To the Editor:
I am writing to address the comments made by Don Wiley, chairman of the Sumter County Commission, on his podcast regarding my recent article. My piece highlighted the significant financial burden placed on residents to maintain infrastructure that should arguably be the county’s responsibility.
Specifically, residents currently fund the maintenance of 60 square miles of roadway landscaping in The Villages. While the chairman suggests this is because residents desire more frequent cutting of the grass than the county provides, the county should still contribute a fair portion — at least 25% — of these maintenance costs.
Furthermore, residents paid nearly $1 million for hurricane cleanup across those same 60 square miles. This bill should have been handled by the county while awaiting FEMA reimbursement, rather than forcing residents to carry the cost. Additionally, resident amenity funds were used to secure the shoreline for the South Morse Boulevard bridge, a county-owned asset, rather than using county tax revenue.
As residents, we already pay county taxes and should not be expected to double-pay for the maintenance and repair of county infrastructure.
James Vaccaro
Villager and Amenity Authority Committee member