Fiscal Rangers

Angry Tavares, FL BayTree Residents Demand answers from City about proposed development next door

The over-55 retirement community, BayTree, in Tavares, FL has erupted in anger over a plan to demolish an old golf course surrounding many homes and add many new, smaller homes on the old golf course land. We provide a video to our overview of the issue plus an April 29, 2019 meeting between residents and the Tavares, FL City Manager, Attorney and Director of Planning. Read more →

Why Don't Florida School Districts have Performance Management Metric Reports like Business?

Florida local government agencies like the Lake County FL School District lack process improvement and performance reporting dashboards like a business and need them. We start the conversation with some examples and what School Boards need to do if they actually want to protect the financial interests of taxpayers. Read more →

A Florida homeowner's guide for coping with surprise real estate developments next door.

Florida homeowners may be blindsided by developer requests for questionable projects next to them like the proposed 4-story rental apartment complex on the shores of Lake Saunders near Tavares, FL next to the single story, single family residences. So we created a 36 minute Florida Homeowners guide to the land development process to understand how to make your voice heard or oppose outlandish land use developments. Read more →

60 Local Government Employees based in Tavares, FL Earned $100k or more in 2017 per OpenTheBooks.org database

A government spending watchdog, OpenTheBooks.org, tracks wasteful government programs and also tracks local, state and Federal employee wages over $100k. We examined their reports for local cities in the Lake County area, and found 60 employees working in the Tavares, FL area for government that earned over $100k. OpenTheBooks.org also launched an initiative to encourage the Congress to launch a "War on Waste" by listing wasteful, stupid Federal programs and asking the government to publish budget details for transparency, and then eliminate the uncovered, wasteful programs. Read more →

Is Lake County, FL collecting hotel bed taxes from ALL AirBNB renters?

The Lake County, FL Tax Collector is not collecting bed taxes via AirBNB from renters using AirBNB for making reservations. Some individual AirBNB renters may file and pay the taxes, but most do not. Other Florida counties and some entire states work directly with AirBNB to collect taxes via the AirBNB reservation system, but apparently not Lake County. The result is hotels have to pay the bed tax of 4%, but many AirBNB renters may not be doing so, giving them an unfair pricing advantage. We have the details. Read more →

Senate Passes Tax Bill and how does a property tax write off provision affect Florida?

Tavares, FL Dec. 2, 2017 Whoopee - the Senate just approved a tax bill, so it will be merged with the House version and sent to Trump to approve before Christmas! One condition added back by Senator Susan Collins was to still allow deductions of up to $10,000 in property taxes from Federal Income Tax returns. If it makes it to the final bill, that benefits states that have HIGH property tax rates. So I looked up how Florida compares to other states in average property taxes, and we are middle of the pack. Many northern states and Texas are double Florida's average property tax rate, so their residents get taxed higher, but will get more tax write-offs. But this also means Florida residents will still get to deduct the first $10,000 of their property taxes from their Federal Tax Return. Since Florida's tax rate is half of New Jersey, etc. it means to reach that $10,000, people with more expensive homes will get a bigger write off as a percent of home value. By that, I mean that if a New Jersey home owner pays 2% on a home, that means their $10,000 maximum deduction will be reached at... 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 →

Lake County Republicans Recommend NO on Nov. 8 Ballot Initiative to "Renew" 40 year old 1 mill North Lake County Hospital District tax

The election ballot for Nov. 8, 2016 for Lake County, FL will contain a referndum item that asks voters to vote Yes or No to continue the 1 Mill North Lake County Hospital District property tax for another 10 years. The Lake County Republican Party held a forum of proponents and opponents of the ballot issue, and members voted over 2/3 to recommend a NO vote on the ballot. This article describes the issue and forum in more detail with links to the formal resolution to vote NO, the REC press release, video links, etc. Read more →

Lake County Scoop: County Commissioner Leslie Campione discloses plan for school impact fee waivers

A new plan for school impact fee waivers was presented to the Lake County FL School Board today by Lake County Commissioner Leslie Campione. Read more →

Conservative Jason Hoyt starts Florida PAC to fight solar industry corporate welfare & Florida Amendment 4

