The Sumter County tax hike appears to be driven by the explosive growth of The Villages. To many, it appears that the county commissioners have decided that part of this growth should be financed by the current property taxpayers in Sumter County rather than the developer of The Villages.
Per the Sumter County website; “An impact fee is a one time charge applied to new construction. The purpose of the fee is to fund capital projects for roads (such as construction, land acquisition,). Impact fees can be charges for parks, schools, jails, ambulances and other infrastructure needs that may occur due to new development.” These fees are paid by the developer when a building permit is issued and included the price of the home paid by the new homeowner.
When I look at Lake County’s website, it appears that for a new home construction in Lake County (in a 55 or over community that avoids the $9,324 School Impact Fee), there would be an impact fee of $1,857.09. (Transportation $1,000, Fire $390, Park $222, Library $191, and a 3 percent tax.) The builder of the new home would have to pay this fee when it gets a building permit from Lake County. For 10,000 home the developer would pay $18,570,900 that would be passed on to the new homeowners.
Questions for the Sumter County Commissioners:
1. What is the 2019/2020 Sumter County impact fee for a new home in The Villages?
2. Should Sumter County impact fees be increased to place the burden of the expansion of The Villages to the purchasers of the new homes rather than the current property taxpayers who are voters who elected the county commissioners to represent them?
3. Question for the voters in Sumter County: Should the current commissioners be reelected?
John Kastura is a resident of the Village of Belvedere.
