Despite a steady stream of residential subdivision approvals, Wildwood officials were surprised Monday night to learn that, the state has added just nine people to the city’s population to allocate the amount of revenue-sharing money.
What do they look at to get these numbers?” Mayor Ed Wolf asked City Manager Bill Ed Cannon. “Do they realize how many subdivisions we’ve built?”
Cannon said the city may have to wait until the 2020 census to get an accurate count of its population. Between actual census counts every 10 years, population numbers are estimated.
Wildwood’s development projects also will impact city property taxes for the next fiscal year.
Preliminary numbers indicate Wildwood would have to reduce its tax rate to about $3.77 per $1,000 assessed valuation from the current rate of about $4.10 to collect the same amount of revenue, Cannon said. The $400,000 difference is largely due to new commercial and residential development.
Wolf said if the city decides to keep the same rate for the third consecutive year, it actually won’t raise taxes since the money comes from new projects.
“It’s just a tax increase on paper,” he said. “It’s not a tax increase for anybody.”
In other business, the city commission:
· Approved an ordinance amending The Villages Community Development District No. 12, which covers the Village of Fenney. The newest Villages community is about four miles down County Road 468 from State Road 44 and Morse Boulevard. The ordinance removes about 298 acres used for conservation and a golf course from the district and adds about two acres to place County Road 505 within the development.
· Heard a report by Assistant City Manager Jason McHugh that employees spent five hours keeping the Coleman water plant operational after a lightning strike two weeks ago knocked out the plant’s communications.