A new taxpayer advocate Florida PAC has been formed to fight corporate welfare, including efforts to get voters to vote NO on Florida Amendment 4 (2016) on the August 30 ballot which would give property tax exemptions benefitting just the solar industry. Read more →

Board Meeting of North Lake County Hospital District (FL NLCHD) Jan. 21, 2016

The Board of the North Lake County Hospital District met on Jan. 21, 2016 in Tavares, FL to hold a routine meeting. Several routine reports were presented but not discussed. I will attach or link them here when received. They also discussed the wording for the Nov. ballot measure to renew this tax. This Board supervises the implementation of a 1 mill property tax collected of home and business owners in North Lake County, FL. It generates about $8-million in taxes split between two hospitals and several clinics to offset the cost of un-reimbursed indigent care (where the patients cannot pay for medical services.) Read more →

Education Journal investigation shows Florida State University waived admissions criteria for connected students

Following a University of Texas admissions scandal, the Chronicle of Higher Education published an investigation into admissions favoritism at 13 top public universities Sunday. They found Florida State Unversity to be dropping entrance admission criteria for connected students, and up to 40 times, connected leaders or alumni contacted the admissions office to "follow up" on specific admissions, unlike several universities which did not allow such actions. Read more →

23 Tavares, FL Mobile Home Retirees to be Evicted by Grinch for New Development

An owner of a Mobil home park in Lake County, FL and Tavares, FL plans to 23 elderly residents who cannot afford to move their homes and cannot find other locations. He plans to build a large Senior Citizens retirement complex and will not provide subsidies for the residents to move. The state requires some subsidies for moving but they are less than market costs. Read more →

North Lake County FL Hospital District Board approves 1-mill property tax and budget of $9.3-million

The North Lake County Hospital District Board met for the second required public hearing on Sept. 24, 2015 to determine the new fiscal year millage rate and related budget which were set at 1 mill and an expenditure budget of $9-million for fiscal year 2015-2016. Read more →

Video of Lake County, FL debate over Nov. Referendum to Renew $800-million "penny sales tax" for another 15 years

The Lake County North Lake Tea Party and the Lake Federated Republican Women's Club hosted a panel debate on whether to renew the "penny sales tax" for another 15 years, which would collect about $800-million from consumers. Below is the link to the video. Read more →

Lake County surprise assessments could increase your tax bill tremendously

July 10, 2015 Tavares, FL This Daily Commercial article by Livi Stanford explains why you want to resist buying homes that are not on paved roads or may be subject to future assessments for public works projects. A neighborhood in Lake County has 10 homes that were on a dirt road. Some of the owners petitioned the County to pave the road and levy a property assessment on each home. Since a majority of the owners wanted the road, the County Board approved the road paving, with an assessed fee of $1800 per home per year for 10 years. But three of the owners (who objected to the paving) say they could not afford the tax, however the Board this week re-approved the assessment without providing any more relief to the resistant home owners. So always find out if a home you plan to buy may be subject later to some type of assessment for road paving, light poles, sanitation pipelines, septic tank replacements, etc. Vance Jochim Read more →

Lake County Property Values jump average of 5.8% with Groveland up 19%

Tavares, FL June 1, 2015 The Orlando Sentinel says that Lake County's property values spiked up an average over 5% and Groveland property values jumped 19%, while Leesburg stayed at 1.1%. This is a reason that the Lake County Board must roll BACK the property tax rate to the rate used TWO years ago before Jimmy Conner, Sean Parks and Welton Cadwell bumped up County property tax rates by 14+%. Vance Jochim FiscalRangers.com Read more →

Lake County Residential Zoning needs drastic improvement to retain home values

Lake County, FL allows many lax residential code weaknesses, and we show you pictures of many of them in just one residential community. Caveat Emptor when you buy a house in unincorporated Lake County. Read more →

Why aren't Florida Consitutional Officers Required to be Transparent about their Budgets?

