It is disheartening to see the pre-emptive slant The Villages Daily Sun has put on the possibility of raising impact fees on the Developer.
As we know, the Developer pays less than half of the necessary impact fees to build in Sumter County and relies on the recent 25 percent tax increase to pay for the infrastructure for new building.
The last Sumter County Board of Commissioners agreed that the county should pay over $40 million for roads needed by the Developer. They had to raise that $40 million from the taxpayers.
A raise of 150 percent in impact fees for a home offered at $250,000 would be $1,458. That will not dissuade any buyer from purchasing a home. What would dissuade a buyer is the knowledge that his taxes pay for the Developer’s increased profit.
The Daily Sun also wrongly compared Sumter County’s road impact fees to Lake County’s. What they failed to mention is that other counties also have impact fees for schools, police, fire, EMS, parks and recreation. Sumter has none of that. Apples should be compared to apples, not to oranges.
Tell the county commissioners that Sumter County taxpayers should not have to pay for new infrastructure for new developments.
David Bussone is a resident of the Village of Sanibel.
