Anonymous complaints have dropped dramatically after a controversial change in Community Development District 5.
There were only two anonymous complaints in November and two anonymous complaints in December in CDD 5, which last year in a 3-2 vote decided to stop accepting complaints in which the complainer did not want to provide a name.
The anonymous complaints in November and December in CDD 5 were logged but not acted upon, according to Assistant District Manager Carrie Duckett.
CDD 5 decided to stop accepting anonymous complaints after hearing from residents who said they were sick of trolls. There was also a contentious case last year in the Village of Sunset Pointe in which a couple 15 years earlier invested thousands of dollars in landscaping but unwittingly intruded on a Sumter County right of way. After an anonymous complaint, the couple was ordered to remove the landscaping. Back in 2016, another Village of Sunset Pointe resident vehemently complained to the CDD 5 board after repeatedly being turned in by a “nit picking” neighbor.
A few months ago, anonymous complaints were higher in CDD 5, including 64 in May, 66 in August and 54 in September. That was before the rule change.
While anonymous complaints have fallen, complaints in which a name was given are on the rise. Thirteen complainers gave their names in December and 10 provided names in November. In October, three names were submitted with complaints, one in September and three in August.
“Some people predicted as soon as we put this in place we’d turn into a ghetto. I have been driving around and looking at things, but I haven’t seen any thing unusual. It appears it is working out,” said CDD 5 Chairman Gary Kadow.
