Fiscal Rangers

Trump Kills Obama Socialistic Housing Redistribution Program - AFFH - YIPPEE!!

Tavares, FL Jan. 5, 2018 by Vance Jochim Hooray! Trump dumped the implementation deadlines of the Obama anti-property rights 2015 regulation AFFH (Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing). AFFH required every city and county accepting Federal CDBG grants to do a detailed study of ALL residential areas then develop a plan to move poor people to wealthier neighborhoods to adjust "disparities" in income levels. This was also a huge revenue generator for Obama favored community consultants who would do the massive, required studies. HERE is the New York Times long article. HERE is a similar article in a paper that does not require online subscriptions. Here is an earlier 2016 background video on AFFH from critic John Anthony: https://youtu.be/mSYjqXffjFY Both news sources mostly complain from a liberal standpoint, and don't quote from critics of the program, so I have included my list of critics like Fox News, John Anthony, Rush Limbaugh, the National Review and other sources at the bottom of this document, including a link where Trump said in 2016 that he would discontinue AFFH. I also wrote earlier articlea on the dangers of AFFH HERE: http://www.fiscalrangers.com/affh/ The implementation of this rule was forced on Counties and Cities like Lake County,... Read more →

Observations About Nov. 7, 2017 City Council Elections in Lake County, FL

Five cities in Lake County, FL are having contested elections for City Council members today, election day, Nov. 7, 2017. We reviewed candidate's contribution and campaign filing documents to identify clear Democrats running for these "non-partisan" positions and made some observations. Read more →

FiscalRangers.com Alert: FEMA and SBA opening a Hurricane IRMA assistance office in Tavares, FL (Lake County, FL) starting tomorrow, Oct. 19 for 4 days.

Tavares, FL Wed. Oct 18, 2017 Update: Here is the official press release describing the FEMA assistance office. The article below was corrected to describe the office as an assistance, NOT claims center. Breaking news: FEMA is opening a Hurricane IRMA damage assistance shop, along with SBA in Lake County, FL at the Agriculture Center in Tavares on HWY 19 and Woodlea Road. It starts with a "soft Opening" tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 19 at 1pm to the evening, then open four more days to provide Hurricane IRMA disaster recovery assistance. This was announced at the Tavares City Council meeting about an hour ago (Wed. Oct. 18, 5:30 pm). I have no other details, so I imagine it will be in the newspapers tomorrow, so if you have damage, plan to determine how they can help. VERIFY this by watching for other notices. http://lake.ifas.ufl.edu/ Look for details as I get them at FiscalRangers.com I will go by there tomorrow to get an update - it is only about 3 blocks from my house. "Some of the services available include federal disaster assistance, low-interest loans for homeowners and businesses through the U.S. Small Business Administration and crisis counseling." "For more information, call... Read more →

Eustis City Council vote on Home Rule resolution opposed by local conservatives

The City Council of Eusits, FL is discussing approval of a resolution supporting Home Rule to be sent to Florida legislators. Conservative activists Ralph Smith and Richard Pettis made a video opposing the Home Rule resolution and are encouraging others to attend the Oct. 5, 2017 City Council meeting and oppose the resolution. This should be good. See you there Oct. 5 at 6pm. Read more →

Updated: Two City Meetings today in Lake County, FL Illustrate dangers of building homes in rural areas that could be annexed by cities.

Tavares, FL Sept 20, 2017 Post meeting updates for both meetings were added at the end of each section at 8pm on Sept. 20, 2017. Can any Lake County, FL resident who built a "dream home" in rural or lakefront Lake County feel safe from being annexed by a nearby city with higher taxes and high density planned development over their back fence? Today are two meetings affecting future living styles of retirees in rural Lake County residences. Two different cities are trying to annex different land areas that County rural residents don't want to happen. They don't want the taxes, or they don't want the planned nearby development that conflicts with the existing land uses. (Note: I will post updates on these meetings below each section after they take place today.) 1. The Tavares City Council meets today, Sept. 20, 2017 at 4pm to review and approve two ordinances that would result in annexation of 222 acres on Shirley Shores Road of rural lands near Deer Island on the south shore of Lake Dora. The second ordinance would change the County defined "rural transition" land use to city land use densities of 3 units per acre compared to existing... Read more →

TODAY - How to ask your Florida legislators for FREE STUFF, or maybe some agency oversight!