Feb. 3, 2015 Tavares, FL - Lake County Why aren't Florida Constitutional officers required to be transparent about their budgets and have public budget hearings like the County, School Districts, cities and Hospital District? Florida requires little oversight on elected Constitutional Officers like Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, Sheriff, Elections Superintendent - I have periodically asked that Constitutional Officers be required to have public hearings over their budget details and to post a DETAILED proposed and then approved budget each year. Instead, they have no requirements to do so. As an example, the Lake County Tax Collector has a 2014-2015 budget of $5.5-million, but his website only shows this very vague, one page proposed budget dated Sept., 2014. Why aren't Constitutional officers required to have public hearings, budget workshops, and post DETAILED budgets on their websites like the County and schools do? What is going for software vs facilities vs utilities vs wages vs benefits? We don't know and are never allowed to provide public input. Ask your constitutional officer AND your Florida legislator why they don't do that. http://www.laketax.com/forms/2014-2015_budget.pdf and, the Tax Collector has only ONE page in the 484 page Lake County Budget book HERE (scroll to page 384).... Read more →

Lake County FL School Impact Fees Increased but growth costs still 25% Unfunded

Tavares, FL Dec. 7, 2014 The Lake County Board of Commissioners approved an increase in the Lake County School Impact Fees, raising it from an average $2500 per NEWLY constructed home to $7500. The fee is paid by the homebuilder at time of construction completion. HERE is the Orlando Sentinel story on the fee increase. Impact Fees are based upon the amount needed to generate new student stations (i.e. schools and classrooms) due to growth caused by new residents buying the new homes. Existing homes are not taxed, only new ones. The current rate is based upon a consultant's study required by Florida State that defines the average funds needed per home, and the current rate is about $10,200. However, the school district has no received full funding for years, due to waivers by the School Board and the County Board. Thus the approved increase will still not fully fund the added classroom space and facilities needed due to population growth. Here is the comment I posted on the newspaper Facebook page about the impact fee increase: " Well, this really means that the Schools need about $10,200 for every new house to build schools for the new kids from... Read more →

SHOCKING - Daily Commercial NOW says the Lake County, FL County Commission Should Review the Budget

Yes, today the Lake County, FL newspaper, the Daily Commercial, had both a front page article AND an "OurVoice" editorial saying NOW the County Board, after raising taxes by almost 14%, should "get serious about your budget". This article contains a review of a newspaper article, an editorial and my specific responses to the points in them. Read more →

Your Lake County Property Taxes may go up 11-18% if you do not take action Tomorrow

Monday, Sept. 8, 2014 | Tavares, FL | by Vance Jochim If you live in Lake County, FL and own a house, commercial or investment property, your property taxes shown on your property "Trim" notice could go up 11-26% due to 1) appraisal values going up 4.2% or more and 2) the Lake County Board approving a budget and tax hike of 11-18% tomorrow afternoon at 5pm (Tuesday). I refer to the County tax increase as the "Jimmie Tax" due to encouragement for it by the Lake County Board Chair, Jimmie Conner. Or you could call it the Conner, Cadwell, Sullivan & Parks tax after the four commissioners who voted for it. (Tim Sullivan since recanted a bit and helped Leslie Campione reduce the pending tax to about 11%.) Below is an overview, our recommendations, and some links to reference documents. If you don't think the tax rate increases listed on the TRIM notice are acceptable, you need to write, call and visit tax authority public hearings to get your point across. There will be other groups who WANT the spending increased, including employees, interest groups and officials and they definitely are calling, writing and attending public hearings. Renters should... Read more →

Another Tax Spender Demand in the Daily Commercial

Once again, the Daily Commercial posted another front page article citing spending WANTS from local County fire officials while not talking to anyone with an alternative, or talking to taxpayers about the merits of adding more people to the staff. Read more →

Lake County Commissioner Leslie Campione Explains why County Taxes Need not Increase

Lake County, FL Commissioner Leslie Campione just sent out her monthly newsletter which we inserted below. It focuses on the upcoming Sept. 9th 5pm meeting of the County Board where they may vote in the FIRST of TWO required public hearings to INCREASE the millage rate by 11% or more (it was 18% but that was reduced last week at a four hour meeting.). Read more →

Lake County FL Budget Woes Described, and our Counter Comments

The local Lake County Daily Commercial published an article quoting many officials about low budgets and the possible need for MORE taxes. They did not quote any watchdog groups about alternatives to raising taxes, and we provided some comments they would not publish. Read more →

FiscalRangers Alert: Will Lake County, FL Board Throw $2-million More Into Expensive Cagan's Crossings Library?

