Originally Posted by Daddymac (Post 1715930)

I have 40 years in Construction, and know for a fact, If you don’t have to put work out to bid,,,
Someone in the Pockets,, AND THAT IS A FACT !!!

Originally Posted by Polar Bear (Post 1715975)

Gross exaggeration of the big picture imo.

Originally Posted by dewilson58 (Post 1715979)

You missed the opportunity for involvement......the expenditures are determined during the budget process. The budget was approved months before your emails were sent.



The process was "pre-determined" because the county had to cover the approved budget expenditures.


:ohdear:

Originally Posted by tophcfa (Post 1715990)

So, then why did they wast everyones time having public hearings? Public hearings are supposed to be for tax payers to have input in the process and help shape the final outcome. Not to be repeatedly read talking points justifying a pre-determined outcome.

Originally Posted by dewilson58 (Post 1715978)

That was at the tax increase meetings. That was too late, the budget was already approved months ago. Where were the protest during the budget process??? That is where the impact is made.

Originally Posted by New Englander (Post 1715999)

Be honest Mr Helpful. Would that have made any difference at all?

Originally Posted by dewilson58 (Post 1715991)

To give input, not have input.

Originally Posted by neilbcox (Post 1715616)

please post your thoughts in a business like manner! Be civil.

Originally Posted by dewilson58 (Post 1715978)

That was at the tax increase meetings. That was too late, the budget was already approved months ago. Where were the protest during the budget process??? That is where the impact is made.

Originally Posted by PugMom (Post 1716098)

New Englander needs to remember how much we had to pay in taxes up there. when you're hit up for over 9 grand a year on a 2 bedroom cape, uhhh,..it looks darn good down here:coolsmiley:

Originally Posted by FriscoKid (Post 1716076)

Why do I put up with it?

1. I am not a voting taxpayer as I am not a full-time resident (yet) of Sumter County.

2. In general, I am favorable toward people who build great products. i.e. profit from their efforts.

3. I understood (mostly) going into a home purchase in The Villages how the CDD structure and taxes/maintenance fees/amenity fees were structured and decided before I bought that it was acceptable to me.

Originally Posted by PugMom (Post 1716098)

New Englander needs to remember how much we had to pay in taxes up there. when you're hit up for over 9 grand a year on a 2 bedroom cape, uhhh,..it looks darn good down here:coolsmiley:

Originally Posted by Love2Swim (Post 1716223)

Many of us paid more up north. That is not the issue. The question is - are the taxes we pay in The Villages comparable to the taxes people pay in Central Florida? Compare apples to apples. The other issue is that the county is giving a sweetheart deal to the Developers at taxpayers expense.

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 1715679)

Hmmm. Taxes go up. Fees go up. The price of food goes up. What a shock:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Originally Posted by Rosebud2020 (Post 1716264)

. . . and then there are those who simply don't care. They don't care that Kool Aide is unhealthy and don't care about much else, either. They are of the ilk that if someone doesn't like something here, they are whiners and complainers about everything and should move. They don't care that we live in their area of born and bred Florida Crackers. They resent those of us who have moved here and resent it when we find out about what's probably going on which they desperately try to cover up. Remember, it's the good 'ole boys who have been here and in charge since time immemorial and they ain't giving up all the goodies they've become accustomed to receiving. It's time to regroup and to vote intelligently in the next election.

Originally Posted by Rosebud2020 (Post 1716266)

Yes, prices do go up on most things, but a 121% increase??? Sorry, but your thinking is a little strange. That kind of increase is, indeed, more than a little over the top!

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 1715679)

Hmmm. Taxes go up. Fees go up. The price of food goes up. What a shock:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Originally Posted by Love2Swim (Post 1716223)

Many of us paid more up north. That is not the issue. The question is - are the taxes we pay in The Villages comparable to the taxes people pay in Central Florida? Compare apples to apples. The other issue is that the county is giving a sweetheart deal to the Developers at taxpayers expense.

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 1716279)

The tax increase was an average of 13%. Get real.

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna (Post 1716217)

Everyone has the right to express their feelings and beliefs, however one-sided they might be. So I guess I’ll state mine.

The developers of The Villages, now in the fourth generation, have done a magnificent job in building our ‘favorite home town’. They have maintained and even improved the homes that they’ve built and sold and the recreational facilities so integral to our lifestyle. In this fourth decade of the development the family has made a lot of money. Mark Morse, Jennifer Parr and Tracy Matthews, Gary Morse’s three children, have all been included on Forbes lust of billionaires. In my opinion they have earned every bit of their wealth. And they continue to work every day to make The Villages even better.

Thanks for your opinion. I wanted to share mine.

Originally Posted by neilbcox (Post 1715611)

6. The only way to stop this madness is to vote the current Sumter County Commissioners out in November who do not have your interest in mind!