Visit today's Town Hall of the Lake County, FL state legislators to ask for FREE STUFF, or just ask for fiscal Sanity and new or less legislation to improve life and transparency and oversight in Florida and Lake County. Read more →

Is Eustis Greedy or Smart to Annex Resistant Retirement Communities?

Eustis, FL May 16, 2017 Staff leaders from Eustis, Mount Dora and Lake County met in Eustis on May 15, 2017 to discuss a Eustis ISBA (Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement) proposal to greatly expand their city by annexing several retirement communities east of Mount Dora that don't want to be annexed (or pay higher Eustis property taxes). A full video of this two hour meeting is HERE. There was standing room only with sparks flying when County residents gave public input. The County and Mount Dora got the revised proposal late from Eustis, so would not make any decisions because their attorneys did not have time to analyze it. As it was, the apparent direction from the County Board to the County Manager David Heath is they did not think it appropriate. The Eustis City Manager Ron Neibert was the proponent of the expansion to annex communities about 8 miles outside of Eustis. The Mount Dora Manager mostly watched the County and Eustis Managers verbally exchange comments. No decision was made, and the proposal will go to a joint meeting of all three Boards in a public meeting to discuss further. It was interesting, however, that a number of the... Read more →

Important new Scientific chemical element discovered - Governmentium aka the "Critical Morass"

Tavares, FL 32778 Dec. 18, 2017 This improtant scientific news is from Cathy Holden on Facebook: Subject: New Chemical Discovered The heaviest chemical element yet known to science A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest chemical element yet known to science. The new element has been named "Governmentium". Governmentium has 1 neutron, 12 assistant neutrons,75 deputy neutrons, and 111 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of governmentium causes one reaction to take over 4 days to complete when it would normally take less than a second. Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2 to 6 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization causes some morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron-promotion leads... Read more →

FiscalRangers.com 2016 Lake County, FL Election Recommendations AND RESULTS for the August 30 Primary Ballot

This is the FiscalRangers.com Guide to Recommended Candidates for local Lake County, FL primary elections held on August 30, 2016. Does not include cities or special districts. Read more →

Lake County, FL Results of South Lake County Hob Nob Straw Poll - Aug. 10, 2016

Below are the results of yesterday's August 10, 2016 straw poll of Lake County voters at the south Lake County Chamber of Commerce Hob Nob last night in Clermont. You have to click the three images to see them in a separate window. It seems at least 435 straw votes were cast, but not for all positions. These votes should NOT be considered accurate or related to the population at large because more experienced or better funded candidates will swamp the event with free tickets to vote for their supporters. We know one candidate got many local retirement community supporters to vote just for them. Another issue is that unlike the real upcoming August 30 primaries, this Hob Nob let all party members vote without identifying themselves, thus their votes could distort what the true results will be when only single party members can vote for partisan candidates in their party. For instance, in this HobNob, many Democrats could vote for OR AGAINST a Republican and skew the results which would not be possible in the primaries. Then, there are some positions that are partisan, such as the "State Committeeman" which are for the Republican Party, but other party members... Read more →

Lake County Candidates or Supporters Violate Campaign Sign Placement Rules

Tavares, FL June 25, 2016 by FiscalRanger Vance Jochim Illegally posted election campaign signs collected by the Tavares Code Enforcement staff are behind the Tavares Police Department. Already, election campaign season started, and two County Judge candidates, Cary Rada & Ben Boylston, or their uneducated supporters, placed signs in illegal places in Tavares and the signs were impounded and stashed behind the Tavares Police Dept. who act as code enforcement officials for the city. Typically, they either placed it on private property without permission, or they placed it in road right of ways which is a no-no. Every two years, we have an election cycle and 60 days before a primary or general election vote, campaign signs popup all over Lake County. And, every year, naive candidates or uneducated supporters place campaign signs that violate local city or County sign placement rules. Each city has their own rules, and some require deposits and then stamp the "approved" signs before placement. One year I visited the Minneola City Hall and there must have been 100 impounded campaign signs as large as 8 feet in size stashed inside a room there. You have to know where each city and county code enforcement... Read more →

Homeowners Need to Understand how County & City Inaction may reduce their property values