Tavares, FL - Monday, Feb. 10, 2014 Tomorrow, the Lake County Board is being asked to approve, WITHOUT DISCUSSION, the start of a process to use $200,000 of library impact fees to design the total $2.2-million build out of the second floor of a library in South Lake County for unstated purposes. Those purposes may be to develop services that compete with tax paying businesses. The issue is in tab 8 of the "consent agenda" which means the Board will approve it without discussing it in public at the hearing. Lake County, FL has a very expensive library built in Cagan's Crossings, in the very south east corner of Lake County and next to Polk, Osceola & Orange County. Various agreements exist/ed to allow residents of other counties to use the libraries, but as far as I know, Lake County paid for it. Here is the link to the Cagan's Crossing library page: http://www.lakeline.lib.fl.us/libraries/cagan_crossings_community_library.aspx That is the library where Polk County agreed to contribute annually towards library expenses, then welched, causing the Library Dept. to reduce staff. It is my understanding that Polk County HAS no libraries, thus I assume they do not have a Library Impact fee, but Lake... Read more →

Lake County Property Tax Percentages EXCEED Every County Around Us

Tavares, FL Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013 Lake County, FL CNN published an interactive map of residential property taxes showing how every County in the US compared to others in two categories: Total Dollars paid per residence per county, and Percent of "Home Price" (not sure if that is original price or current market value per appraisers). They used data from the Tax Policy Center, and we assume the data came from this report: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/stateandlocal/tax-and-budget/Revenues-and-taxation.cfm Lake County property taxes as a percent of "home prices" is 1.08% and is higher than many Florida counties but lower than others, ranging from .58% to 1.36%. Further examination reveals that EVERY County around Lake County pays less percent in property taxes than Lake County homeowners . But Lake County property taxes were not as high as counties in other states according to this CNN map. In the "Dollars" tab, Lake County residents pay an average of $1801 compared to $595 in rural counties to $2751 in Miami-Dade County. CHECK both TABS to see dollars and then percentages of home sales prices. Move your mouse over the counties to see how they vary. http://money.cnn.com/interactive/real-estate/property-tax/?iid=EL So, when you hear people complain about property taxes in Lake... Read more →

Upcoming Lake County Impact Fee Decisions Could Result in NEW Taxes for YOU!

Tavares, FL - Lake County, FL - Monday, Nov. 26, 2012 After taking a 3-week period to recover from the election results, we are back at it! Your taxes could be raised next year if the Lake County Board decides to continue waiving local Impact Fees on new construction. By waiving the impact fees, the Board is giving up tax revenues that will need to be provided by another source, like property taxes, sales taxes, etc. The Lake County Board and the Lake County School District Board are in the process of deciding whether to renew suspension of impact fees for County transportation (roads) and Schools on new construction of homes and commercial buildings. If you read about or see Lake County (not city) roads being overcrowded, or schools not being able to buy new buildings, computers or school buses, one reason is that impact fees for them were waived by the County Board the last 2-3 years. The resulting County & School Board impact fee decisions in the next 1-2 months could re-enact transportation and school impact fees on new construction waived by the Lake County Board for the last 2 years. The homebuilders and commercial construction firms don't... 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 →

Florida Water District Audit finds Complete Mis-Management of Taxpayer Funded Lands

Saturday, Sept., 15, 2012 - Tavares, FL An audit by an Inspector General found that the South Florida Water Management District, "the largest public landowner in Florida — has no detailed inventory of the 1.4 million acres it owns and no formal process to sell or lease land it no longer needs, according to an audit by the district’s inspector general. The audit was made public at the monthly meeting of the district’s governing board on Thursday. Board members were briefed before the meeting and there was no discussion or comment from the public about the findings. The audit follows 18 months of questions — from the state, media and the district’s own inspector general — about the practices used to purchase and manage $2.8 billion the district said it needed for restoration, flood control and water storage projects. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/national-govt-politics/audit-faults-water-district-for-loose-management-o/nSByH/ The results of the audit point out a constant failure I see with government - the lack of business like programs to track and react to asset management methods used by businesses. In other words, once they get the land, there is no cost to them, and they horde it and want more, regardless of whether the taxpayers are informed... Read more →

