Combined with some clever gerrymandering of the Districts, district only elections basically shoehorned the Villages taxpayers into a minority position despite the fact that we were providing the majority of the tax dollars for the county. In fact, you may find it interesting to know that the residents and businesses of The Villages now provide 85% of Sumter County's property tax revenue. Yet, under the district only method used from 1994 to 2004, the majority of County Commissioners never had to face Villages' voters at the polls.

It was a politician's dream - they could raise our taxes and spend the money but we could not vote on them. It was taxation without representation and it led to more and more wasteful spending and higher and higher taxes. In effect, the old system set up Villagers to be "cash cows" for the Commissioners from the rest of the County.

The people of Sumter County and particularly the citizens of The Villages realized all of this and despite furious resistance from the folks in power down at Bushnell, in 2004 we passed ONE SUMTER which restored the right of all county citizens to have the same fair and equal privilege of electing all of their county commissioners.

With countywide elections reestablished, a new accountability and professionalism has come to the operation of the County. In less than 4 years since ONE SUMTER was accepted, property taxes have dropped from 9.25 mils to less than 6 mils. To illustrate the impact, that's a reduction of almost $1,000 a year in property taxes for a home valued at $300,000.

At the same time that property taxes have been reduced, county services have actually been enhanced thanks to greater accountability and a new, more business-like approach to county government. Since ONE SUMTER was adopted, fire and emergency response services throughout the county have been expanded resulting in faster emergency response times. The library system has been greatly improved. Lake Panasofkee has been through a major clean-up and restoration program. The solid waste facility in our County had lost $12 million dollars in the years before ONE SUMTER; it now operates in the black. The Agricultural Center has been improved. County services as a whole have been modernized and upgraded.

Because of ONE SUMTER, the County now operates in a more unified, businesslike manner with County Commissioners who are all elected countywide and thus accountable to the entire County. They approach issues in a countywide fashion and the result has been decisions that consider and balance the needs of the entire county rather than pitting the interests of one section of the county against another.

Lower taxes, better services, more unified approach to government – ONE SUMTER and countywide voting has worked...your having the right to elect all of your County Commissioners has worked...and yet there is now a proposal on the ballot to scrap ONE SUMTER and to go back to the old system of elections by District Only. There is an element in the County that preferred the old method that made Villagers into "cash cows" to pay for various projects around the rest of the county. There is an element that found advantage in the pitting of one section of the county against another. There is an element that enjoyed the power of the old system and wants to get that power back, and at your expense. A "Yes" vote will mean a return to that old, failed system. A "Yes" vote means we lose our right to vote on 4 of your 5 Commissioners and returns us to the system that gave us poor service, high taxes and bitter, divisive feuding between Districts.

We live in a tremendous community and most of us worked hard to get here. It is incumbent on us now to be involved and protect our right to vote and have a voice in how our community - including our County - operates. If we don't, we become "cash cows" again to be taken advantage of. IF we don't KEEP ONE SUMTER by voting NO on this "District Only Voting" initiative, we lose our right to elect 4 of our 5 Commissioners, we go from 5 votes to 1 and we risk returning to the old days of high taxes, pork barrel spending and wasteful, unresponsive government by politicians who don't have to be concerned with our opinions. I encourage you to preserve your right to vote and keep the progress in Sumter County going by voting NO to the REVERSING of ONE SUMTER.

I you would like more information, or belong to a organization that would like to have a speaker talk to your group on One Sumter, please email me at (gkadow@aol.com).

[samhass]

Every Villager living in Sumter County should be rallying the troops on this one. We can not afford to have One Sumter banished. Please get out the word to
Vote NO.

Is this even going to be on the November 2008 ballot?? Did they get the 5,505 signatures for this?? I cannot really tell from the Reverse One Sumter web-site? http://reverseonesumter.com/

Does look like they needed 5,505 signatures to get this on the November ballot. This is 10% of the registered voters in Sumter County.