Lake County, FL Homeowners & Realtors: If you own a house on 1/4 acre or more in a zoned neighborhood, a new Obama Federal program (AFFH - Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing) may require your County or City in 1-5 years to build HUD defined lower income, high density housing in your community, ignoring any zoning you count on to protect the value of your home. The Lake County, FL Board and many cities have ignored the implications included in new requirements for HUD grants they get for housing. Read more →

Lake County and Cities Ignore warnings about Federal HUD AFFH program, but Colorado City Doesn't

The Obama Administration's HUD rolled out new AFFH rules in 2015 that reduce local control of zoning and reduce property rights. The AFFH (Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing) rules are new conditions for cities and counties to get HUD and CDBG grants. By accepting the conditions, city and county officials are agreeing to expensive AFFH rules where Federal rules would override local zoning and planning decisions. A town in Colorado has just rejected renewal of the HUD CDBG grants due to the AFFH rules, and they explain why in a letter to HUD. Read all about it and more about AFFH dangers in this FiscalRangers.com blog report. Read more →

Lake County, FL Candidate Meet & Greet Notice: Feb. 18 in Tavares

The North Lake County Tea Party and the Lake Federated Republican Women’s Club is hosting a local candidate election meet and greet event on Feb. 18 at 6:30 pm in Tavares, FL for ALL new and re-election partisan and non-partisan candidates for any party or office in Lake County. The event is open to all voters. Read more →

German Town tells Schoolgirls to "Cover Up" so as not to upset Muslims

Tavares, FL Sept 27, 2015 A German town is telling school age girls to "cover up" so as not to upset Muslim refugees located next to their school. Will this happen in the US and Lake County, FL? One problem with allowing Muslim refugees or immigrants into a town ( or like Lake County) is their fundamentalist "culture" will cause conflicts with American culture. In this article, a German town told all the schools to forbid girls from wearing revealing clothes or bare arms due to refugees being located nearby. They expect conflict like is happening in the UK and other locations in Europe where a small number of Muslims can disrupt communities by demanding accomodations to THEIR culture. Muslims move to other countries but usually refuse to adapt to the local country culture. An example is demanding that women be completely covered up. So, if you read about some of the 85,000 Muslim refugees being re-located in the US by the Obama administration into your neighborhood, this is what you can expect. http://newobserveronline.com/german-girls-must-cover-arms-and-legs-to-appease-syrian-refugees/ Read more →

10+ Reasons to Vote AGAINST Lake County, Florida's $800-million "Infrastructure Sales Tax" Referendum on Nov. 3

On Nov. 3, 2015, the ballot in Lake County, FL will have a referendum asking voters to renew an existing one penny sales tax for another 15 years that will generate between $450-800-million in taxes. The funds will be for capital spending like buildings or computers or vehicles and split in thirds for each of these three groups: 1) Lake County government, the 14 cities in Lake County, and the School District. This article covers 10+ reasons to vote NO on the referendum and conditions needed to save taxpayers $100-million plus by prohibiting use of bonds to run up government debt. Read more →

Be SURE to attend tomorrow's debate on renewing the Lake County Penny Sales Tax in November

Lake County Florida voters are asked to vote no on the "penny sales tax renewal" issue on the Nov. 2015 ballot. This article includes links to pro videos and info on why the tax should be voted down until certain conditions are inserted into the ballot language. There is also a flyer and info for a panel on August 20, 2015 in Tavares to discuss the ballot issue with two for, and two against the referendum. Read more →

FiscalRangers Alert: Lake County Board to approve CDBG grant Tuesday morning that requires compliance with Obama's HUD AFFH program to shift poor residents into wealthier existing communities

The Lake County Board of Commissioners meeting agenda for Tuesday, August 4, 2015 contains a consent agenda item to approve a Federal CDBG grant plan. That plan contains a condition to comply with AFFH or Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing which can result in damage to existing property values of full neighborhoods. The Board should pull the agenda item and schedule it for a full staff presentation at a public workshop with public input to understand all the negative implications. The CDBG grant should be rejected due to the requirement for AFFH implementation. Read more →

Lake County, FL Inspector General Bob Melton speaks at North Lake County Tea Party

