Talk of The Villages Florida

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - Recall (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/recall-317657/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by LG999 (Post 1919090)

I dont read the Daily Sun, but notice many people think it is a rag, so probably is.

Where should I go for dependable, “honest” news?

What about those that don’t think it’s a rag?

Quote:

Originally Posted by crash (Post 1918846)

The commissioners that were just voted in are trying to roll back the tax increase by making the developer pay for the roads being built with their impact fee.

As it should be.

C’ mon folks, think about what we read (“fed to us”) in the Daily Sun).

— The newest three County commissioners ARE the result of recalling three that simply voted any way the Developer wanted. Sumter County residents have already recalled commissioners who they felt had not acted in their best interests. Two more will be up for election in 2020.

With regard to the construction and funding of infrastructure for expanding residential and commercial development...

—-In most communities agreements on what infrastructure is needed and to will pay for it is the result of an arms length negotiation between the government and the Developer. The Developer’s obligation is collected by the Country in the form of an Impact Fee. That has not been possible in Sumter County because the commissioners were all essentially the Developer’s appointees, in almost all cases Developer or contractor employees. So the Developer decided what infrastructure was needed and who would pay for it.

—Normally in residential development the Developer pays for the necessary roads, utilities, etc. and then passes the cost on to residents in the form of an increase in the house prices.

—In The Villages the cost of infrastructure in each “village” is paid for with the proceeds of a municipal bond issued by the Developer and sold to investors. Here in TV that bond is divided equally and becomes the obligation of each home buyer, making the selling price of the home look less expensive, but still passing the cost of the infrastructure on the local homeowners who benefit.

—Until recently the cost of infrastructure needed for more extensive roads and commercial projects was paid for by the Developer and paid for with a portion of the rents collected from commercial tenants.

— A couple years ago the Developer and his “appointed” county commissioners came up with a different idea for paying for new infrastructure in the new southern portions of TV. They increased property taxes on ALL residents of Sumter County, even those 10-15 miles away in the northern end of TV who would almost never use the commercial development in the new southern end of TV.

—Sumter County residents expressed their dissatisfaction with a 25% increase in their property taxes by electing three new commissioners in the 2020 general election. Those new commissioners ran on a promise to roll back that tax increase.

—Three three new commissioners acted on their campaign promise and voted to roll back the tax increase. That is what has resulted in reactions which can easily be tracked back to the Developer, including scheduling public hearings at inconvenient locations, filling the parking lots at public hearings with contractor’s vehicles, all the articles published in The Daily Sun describing how the tax rollback will stall development in TV and put lots of people out of work, a lawsuit asking the new commissioners for their records and communications prior to and after their election, and now the bill recently introduced in the state legislature (by a state rep who is an executive of our Developer) limiting the amount of impact fees required to be paid by developers.

—All that this sturm and drang regarding the new taxes and their rollback does nothing more than re-open the question of what new infrastructure is necessary and who will pay for it?

—Will there be an arm’s length negotiation between the county commissioners and the Developer on what infrastructure is necessary for the planned commercial development, how much the Developer should pay in the form of impact fees, and how much will become the obligation of all the residents of the county.

—The amount paid in impact fees by the Developer would normally be collected in the form of higher commercial rents. If the cost of the commercial development can be passed on to all county residents in the form of increased property taxes, the Developer can either set rents at a lower level and lease up space more quickly, or keep rents high and increase his profit margins.

—Will the pace of commercial development slow or stop in the southern end of TV? If the Developer refuses to pay for such infrastructure as he has in the past, maybe so. If the increased property taxes are reinstated, the Developer can proceed at the high pace he desires, maintaining or even increasing his profits to the extent he can pass development costs on to residents in the form of property taxes..

The Villages Developer has as acted in a way which benefits his interests as he should. Now the question becomes will the residents of Sumter County require their elected County commissioners to protect resident’s interests? If new commercial development really will benefit the county (in the form of new tax revenues from new businesses as an example), it might be justified to require all county residents to pay for a portion of the construction of the new roads, utilities, and other new commercial infrastructure.

As individuals what we should all make the effort to become aware of needs, plans and costs of continued development in The Villages and decide what’s in it for us? Then we should elect representatives who will represent us and protect our interests. But it all starts with residents taking the time and seeking the sources of information so they can make decisions on who they choose to represent them on the Sumter County Commission.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna (Post 1919317)

Very well said.

You are totally wrong. The developers impact fees are the lowest in all of Fl, and not by a little. Their impact fees are under $1000 when the next lowest is over $6000! In fact, the report that brings the impact fees up to a little over $2,000 is over 2 years old! They next to raise them to what the report says and then have another study done, so the developer pays the real rate. Our taxes have already gone up 25% for the roads, and now they want to triple the fire rate. What’s next on the list of taxes to be raised ? We are on fixed incomes , and we are absorbing the fees that the developer should be paying for all the new services that are required for the homes they are building. We paid a huge bond for these services already that went to the developer and now they want us to absorb even more

I found this web page very interesting.
A breakdown of road impact fees for Sumter County.
Some of the totals are substantial!

Road Impact Fee Schedules | Sumter County, FL - Official Website

Quote:

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna (Post 1918987)

You just have missed the news that State Representative Brett Hage (FL 33) has filed a bill that would limit the amount of impact fees that could be required to be paid by developers to a low single-digit percentage. That probably would shift the cost of roads and infrastructure development in the southern end of The Villages to the taxpayers. The alternative would be that those projects wouldn’t be done and development would slow dramatically. Another alternative is that the Developer would pay for that infrastructure as he has in the past.

