By Brenda Locklear
Editor
Last week, Sumter County commissioners approved a fire tax increase for Sumter residents and businesses. It was revisiting an issue from this same time last year – but with a change in the outcome.
This time, commissioners voted unanimously to approve a tax increase to make up for a shortage in budget needs. Residents throughout Sumter will pay a $325 annual tax for fire services, starting October 2024. Business properties will pay a tax increase based on their square footage – just under .43 cents per square foot. The vote comes after fire districts were separated into two distinct districts – the Sumter Fire and EMS district and The Villages district.
According to Sumter County Fire Chief Rob Hanson, fire services were unsustainable with the funds that were available. Prior to the vote last week, residents from around the county attended the meeting room and voiced their opposition or support for the increase.
Emergency rescue personnel spoke in support of the increase, as well as some residents, who voiced concerns about losing their home insurance or fire services if the increase wasn’t voted in.
While no one disputed the funding needs to be provided, those who opposed the vote spoke on everything from how the assessment was done to concerns about the costs. Business owners are facing a substantial hike in fees and voiced concerns about passing rising costs on to consumers and in some cases, losing their businesses.
Longtime residents like Jim Veal spoke at the meeting, noting that business that’s been in his family for three generations. Business owner and longtime resident Darryl Chandler wrote a letter that was read by his daughter, citing the $15,000 that he will now have to pay as he nears retirement. The letter said he repairs homes and provides storage, citing the impact it will have the renters are mostly on fixed incomes and added it doesn’t seem fair to financially punish some of the hardest working people in the county.
RV park owners and managers said they’re being taxed on sites that are empty part of the year and that they price they are being assessed at is for 600 square feet, when the sites are 191 square feet, citing that flawed methodology was used. Theresa Farrar – representative for Snowbird South RV Park for owner Dwayne Smith read a letter from Smith, noting the park has been in his family for more than 40 years and the increase is going to put his business at jeopardy.
“We rent a piece of land to an individual who provides their own insurance.” She said they have only three structures that are permanent on their property and they don’t mind paying on the structures, but not for an empty site. She noted it’s a 55-plus park, “Those people don’t have that extra income to charge them another $100 a month to cover all these charges.”
Farrar said the increase for the park is exorbitant at a 10,600% increase.
Questions posed were addressed at the end of the public forum and according to Nilgun Kamp with the Benesch consultant company, the 600 feet included the pad area of the site rented, because they viewed it as a person renting a hotel room, which would include assessing other areas that the renter would use, like corridors, gyms, etc. They noted that the 600 square foot size was selected as the conservative choice, because it was smaller than what the health department deemed 1,200 square feet for a mobile home.
Jay Wilson, an attorney out of Orlando, was representing several local businesses including Bushnell Self Storage, Old Florida Springs, LLP and Coleman Flex Storage. He cited three different property comparisons, noting that while there are two completely separate fire services – one for The Villages and one for residents who live outside the community, there are disparities.
He noted a 128,677 square foot shopping center in The Villages at paying a special assessment of $5,175.40, while the assessment for a shopping center that’s 2,000 feet smaller and outside the retirement community will be $54,421.22. He said while the benefit is virtually the same, there’s disparity. He also used the Walmart stores as an example. According to Wilson, the Walmart in the Villages assessment is $16,500, while the Walmart in Bushnell is at $64,289.
Resident Gloria Rickets talked about inequitable numbers between home values and sizes. She noted that a resident who owns an $8,000 mobile home will pay the same taxes as someone living in a $3 million home.
Kamp explained that the costs were not based on size, noting that two people may live in either the mobile home or the house, who could be utilizing resources.
Another resident asked if the county had considered all other funding options.
County administrator Bradley Arnold explained that by law, with the separation of the two fire districts, countywide collection revenue sources can no longer be used to fund either department, leaving very limited resource options.
One resident, from Webster, said he’s been in the community for 47 years, explaining he’s facing serious financial issues as he lives off his Social Security as he deals with inflation. He said his wife has been diagnosed with a terminal condition and costs for her medication are $13,000 a month, which drew gasps from the audience. He said his home air conditioner went out and he needs a new roof on the house. He’s lost his homeowners insurance now, because he can no longer borrow enough money to get it fixed. He’s currently borrowing money from a line of credit, but says he doesn’t know how long he’ll be able to continue. He was physically distressed during the meeting, breathing harder as he became more upset and Commissioner Craig Estep asked if he was alright before he was able to continue.
Arnold planned to put him in touch with the county’s housing program for possible help with his housing issues.
Since the meeting, Arnold noted that two business owners have also stepped up to offer the resident support with his housing issues.
To read commissioners thoughts on why the vote was necessary, click this link:
Commissioners on their vote | Sumter Sun Times | midfloridanewspapers.com
