[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by newgirl

I am amazed they can do this, property taxes were capped at 5 percent a year max in Mi. 25 percent in a retirement area is outrageous. Many live on social security here.

I agree, in Massachusetts there is something called proposition 2 1/2 that limits annal property tax increases to 2.5%. The only way to go above the 2.5% is with an override vote (voted on by the actual taxpayers), which is very difficult to pass.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by Aw Man

The Sumter County property tax rate has gone DOWN each of the last 6 years.

The current proposed property tax rate represents ONLY a 5.5% increase of the rate we were paying in 2012!

How can anyone possibly complain about this??

And I’m sure the proposed tax rate will go down somewhat by the time it’s approved in September.

Common sense says to be satisfied with what we’ve had and have here in Sumter County.

I feel the same way. I don't think it will be that much.

[bluecenturian]

This appears to be a quick way for the county government to get extra money because in lake and Marion counties they are paying a lot more. Sumter feels they can just increase because adjoining counties are higher. We need to all come out to the budget hearings and budget meetings and make our voices heard. I line by line comparison of what is being requested is an absolute. And the county members need to be reminded that we all vote and if they are not doing what’s best for us then we will vote them out.

[twoplanekid]

Please view my post # 16 to follow the links and then be able to see some line by line comparisons as presented by Sumter County

[manaboutown]

Theft!

[pauld315]

I don't care if people who came from NJ think the taxes here are so low it doesn't matter. I would guess a lot of the reason you left NJ was because of high taxes. I came here from the Raleigh NC area and I still own a home there. Taxes here are slightly higher than there already. That being said, I trust the county to do the right hing here. They have proven they are good stewards of the money with tax decreases the past 6 years.

[Velvet]

Originally Posted by funtime

Hi Folks The overall increase that they are requesting is 23.8%, They give a breakdown for averge increase, for example on a 300K assessed value home the increase will be $409.05, if you can claim the $50k homestead exemption your increase on that same home would be $340.88. The main reason, although they state 6 reasons for the increase, is the expansion of the villages. They claim SC has the highest average age in the nation, which is demanding more resources. I think it is hard to realize that the villages expansions will cost us more money. At least we can put a price tag on the expansion past 44.

Yes, but from what I hear about say, medical services, etc the actual needs of seniors are not going to be addressed any better that I can see. Also if expansion is the reason for the property tax increase, why do the current owners need to subsidize the newcomers? The tax proposal is outrageous. Increases should be related to the cost of living.

[natalierp]

We live in Lake County Fruitland Park we are taxed to death here...

[skip0358]

I think a wait and see attitude might be in order. Been here since 2009 just before the construction move s/o 466a. Have not seen a large increase in all that time in fact taxes have gone down every year. Until I see my final bill all the bitching does no good at all. About 2 weeks ago it was Homeowners Insurance increases. My bill came yesterday less then $80 for the year. Panic over nothing. If I'm wrong on the 25% increase I'll be surprised for sure. Can't really see that happening. Just my opinion!

[bob47]

Originally Posted by skip0358

I think a wait and see attitude might be in order. Been here since 2009 just before the construction move s/o 466a. Have not seen a large increase in all that time in fact taxes have gone down every year. Until I see my final bill all the bitching does no good at all. About 2 weeks ago it was Homeowners Insurance increases. My bill came yesterday less then $80 for the year. Panic over nothing. If I'm wrong on the 50% increase I'll be surprised for sure. Can't really see that happening. Just my opinion!

Actually, after you see your final bill, it's too late complain and influence the decision.

[PennBF]

Given the growth of the Villages, Bonds, non accountable funding for maintenance, etc. it would be beyond outrages for taxes to increase and probably appropriate to call the State or Federal Offices to come in and conduct audits. At some point there should be controls installed to protect the residents.

[Velvet]

It would seem to me that you can’t just unilaterally increase taxes without the taxpayers agreeing to it in the first place. With insurance if they increase the premium you change providers. With property tax you can’t change providers so we must have other safe guards from such unilateral action. Anything beyond the cost of living should be audited to see do the taxpayers effected want this increase given the reasoning behind it. Isn’t thai’s how we work in democracy?
What taxes are in other jurisdictions have no relevance to TV, for example, do our sink holes and swamps have relevance to those areas?