Remember, the three new County commissioners who were elected ousted three long-time commissioners, a couple who also worked for TV or their contractors, who were also bought and paid for. They were the ones who voted to increase property taxes by 25%. Their replacements quickly reversed those taxes leading to all the negative news published in The Daily Sun. When you read articles in that publication, remember who owns the paper!

So who is this Representative Hage? His full-time job is working as an executive for the Developer! Last year during 2019, he was paid $141,003 from the Holding Company of The Villages. He also was paid $113,554 from T&D Distribution Inc., $14,410 from T&D Concrete Inc. and $11,000 from T&D Supplies Inc. Altogether about $280,000. That’s what you call an elected politician that’s “bought and paid for”.

http://www.ethics.state.fl.us/Docume...PDF?cp=2020913

A question is when does something cross the line in providing financials to gain an advantage? Can someone/company provide money to ensure a positive vote if the person
has significant influence in the outcome of the action? At one point does contributions
become illegal? Just questions as I have no idea about any of the answers?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilyclub (Post 1918982)

University of Florida are nonprofit hospitals and according to the Sun and the Developer U of F would be the builder of the hospital down South so no taxes anyway.

It would still be in Sumter County.

Quote:

Originally Posted by champion6 (Post 1918445)

At first I found it amusing how each article was written by the "commander of the cannons" at the Daily Sun, writer David Corder. Each repeated over and over a salvo of shots at the three new commissioners. Now, I find it annoying.

It is also very annoying to see Corder attempt to convince us that he is an expert writer. Here is what I mean.

At the end of many Daily sun articles, there is a brief description of the article's author. Normally it looks like this, "Senior writer John Doe can be reached at 352-753-1234, ext. 1234, or john.doe@thevillagesmedia.com."

After articles written by David Corder, we see this, "Specialty Editor David R. Corder is a 2021 finalist for the Lucy B. Morgan Award for In-depth Reporting. His coverage of government and economic news has earned numerous honors from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Florida Society of News Editors, the Florida Press Club and the Florida Press Association. He can be reached at David.Corder@thevillagesmedia.com or 352-753-1119 ext 5241."

Pu-leez, Mr. Corder. Give it a rest!

Funny thing about finalists there can be lots of them, but at end of day they are looser.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PennBF (Post 1920707)

Morally he leaves a lot to be desired

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjombrello (Post 1919085)

I would be in favor of recalling the three new ones.

In Sumter County, the Commissioners cannot be recalled.

If that were possible, Developer puppets Gilpin and Breeden would have been recalled last year when we, the voters, tossed out the three other Developer puppets IN THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY by a 2-to-1 margin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by donassaid (Post 1918817)

Helps to know what you are talking about. The new Commissioners are talking about raising the impact fees paid by the Develooer, not taxes. The former Commissioners raised taxes by 25% to pay for the roads in the new areas which should have been paid by The Villages Developer. The new guys ran on rolling back this ginormous tax increase. Good on them.

Actually increased impact fees are paid for any new construction. Yes, it impacts The Developer, but it equally impacts any new construction in Sumter County.
You want a new restaurant south of 44? They will now pay more to build that restaurant.
I live south of 466A and we are starving for restaurants, "big box" businesses (I'd love a Target!!! ), etc.
Unfortunately, now, it will be more expensive for any new business to build in Sumter County.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northwoods (Post 1921526)

Some thoughts for you:
>Building costs are amortized over the life of your hypothetical restaurant and are a very small part of total costs. The higher impact fee will not dissuade anybody from building.
>In addition, the higher impact fee will be offset with lower property taxes, which are the objective of raising the impact fee. The prospective investor will realize this.
>We have been subsidizing the Developer's massive expansion of The Villages, which resulted in our property taxes being raised 25% while the Developer's sweetheart impact fee remained unchanged. We, the residents of Sumter County, got fed up with this, and we booted out three of the Developer's puppet Commissioners by a 2-to-1 margin in last year's election. Next year, we will boot out the remaining two.

Allegedly, at what point does paying a Government Official to vote in a certain way become bribery or fraud and if there are more person's involved when does it become a
RICO violation? :ohdear:

Quote:

Originally Posted by PennBF (Post 1921611)

Allegedly, at what point does paying a Government Official to vote in a certain way become bribery or fraud and if there are more person's involved when does it become a
RICO violation? :ohdear:

It is a very thin line, and it may have been crossed here. As a starter, concerned citizens can file an ethics complaint here: http://www.ethics.state.fl.us/Docume...PDF?cp=2020913

I am a future villager I’m not retired yet I should be up there within the year and I do read the Daily Sun what is another good newspaper to get information that isn’t so biased

IMHO: the raising of the impact fees was necessary, and I believe part of the plan of the new commissioners so that the huge 25% property tax increase can be rolled back. i say thank you to all 3 of the new commissioners!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikjoep@hotmail.com (Post 1921660)

I am a future villager I’m not retired yet I should be up there within the year and I do read the Daily Sun what is another good newspaper to get information that isn’t so biased

This link will take you to one that is biased in the other direction.
EDIT: I didn't realize the site name would be censored even in the URL tag. I will DM you the site

And this paper, while not centered on the Villages, provides some useful information in our general area.