July 24, 2015 Tavares, FL The Inspector General for Lake County, FL, Bob Melton, was the featured speaker at a meeting of the North Lake Tea Party on July 14, 2015. He works for the Lake County Court Clerk, and can do performance audits of the Lake County Government, but not the Constitutional Officers unless they request an audit. They have never done so. But this talk focuses on his department abilities, and provides insights into the function of Guardianships and what he has seen when working at other Counties. Here is a link to the video of his 45 minute talk: https://youtu.be/jzrh2R8zw14 Here is his Powerpoint shown in his video: Download Role of the IG in Government Guardianships FINAL Here is the Inspector General's webpage on the Lake County Court Clerk website, including many performance audits of Lake County Government functions. Opinion In my view as an experienced Internal Audit Manager, Melton's group issues some very good audit reports on inefficiencies and needed performance improvements in County Departments. He just needs authority to initiate similar performance audits of all the Constitutional Officers and other local agencies like Cities or the North Lake Hospital District or the Lake County Water... Read more →

Tax Wars Start - County plans for renewing "penny sales tax" take hits from Right Side of the Lake Blog

Tavares, FL June 13, 2015 The Lake County Board, School Board and 14 local cities all want you to approve a 15 year renewal of the expiring 15 year penny sales tax. The issue will be on the November ballot, costing $440,000 (or I heard $900,000 at the Board meeting) to hold the election just for this issue. Today, like Vesuvius erupting, the old Right Side of the Lake blog, written by Don Magruder, erupted with many reasons to vote NO on the tax. Several of the reasons are correct. However, the School District and the Cities would be hurting if they each lost their 33%, or about $10-million per year for each of them. I also believe the vote should take place in 2016 during the regular election, and not in a special election costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. My Opinion - followed by link to Right Side of the Lake blog article My first argument against the sales tax renewal is that the school board (Rosanne Brandeburg), at least one city (Eustis) and possibly some County Board members are planning to SELL the future tax revenues in bonds to enrich attorneys, bond salesmen, construction firms and leave... Read more →

Obama's HUD program moving forward to integrate low income residents into wealthier communities

Tavares, FL June 12, 2015 The Obama administration and HUD have been moving the "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule " forward. It will require some 1250 cities to do a study and enact programs to rebalance ethnic percentages among richer communities that do not have a desired percent of low income people. Here is Kelly on FoxNews describing it in a 9 minute segment. The regulations would apply to roughly 1,250 local governments. http://thehill.com/regulation/244620-obamas-bid-to-diversify-wealthy-neighborhoods Are you ready for Section 8 welfare rental voucher recipients to be moved into your neighborhood? I wrote about this over the last two years as the rule was moving from proposal to comment stage. It is coming closer to implementation. In the past, they bused low income kids to wealthier schools, but now the Feds plan to hold Federal funds hostage from cities unless they force integration of low income folks into wealthier neighborhoods. I will be waiting to see which Lake County cities are on the "target" list. Of course, once the initial 1250 cities are "integrated", look for more to be affected. That is how liberal programs work. The first indicator will be when specific cities or communities (i.e. The Villages?) are added... Read more →

Red light cameras are losing profitability for cities and are being removed

Tavares, FL May 20,2015 Red light camera update: Some cameras are being removed by cities who installed them because the State of Florida set longer times for yellow lights, and they aren't catching enough violators to pay the contract costs. Read more here: http://www.wtsp.com/…/more-red-light-cameras-yank…/27552271/ The Tampa Bay paper had a long series on all the problems with red light cameras which resulted in Florida setting longer yellow light times. We don't know how this affects the two local cities with them, Clermont and Apopka. Vance Jochim FiscalRangers.com Read more →

Columnist Explains New Solutions to Poverty & Dependency

Tavares, FL March 29, 2015 Conservative columnist Cal Thomas had a great column in today's Daily Commercial. He described how Federal poverty programs rarely work, but praised a new set of case studies of overcoming adversity from the "Center for Neighborhood Enterprise", run by Bob Woodson. Woodson and US Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI - yes, that Paul Ryan who may run for President)recently embarked on a tour showing a new seven part online video seried calle "Comback. It showcases people who overcame poverty, drugs, etc on their own. Those people are labeled as "Overcomers" by Woodson. You can find the seven part video series here. "Comeback tells the inspiring, true stories of real-life Americans overcoming adversity in our nation’s cities and communities." The idea is to share what real people did to overcome their adverse conditions and raise them SELVES up to a better life. (Gee, does that sound like development of the conservative mantra of "self reliance" rather than big government dependency?) Regardless of whether you like Paul Ryan, maybe some Lake County, FL city and county officials can explore this program for local implementation? Vance Jochim www.FiscalRangers.com Read more →