[Niels]

[quote=Taltarzac ]
Is this even going to be on the November 2008 ballot?? Did they get the 5,505 signatures for this?? I cannot really tell from the Reverse One Sumter web-site? http://reverseonesumter.com/

Does look like they needed 5,505 signatures to get this on the November ballot. This is 10% of the registered voters in Sumter County.


I take it they did get the signatures needed. If you click on the “Help Us” tab on their web site there is a message thanking people for getting the signatures and telling them the next step is getting out the vote.

[Cronge]

Although new to the site, I am already impressed by the participation of caring individuals who will put forth the effort to enlighten many of us who may not take the time to adequately study given issues that may have dramatic effects on our lifestyles.

Thank you gkadow for your comprehensive report on protecting your right to vote. Wow! It is right on! A reversal of One Sumter would have such a negative impact that it could take years to repair.


My hope is that every person, not only in The Villages, but throughout the entire Sumter County, gets to read and understand what you have written.

[Muncle]

But I don't understand. The POA is against One Sumter, so it must be an evil, diabolical plot by the dreaded developer. The POA is the only thing protecting we poor, naive, innocent victims of TV strong-arm tactics. If the POA is against One Sumter, it must be wrong.

[samhass]

Muncle, I'm confused. I thought the POA supports One Sumter. They took the "vote no" stance. Is that incorrect?

[Muncle]

Originally Posted by samhass

Muncle, I'm confused. I thought the POA supports One Sumter. They took the "vote no" stance. Is that incorrect?

Sam, you may have caught me on this one, but I'm not sure. I thought the POA had come out in favor of the reversal, but that may have been an unwarranted assumption on my part due to their virulent opposition to One Sumter when it was first on the ballot. I could not remember when/where I'd heard their position on the Reversal.

I went back thru all the 2008 monthly PAO bulletins (on the net -- I don't keep them after the parakeet is finished with them) and could find no mention of the issue other than in letters or web forum postings. The first of these favored reversal, then there were more over a few months that opposed the motion.

So, I guess I misspoke. Since they have evidently not taken a position (and there's still plenty of time to do so), I don't know if they still believe as they did a few years back or if they've had an epiphany. Undoubtedly, we will hear much, much more later.

mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa

[Cronge]

To samhass & muncle:

My latest copy of the POA Newsletter states that the POA is against the reversal of OneSumter, meaning that they want to keep OneSumter.

Its being a double negative makes it confusing. To Keep OneSumter, one must vote NO on Reversing OneSumter. Vote NO! Vote NO! Vote NO!

In truth, The POA, The VHA, Democrats, Republicans, Independants and all NPI's throughout Sumter County are and should be on the same side on this issue. It is a non-partisan issue. By our having the ability to vote for all county commission seats, every commissioner is beholding to each of us, not just the voters within his own district. Vote NO!

Hope that you don't think me rude. Just trying to help.

[Muncle]

Originally Posted by Cronge

To samhass & muncle:

My latest copy of the POA Newsletter states that the POA is against the reversal of OneSumter, meaning that they want to keep OneSumter.

Cronge, I hope you realize the sacrifices you put me through. First, I thought there might be something in the hardcopy newletter that I'd missed in the web version. So I had to dig out this month's issue from the birdcage and clean it off, not a pretty job. :: Then I had to do the unspeakable, I had to reread the thing. :yikes:

Yes, there were two endorsements of keeping One Sumter, but they were postings from the POA Website Forum, both unsigned. I could find no comments one way or another by the POA as an organization. I may be wrong and have just missed it, but I think not.

[samhass]

Cronge, thanks for clearing this issue up a little more. I read the POA newsletter and interpreted it to mean they were saying "Vote NO". As property owners in TV, it would be against our better interests for us to vote any other way.
Muncle, our adorable sage, you crack me up. Sorry you had to pull the paper out of the birdcage.