That is simply incorrect. If the independent fire district had passed it would have been independent and separate from the county!

I know it was complicated and perhaps could have been explained better but to keep blaming the developer is inexcusable and irresponsible.

The independent fire district was approved by the Sumter County Commissioners, the Florida Legislature and signed by the Governor.

Blaming the developer is ridiculous; three of the five Commissioners were supported by the POA.

How about spreading the increase out over a few years?

Nope. You get what you pay for.

Sometimes that is correct but other times things are done more efficiently.

Number one , no where in my post is blame attached to anybody. Number two, there was and is nothing stopping Sumter County from using property tax money to fund the Sumter County FD.

1) there will be increases in future years
2) they need to pay those bills this year.

The fact that they don’t is odd.

The County funds both VPSD and SCFEMS with assessment dollars (the new $323) AND tax dollars.

Had the IFD passed, the County would not have funded the VPSD but there was no guarantee that my tax dollars would not have continued to fund the SCFEMS. Without the IFD my tax dollars fund both.

So then, how do we get back to having an IFD?

I concur. Got my official letter today. That is a steep increase.
Is there a definitive reason why?

Yes, the county residents wanted better ambulance service availability and wanted the service provided by the fire departments instead of the private contractor AMR. This has a cost, and this is what you are seeing.

The fire assessment hasn't gone up in over 10 years and it never covered the cost of the basic fire service, last year the $124/developed property covered just over 20% of the actual fire service costs, the rest came out of the general fund that is about 50% funded by property taxes. The new assessment covers the cost of fire protection service for both fire departments. The cost of transport services (ambulance service) that isn't covered by insurance/direct payment is covered in the general fund budget for both FDs.

Businesses will take a huge hit as commercial industrial and intuitional properties now pay by the square foot instead of the flat $124, and apartment complexes that used to pay $124/year for the entire complex now will pay $323.64/year for each dwelling unit/apartment.

If you live in The Villages, a significant part of this increase is also due to the No vote for the Independant Fire District. While there would have been an increase in cost due to the increase in services (ambulance availability) provided, Villages residents make up about 80% of the property values in Sumter County and likewise of the individual developed properties; the fire service budget for the VPSD is only slightly larger than the Sumter County FD, this means that the Villages residents are funding 100% of VPSD and over 50% of the Sumter FD cost. Had the IFD been approved this extra 50% would not have been paid by Villages residents. It's all simple math.

While it was inevitable that the total cost was going to go up due to the increased services, Village residents can thank the those few vocal misguided organizations and individuals that spread their misinformation and distrust so well for the additional cost being carried. This is two elections in a row that these groups have screwed things up for the residents, let's hope that they don't have the same success (?) in the next election cycle.

Don,

I really wish there was a good UNDERSTANDABLE explanation of the proposal prior to the vote. I was so confused by the wording of the proposal and then the following discussions that ii appears I made mistake. Your comments appear to be spot on.

What would the Villages do without Goldwingnut? Thank you, Don! Maybe when there is another election, you can explain it to us before the vote. You always do thorough research. Thanks again!

Got a fee notice today of over $330

I tried, but my hands were very tied because I would be voting on these issues in upcoming meetings so I was very limited on what could be said. I tried to get an official response to counter some of the misinformation that was being put out, but there appeared to be other agendas at play that didn't align with my thinking, and I was overruled. There was enough information available that an educated and approximate amounts could have been put forth by both parties if they had cooperated to provide a clear picture.

The ugly truth of the issue that went undiscussed was that had the IFD passed, all FD and transport costs would have had to be removed from the county budget (across the board property tax rate decrease) to prevent double taxation for the same services. A new tax structure would have had to be established for both FDs to cover their costs. This would have resulted in two similar sized budgets for the two FDs with 80% of the tax base paying for one and 20% paying for the other. The county residents would have seen a huge increase to cover both fire and transport service costs while Villages residents would have seen a per house decrease in fire protection cost plus a smaller increase in transport service costs. Again, it's just math, and math has no opinions, biases, or agendas, only facts.

The County residents would have been the most negatively impacted and had absolutely no say in making the decision.