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Velvet

It would seem to me that you can’t just unilaterally increase taxes without the taxpayers agreeing to it in the first place. With insurance if they increase the premium you change providers. With property tax you can’t change providers so we must have other safe guards from such unilateral action. Anything beyond the cost of living should be audited to see do the taxpayers effected want this increase given the reasoning behind it. Isn’t thai’s how we work in democracy?
What taxes are in other jurisdictions have no relevance to TV, for example, do our sink holes and swamps have relevance to those areas?

What is it that you base this statement on?
BTW where was it again that you moved from?

[clouwho]

We pay higher taxes here than we did on our much more expensive, beautiful huge home on acreage in Georgia. And we knew that when we bought. And we knew we would have no income tax to offset that line item.

Rather than having all this knee jerk anger to the PROPOSED budget increases for FY 2019/20; lets perhaps calm down, read the very well written and very detailed summary the county has available for all to read, and the proposed budget itself.

An educated and civic-minded populace that is actively involved in their governance is a powerful thing of beauty. An angry rabble of reactive uneducated people is just a useless unproductive mob that achieves nothing of lasting value.

The Fire and EMS budget blows my mind. Why so much overtime? Why not hire permanent staff at lower rate? I am still slogging through line items. HVAC repairs throughout Sumter are extraordinarily high. Is this normal? Is the equipment inefficient and outdated, improperly sized or installed?

As i read the budget I am gob-stopped at some of the expenses. $6 MILLION each to repave (and I dont believe it has been that long since they were last paved, so if it was shoddy substandard workmanship by original contractor, why do county contracts not include performance clauses?) Buena vista and morse on the southern sides.

I will be writing the commissioners with general and specific questions as i become informed and can come up with intelligent, helpful questions. And it appears it is time for this new transplant to get involved in her new community. I had hoped to retire from fighting city hall, but alas, civic duties are for life.

I am also concerned that they raised the taxable value of our house by 15% in 2018 even though we are in an older village with DECLINING sales prices due to the increasing number of poorly maintained homes.

So, take the 15% increase in property value in one calendar year AND add a 25% increase if budget is approved, and we wind up with a 36%!!!! Increase in less than two years. And of course the various CDDs keep raising the fire and maintenance non ad valorem part of our tax bill, and the villages is raising the amenity fee every year by about 2.5%.

Individually these may not be huge hits, but for the MANY of us without pensions who are living off social security and modest savings, this is an unsustainable increase unless this is a one off situation.

Here is my real world cost without homestead exemption for amenities, CDD fire/maintenance, and ad valorem since we bought our cheap little house, in our old village, with no bond:

2016: $2,614 $217.83/mo
2017: $2,611 $217.58/mo
2018: $2,833 $236.08/mo
2019: $3,410 $284.16/mo *if 25% increase approved and they don't raise valuations again

My overall costs for the above would be 31% higher within 4 years time. 8% annual increase is probably not a sustainable average for us for the duration of our retirement. Of course, it is a drop in the bucket compared to how fast health insurance and medical coats are rising. SS and income from investments wont keep up with that if you are in the non pension, non government employee sector.

These numbers are magnified a LOT if you are in newer areas where home prices are averaging double of ours, and newer CDDs where non ad valorem taxes are triple to quadruple ours.

Someone pointed out if these small percentages are hurting you, you probably cant afford to retire here. And they are correct. It is a bitter pill i know many people are struggling to swallow, especially north of 466.

I did a whole lot of due diligence before buying here and deciding to buy far less house than we could afford, so that these inevitable increases wouldn't price us out of our home or The Villages, and wouldn't bankrupt our nest egg. I own my financial geekiness and fiscal conservatism...

If only I was in charge of governmental budgets. You guys would LOVE ME!!!! Or maybe not

I am wondering if anyone even slogged ghrough this long post?! God love ya if you did.

Have a great day. For the money, The collective worst nonsense here is better than the collective best nonsense most other places...says the woman who has lived from sea to shining sea and is in her 27th home at age 60.

[Velvet]

In my north city the pensioners were driven out of their homes with property tax increases as they could no longer afford their long time homes and we had to change the government in order to change the situation. A reasonable tax increase is acceptable but ridiculous amounts have to be justified.

There are two sides to the equation, supply and demand. The supply is what the taxpayers can afford, the demand is what the county wants them to pay for. The people who are demanding the tax increases - it is not enough to look at what they would want to pay for they also need to look at who can afford to pay for it. They owe a responsibility to both sides, that is why I said you can’t just make a unilateral announcement without other considerations.