Fair Government for Sumter, a political action committee founded to represent the residents of Sumter County, has always been committed to the basic principles of integrity, honesty and fairness to all citizens.
We elected a new EMS team (Estep, Miller and Search) to the county commission that is also committed to these principles. There has been a lot of propaganda in the Developer-owned newspaper claiming that the EMS team wants to increase taxes. This could not be further from the truth. The purpose of increasing the Developer-paid impact fees is to shift the tax burden away from all citizens to the developer and the booming construction industry that benefits from the unusually low fees paid for new construction. This dishonesty in the The Villages Daily Sun violates multiple principles.
The Villages accounts for roughly 85 percent of the population of Sumter County. As such, the county taxes we pay are disproportionally paid by residents of the Villages, many who are living month to month on Social Security. By increasing taxes without universal benefit, such as the 25 percent tax increase passed two years ago to pay for new roads south of FL44, residents are paying millions of dollars in added taxes that in other counties are paid for by developers.
The county commission recently met to initiate the process of switching the tax burden to those who benefit from the new roads and other infrastructures. This is needed in order to roll back the 25 percent tax increase we voted for in the last election. Three of the 5 commissioners decided to postpone the process until July to allow some recovery from COVID-19.It is anticipated most residents will be vaccinated by July and we can start the recovery process. This postponement is actually unnecessary as it will take 6-8 months to achieve the goal of increasing impact fees paid by new development. If we start today, we can not increase the impact fees until September. Postponement only delays the decision to increase impact fees, giving the Developer millions more in funds that should be returned to the taxpayers.
Due to an obvious carefully orchestrated campaign, there was a huge outpouring from the construction industry at the county commission meeting. They blocked the entire parking lot with large trucks, some 15 tons or more, far exceeding the weight the parking lot was designed to support without damage. Residents who wanted to park, could not. Walking in you had to pass a large contingency of construction workers intimidating people as they entered. I myself had to park in the unlit Publix parking lot that is under construction. I felt very uncomfortable walking in the dark to my car after the meeting concluded with a group of construction workers waiting for me. This bullying is what the Developer is all about.
The Daily Sun has written even more about this subject wanting residents to believe the EMS team is trying to increase your taxes. It could not be more false. As they promised during the campaign, the EMS team wants to shift the tax burden of paying for the massive expansion of the villages away from the residents who are living month to month to the developers who now have shown they work by intimidation, bullying and false reporting in the Developer-owned newspaper.
As we move forward, this issue is not forgotten. In the months to come I would hope all those who believe as we do that leaders can still govern with principles and not blanket backing of those with the most money. They can come together and rewrite how we prioritize the county government. The people are not just taxpayers supporting the developer, we are the purpose of the government.
If you agree, there is more you can do besides waiting for the next election. Go to our web site www.fg4s.org. please go to the donation page and donate. If you want to make suggestions, go to the comments page and comment. Send emails to the commissioners, they hear you (Doug.Gilpin@sumtercountyfl.gov, Garry.Breeden@sumtercountyfl.gov, Gary.Search@sumtercountyfl.gov, Craig.Estep@sumtercountyfl.gov, oren.miller@sumtercountyfl.gov ). Fair Government for Sumter also hears you and we will not stop defending fairness in this county.
Villager Reed G. Panos is the chairman of Fair Government for Sumter.