SEIU union funded group in Wisconsin preaches hate against police

Tavares, FL March 17, 2015 Here in Lake County, FL, the School District has two unions: The LCEA and the SEIU. One of their national affiliates, the SEIU, funded a Wisconsin group preaching hate against police, and the other union, the LCEA parent organization of AFT did not. The teacher's LCEA Union is pretty moderate in this right to work state, and works with the School District Administration and is focused on the kids. They are affiliated with the national AFT (American Federation of Teachers) , NOT the NEA (National Assoc. of Teachers) which always seems to be more radical. HOWEVER, the video says this same group, Wisconsin Now, received $700,000 from the SEIU national union, which is the union for non-teachers in Lake County Schools. I think the local SEIU needs to break off from SEIU and become independent. This news report shows one of the NEA & SEIU FUNDED groups, Wisconsin Now, preaching hate vs police. I am glad that Lake County's LCEA is not affiliated with the NEA and I hope AFT is not funding such activities. But, I think the local SEIU should drop out of the national and become an independent union to not be... Read more →

Red Light Camera Update: Broward County Judges Throw Out 24,000 Red Light Tickets

March 17, 2015 Tavares, FL Red Light Update: Two Broward County Judges yesterday threw out 24,000 red light camera traffic citations due to them not being personally processed by the Police, which apparently is required. Maybe Clermont and Apopka will shut down their red light cameras also? I hearby classify Red Light Camera systems as a FiscalFiasco and a process that is infused with "waste, fraud & abuse" by government officials. That is why I will rarely ever drive through Apopka or Clermont. Those things are sneaky, dangerous and COSTLY. (I have never been caught by one) VJ Read more →

Tod Howard, Bill Mathias & Nancy Muenzmay win Leesburg, FL Elections HobNob Straw Poll

A Lake County, FL area elections HobNob was held Aug. 14, 2014 in Leesburg, FL and here are the results and links to pictures. Read more →

CRA Update - California Shut them Down, Broward County FL stops funding them, and what will Lake County Do?

Tavares, FL April 1, 2014 No, this is not an actual book, but it could be... In 2011, California Gov. Jerry Brown shut down all CRAs and took their funds. Now they are trying to create new ways in California to replace the CRA’s (Community Redevelopment Agencies) which were never approved by voters, and nothing seems to work yet. http://www.publicceo.com/2014/03/will-california-ever-replace-the-hole-left-by-its-redevelopment-agencies/ Meanwhile, here in Lake County, FL, it will be interesting to see what happens with CRA’s in Lake County. Voters never approved any of them in Lake County. Instead, they were implemented by a legal process where local cities had to prove there was "blight" and no local votes took place. Lake County takes more than $1-million from their general funds and send it to the 15+ CRA’s in Lake County. All are run by cities except the new one in Sorrento run by the Lake County Board, which has no funds due yet to that CRA. Attached here is the recently issued annual report of the Lake County run CRA in the Sorrento area: Download 2014-03-25 BCC CRA Plan - 69pgs My previous article on Broward County, FL deciding to stop contributions to CRA’s is here: http://webworks.typepad.com/lakecountyfiscalrangers/2014/01/broward-county-fl-decides-to-stop-contributions-to-cras.html And here... Read more →

Upcoming Renewal of Lake County FL Penny Sales Tax Might Pit County & Cities vs Schools

Tavares, FL - Sunday, feb. 16, 2014 For almost 15 years, the County Govt., the cities, and the School District received equal thirds of revenues from a Penny Sales Tax approved by voters. That tax is due for a public renewal vote in 2015, and the School Board is talking about instead launching a referendum for a different, and additional 1/2 penny tax just for their capital spending needs. But the County government leaders and League of Cities would rather stay with just renewing the existing tax and percentage splits because they are fearful the public won't support a renewal of the tax if the schools go for a separate, new sales tax. This story by Livi Stanford in today's Daily Commercial (see link below) provides all the details, so read it to get an idea of what could happen - either all three tax entities join together to renew the existing tax, or the School Board independently tries to get voter approval of their own half penny tax, which leaves the County & Cities to campaign for voters to also approve renewal of the existing penny tax which would be split only between the County & the cities. My... Read more →

