Villages residents living within Sumter County have a very important decision to make this week with early voting beginning. We will have the opportunity to vote on a referendum to establish an independent fire district for The Villages Public Safety Department to continue to provide top level fire and emergency response to residents of The Villages. Much has been spoken and written for on both sides of the issue.
My interest in this goes back to 2019 when many complaints were lodged about the long wait times for ambulance response and transport. Ambulance service at that time was contracted with AMR and went back about 10 years. I requested and received over 500 pages of official County documents and discovered that although there were performance standards in the contract for response times, I could find only 3 examples where AMR had their payment reduced for exceeding response time. However, AMR’s own reporting showed consistent violations in response times. During these 10 years the BOCC approved renewing the AMR contract without even putting it out to bid as required by the County’s purchasing policies. The BOCC and the County Administrator received reports from AMR so should have been well aware of their poor performance but failed to act in the best interest of Sumter County residents. Additionally, Mrs. Kennedy who managed AMR locally, is married to Stephen Kennedy, Assistant County Administrator who by his job description oversaw the performance of AMR’s contract. Thankfully, the residents of Sumter County demanded a change which resulted in The Villages Public Safety Department now providing ambulance and transport response.
So, how would the independent fire district be funded? It will be funded by countywide fire district municipal benefit service unit (MSBU) which is $124 per residence and what we are now paying to Sumter County and a tax based on the assessed value of your home which we are also paying to Sumter County that goes into the General Fund. There are approximately 60,000 residences in The Villages that are within Sumter County and the amount the County has transferred to VPSD each year to support its fire service is approximately $14 million or about $233 per residence. Since the independent fire district would be able to assess these fees will we be getting a reduction from Sumter County in the Ad Valorem tax in light of Sumter County no longer providing the service? Shouldn’t our property tax be reduced by the same or similar amount?
This issue was addressed in the 22/23 Sumter County budget letter to all BOCC members and is available to any resident by accessing the County’s website. Below is a portion from that letter:
“The Independent Fire District for The Village Center Community Development District service area is assumed to be approved by the voters in November 2022 with an effective date for its funding of the service in the area effective October 1, 2023. This assumption is represented in the five-year operational budget (Proforma) starting in FY 23/24 through FY 26/27. The notable changes are the General Fund with a reduction in the Ad Valorem tax revenue and the elimination of the assessment revenue.” (Excerpted from pages 10 and 11 from Overview of the Final FY 22/23 Budget).
So, I asked Bradley Arnold, Sumter County Administrator if we would see a reduction in our property tax proportionally to offset the services Sumter County would no longer be providing if the independent fire district is approved. He responded:
“You are correct in the view of the difference in the General Fund Ad Valorem Tax Revenue as a reduction based on the policy assumptions in the budget letter when comparing the recently adopted FY 22/23 budget to the projected FY 23/24 budget.
I will not speculate on the individual reduction a resident may experience nor on the future millage rate as the information required for that will not be available until June 30, 2023 when the Property Appraiser releases the growth in values of the aggregate existing properties as well as the new construction growth values. The tentative millage rate proposed will show in the TRIM notices to the individual property owners following the July 2023 budget workshop with the Board.”
Will we have to pay more for fire and ambulance service going forward? So far no one knows exactly but I for one would prefer to have a new citizen’s board providing oversight rather than Sumter County who has already proven to me they do not always make fair and fiscally responsible decisions. Residents will be able to apply for a position on the new board which would ultimately be appointed by the governor. However, after a staggered term, board members will have to be elected by the residents. It will be up to us to hold the board members accountable for professionally guiding VPSD and for properly assessing fees to support the district.
Susan Ridgeway is a resident of the Village of Lake Deaton.