Originally Posted by PugMom (Post 1716098)

New Englander needs to remember how much we had to pay in taxes up there. when you're hit up for over 9 grand a year on a 2 bedroom cape, uhhh,..it looks darn good down here:coolsmiley:

Originally Posted by Advogado (Post 1716485)

The point is, why should they be getting corporate welfare from the taxpayers of Sumter County? The County Commissioners should have increased the Developer's suspiciously low impact fee instead of the residents' taxes in order to pay for the Developer's infrastructure.

Originally Posted by Marathon Man (Post 1716501)

What are the inpact fees in other counties? Does anyone know? I have not seen these numbers in any of the posts in any of the social media sites that I visit.

Those of you who believe that the fees are wrong, please provide some information to support your statement.

Originally Posted by CWGUY (Post 1715716)

:confused: I just pulled up the Sumter Co. Property Appraiser's Web Site Sumter County Property Appraiser - Joey Hooten - Bushnell, Florida - 352-569-6800
You can go back to 2006 and look at tax info. I've been here full time since 2004.
On my 2006 tax bill the total millage rate (ad valorem) was 14.9660
On our 2019 (latest) tax bill the total ad valorem millage rate was 12.4001
That means our millage rate is down 2.5659 over the last 13 years.
I also want to add we paid $63.79 less in Sumter Co. property taxes in 2019 than we did in 2006. AND $255.92 less in total ad valorem taxes.

CAN ANY "SUMTER COUNTY VOTER" PLEASE EXPLAIN AGAIN WHY I SHOULD BE MAD? WHY I SHOULD WANT TO CHANGE THE WAY OUR COUNTY IS RUN? CHANGE WHO RUNS THE COUNTY? :shrug:

I really (sorry) don't want to hear from people who don't live here..... this is our home..... not our golf vacation destination. I know you might be tax payers and home owners here and entitled to your opinions..... I just don't (sorry really) want to here them. Thank you for letting me rant. :)

Originally Posted by theruizs (Post 1715938)

If you are that concerned, live elsewhere. It was clearly obvious to anyone buying here that they would pay a premium for the home PLUS a bond (or remaining bond if buying previously owned), plus other monthly and annual fees. Even in 2012 when we bought, the taxes were higher than anywhere else we were considering. So if knowing that you still bought here, why complain about it all now? This may not be the best community for people retiring on a tight budget, but other amenities make it really attractive. So the family that thought it up made a few billion, that’s America. I’m not saying there may not be some things taken advantage of by the developers who have the influence to do it, but if that really concerns you I think you will be much less frustrated living elsewhere than trying to change things here. Best of luck either way.

Originally Posted by JoMar (Post 1716546)

Curious....if you vote out the commissioners what do you expect the new people to do? Reduce the tax increase, pass laws that will put more burden on developers (all not just Morse), put more taxes on Villages so those that live in other parts of Sumter aren't impacted? I hear a lot of vote out the bums but nothing on what is expected.

Originally Posted by Advogado (Post 1716510)

As you requested, you should be mad for the following reason:

Every time you pay your tax bill, you are, in reality, writing a check to the Developer for the amount of your tax increase. That is because the County Commissioners, who are beholden to the Developer for their jobs, voted to increase your taxes, rather than the Developer's sweetheart impact fee, to pay for the infrastructure necessitated by the Developer's massive expansion of The Villages.

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 1716625)

SO WHAT?????

If the developer paid $20,000 more in impact fees, they would pass it along to the home buyer, and you'd be paying it anyway, just not in your tax bill. Or did you think "the developer" would just eat the extra expense as a gift to YOU??????:1r otfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Originally Posted by Advogado (Post 1716511)

Originally Posted by tophcfa (Post 1716548)

Act independently and objectively and look out for the best interest of the counties taxpayers.

Originally Posted by Advogado (Post 1716493)

Actually, November is too late to vote out Butler, Burgess, and Printz. In Sumter County, whoever wins the August 18 Republican primary will win the November election. So mark your calendar accordingly.

Originally Posted by Advogado (Post 1716509)

Glad to oblige.

Collier County, where the Commissioners are not in the pocket of developers: around $20,000/house in a retirement community versus $901 for the Developer here (more than 20 times more than the Developer pays). Regular builders in Sumter County: $2,600/house.

It is not a matter of our "believing" there is something "wrong", as you put it, going on here. It is a demonstrable fact.

Look for example at the campaign contributions by the Developer and related people and businesses to Burgess's campaign in 2012, when he faced opposition. Do a little digging, on your own, into the relationships between the Developer and Commissioners. Some of this stuff can be discovered from public records. What, if if anything, cannot be discovered from public records?

Originally Posted by Advogado (Post 1716511)

We are living in a community, not at a resort hotel. Don't check out if something is rotten in your government. Vote to clean it up. In this case, by voting out Butler, Burgess, and Printz in the August 18 Republican primary.

BTW, I don't begrudge the Morses making a lot of money. They just shouldn't do it at taxpayer expense.