Lake County Fire Rescue Fiefdoms Raise Risk of slow Responses, Damage & Death

Saturday, Dec. 28, 2012 - Tavares, FL Due to lack of fire response coordination in Lake County, you might as well wait for horse drawn fire wagons in some County "enclaves" Lake County has a problem where many cities and the County each have a fire department and they won't coordinate initial responses to fires or rescue situations to ensure the CLOSEST equipment is sent to a fire or emergency. A few cities are now using the County centralized dispatch system, but when a fire rescue response is needed, you might not get the closest and fastest response due to lack of a coordinated response agreement. (Note: This article is not about the separate County EMS or Emergency Management System for ambulances) Thus a resident living in a Lake County unincorporated section within a city like Tavares (called an enclave) might have to wait longer for a more distant COUNTY fire rescue rescue truck to respond to a house fire even if the CITY has a fire house much closer to them. I have been at County Board meetings and the City of Tavares when these were discussed, but the County does not appear to want to work with cities... Read more →

HUD's New Rule May Result in Low Income Minorities Moving into White Neighborhoods to Achieve Affirmative Fair Housing

HUD is about to roll out a new "RULE" known as AFFH or "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing" that drastically changes property rights and liberty by how they implement affordable housing in ALL communities. You won't like it, and your County officials are contributing to it by taking HUD grant funds. It basically does studies of ethnic minority percentages by neighborhoods (not just cities) and then because your city or county is taking HUD Federal grants, they mandate the County and cities have a plan to MOVE minorities to more prosperous communities. Read more →

FiscalRangers.com Lake County, FL Voting Guide PLUS Tips to Ensure your Ballots & Votes are COUNTED!!

Tavares, FL - Nov. 1, 2012 Here are the FiscalRangers Lake County voting guide & recommendations, followed by tips to ensure your ballots or votes are not denied due to stupid voter mistakes (which are infrequent, but do happen). FiscalRangers.com Lake County Voting Recommendations (Cities not Included) By Vance Jochim Many offices were decided during the primaries, thus I don’t list them here. My bias is I mostly vote Republican and for candidates who are intelligent, create initiatives and exercise sound fiscal decisions. If you don’t have a sample ballot, go to this Lake County Elections page, select your precinct and print or download your specific sample ballot: http://elections.lakecountyfl.gov/sample_ballots/index.aspx President : Romney/Ryan – duh! Or did you forget that Obama ran the deficit up to $1-trillion per year, and the national debt up to $16-billion for your kids. Don't even get me started on all those Executive Orders or Obama failing to provide security, resulting in the murder of a US Ambassador in Libya. US Senator: Vote for Connie Mack, NOT Nelson. Democrat Nelson voted like Obama and is part of the problem we have with the economy. US Representative – District 10: Vote for incumbent Daniel Webster (not Deming).... Read more →

What is a Florida Millage Tax? A Tax RATE on Private Property like Residences, Commercial Buildings, etc

Here is a great article explaining what a millage tax is, also known as a property tax in Florida. http://www.floridapoliticalpress.com/2012/10/30/what-is-a-millage-tax/ What is a Millage Tax - from Florida Political Press - Written for Seminole County (FL) property owners By Ed Ghiglieri (TIP: First, Florida residents and home or commercial property owners, get out your house's property tax TRIM Notice from your County Property Appraiser (estimates of pending millage rates and property values for the coming tax year) OR your most recent actual Property Tax Bill (from the Tax Collector). Both is better. Millage rates don't affect renters except that the tax WILL be included in the house or business building rent you pay to the owner. If the local city, county or government agency increases a millage rate, your rent will probably go up.) Recently the Seminole County School Board proposed “up to a 1 mill” increase on property taxes in Seminole County to increase the school revenues. In talking to residents, homeowners, business owners and renters of all types there is some confusion of what a millage tax is. I have been told from some people that it’s a mileage tax on your cars and it’s used for road... Read more →

FiscalRangers Watchdog to Host Sept. 6th Public Meeting to Explain Coming LOCAL Lake County Property Tax Rate Hikes up to 72% & Understanding TRIM Notices

Tavares, FL - Sept. 2, 2012 - News and local government issues for Lake County, FL by Vance Jochim Updates Sept 4: Added section 10 to "homework" section that includes links to FL Dept of Revenue guides that most taxpayers never see. Added section 11 for email from Lake County Republican Party to Tax Authorities recommending NO increase in millage rates. This Thursday, Sept. 6, 6-8pm, FiscalRangers.com, a blog on local Lake County Florida Government Fiscal issues, will host a FREE property taxpayer public meeting at the Tavares Civic Center, 100 E. Caroline St., Tavares, FL to explain how and why your property taxes or rates are going up, and tips if you want to appeal your property valuations, lost exemptions, etc. You should have recently received your TRIM notice showing new valuations, changes in exemptions, proposed changes in millage rates, etc. Have you heard that many local Lake County tax "authorities" like cities, Lake County and various special districts are RAISING the millage rate used to calculate your property taxes? Even though your property tax valuation may be dropping, those authorities want to tax you as much or more as last year, so they are increasing your property tax... Read more →

Lessons for Lake County? Georgia City of 100,000 Outsources EVERYthing and is NOT broke.

Tavares, FL - May 21, 2012 by Vance Jochim Here is a great video from the Florida Tea party network about Sandy Springs, GA, population 100,000 (bigger than the Villages), which started outsourcing all their programs in 2005 after incorporating as a new city in Fulton County, GA, and now has NO debt. Watch the EIGHT minute video first, then return for my comments. The video was created by Reason.org which is a Libertarian think tank in California. Then ask your Lake County officials why they are not examining outsourcing services, and why unincorporated Sorrento - Mt. Plymouth is not incorporating as a city and outsourcing services? http://theteapartynetwork.org/2012/05/a-great-vision-of-municipal-government/ This city was initially a large unincorporated area in Fulton County, GA, and was taxed by the County for funds spent elsewherein the County. The County rarely paved or repaired roads. Democrats controlled the legislature and prevented Sandy Springs from incorporating as a city until 2005 when Republicans took control and allowed the City of Sandy Springs to be established. So, this was all done since 2005. "Companies are better than managing projects than government, and one contractor provided services for $25-million vs $50-million if run by the county government." Sandy Springs... Read more →

Lake Appraiser and Lake County Tax Collector Improve Transparency over Tax Authorities

Tavares, FL - Oct. 2, 2011 - FiscalRangers has achieved an improvement in transparency over tax authorities listed on property tax notices. We recently heard at a meeting of the North Lake County Hospital District that a taxpayer had a terrible time finding out what that Hospital tax on their property was about. She looked at her Tax Trim notice from the County Appraiser, Ed Havil, and the Tax Notice from County Tax Collector Bob McKee, and the only information for the Hospital District tax was the location and date of the final hearing to approve next year's taxes. No phone, no email, no address and no website was provided. Sure, she could call either office and they could provide a phone number, but no info on what the tax was or phone number listed on the notices or on the two agency websites (we thought). In contrast, if you look at THIS Wisconsin based website, it focuses on improved transparency over taxes there. And, if you visit THIS website from Milwaukee County, you find they have provided a "Milwaukee County Accountability Portal" which "allows the publci to view detaild data on SPENDING by Milwaukee County Government. And, look at... Read more →

108 Miles of Lake County Roads Belong to the Cities - so who pays for Maintenance?

Tavares, FL - June 25, 2011 - Yup - here is another stupid Lake County government Fiscal Fiasco. If you are a County resident, would you be mad if you found the County was using YOUR tax funds (mostly sales taxes, not property taxes) to repair and maintain ROADS within city limits, and city resident taxes are not being used for the repairs, even though they LIVE or WORK on the street? Are you in a city, paying city property taxes, and the nearby road and sidewalks are not repaired because the City tells you "that is up to the County". The CITY should be doing the repairs using your property taxes or sales tax revenues they get (or other sources). It seems that a number of cities keep growing by annexing neighborhoods and businesses. That means the CITY gets the property tax at CITY tax rates (usually higher than the County), and the properties go off the tax rolls of the County Government, reducing their revenues. That is normal. Note: I if you know someone who should read this, please forward this to them, and ask them to LIKE our "FiscalRangers" Facebook page. But, what came out at recent... Read more →