Lake County Board Holds the Line on Millage Rates & Lake Sentinel Cries Wolf

The Orlando Sentinel published an article today about Tuesday’s Board meeting where the Lake County Board decided 4 to 1 to NOT increase most property tax millage rates, thus causing a need to fix funding shortages. About 20 people provided public input, and all of them but one sixteen year old told the Board to NOT increase millage rates. The sixteen year old wanted the millage rates to be increased. The Board agreed with the majority by voting 4 to 1 to NOT increase millage rates, and they decided to take the needed funds from cash reserves. They also discussed the need to have public discussions early next year to put service cuts on the table for discussion for the FOLLOWING tax year of 2014. Unfortunately, today’s Orlando Sentinel article made it seem like that decision would reduce bus, library and other services this coming budget year starting Oct. 1, 2012, and in my opinion that was not true. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-09-14/news/os-lk-lake-county-property-tax-20120914_1_taxable-value-tax-rate-rollback-rate#mod-blogs You can also watch the actual videos of the meeting here - watch the videos for the Sept. 11th meeting: http://www.lakecountyfl.gov/board_agendas/board_regular_meetings.aspx Here is my answer, as posted in their comments section, and I confirmed this today with Board Chair Leslie... Read more →

Please attend Lake County Board Meeting Tomorrow, Tuesday, to Give Public Input on Plan to RAISE property tax millage rates

Tavares, FL - Mon., Sept 10 - Updates added at 7:30 pm, with link to Ritchie posting. Please attend tomorrow’s Lake County Board of Commission EVENING meeting at 5:05 pm when they MAY Approve a Property Tax millage rate Increase. Be there to give public input or just watch government in action. Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 at 5:05 pm (not the morning meeting) in the Lake County round administrative building , 315 W. Main St., Tavares. UPDATE: At 7pm, Monday, Lauren Ritchie, columnist fro the Lake Sentinel paper posted a blog article about tomorrow's meeting. I have no idea why she has Sean Parks in the web address, since she interviewed Leslie Campione, not Parks: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-09-10/news/os-lk-county-budget-taxes-20120910_1_rollback-rate-county-budget-commissioner-sean-parks Some people get mad when I say a millage rate is a tax increase, but if the normal method to calculate your property tax is to multiple the property value (on your TRIM Notice) by a standard millage rate, but then government officials decide to increase the millage rate to get more revenues, that to me is an increase, even if valuations are lower. I don't see sales tax rates being increased due to lower retail sales. I said that just to make tax... Read more →

Lake County FL Republicans Request County Officials to NOT Increase Property Tax Millage Rates

Tavares, FL - Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012 We recently wrote how many Lake County, FL government agencies are planning to increase property tax millage rates even though property values have dropped about 5.9% in Lake County according to the Lake County Property Tax Appraiser (see earlier article about our planned community meeting on Sept. 6th). Lake County Republicans voted on August 28th to have the Chairman, Mike Levine, write & send a letter to Lake County tax authorities, including the Lake County Board, with the recommendation NOT to increase millage rates as proposed by many entitites. However, the Chairman in my opinion added several personal requests not discussed at the meeting, such as tax abatements. The original emphasis approved by members was to have the Chair write a straightforward request not to increase property tax millage rates. Normally the Republican Executive Committee (REC) would process a written resolution and approve a written document, but time was short, so they authorized the Chair to write and send a request. So, in my opinion, the purpose of this letter was to only request that millage rates not be increased, thus the government agencies would live within the revenues received from the current,... 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 →

Florida Tea Party Network Members Try, but Fails to get Adam Putnam to Fight $8-billion Energy Bill

Tavares, FL - June 12, 2012 Florida Tea Party Network representatives met with Florida Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam to understand why he supported HB-7117, an energy bill that will cost Florida taxpayers over $8-billion to subsidize "alternative" energy sources like wind and solar. it became law on April 14, 2012 without a requested veto from Gov. Scott. Thus your energy costs will go up more in the future to subsidize more costly wind & solar energy that is not reliable. The bill shifts energy surtaxes to selected recipients of residential and commercial property owners who make retrofits desired by GOVERNMENT (not market based). This is a typical Federal objectives "green" bill that uses tax funds to subsidize gvoernment desired "sustainable development" goals. The bill should be killed. Read BOTH of the Tea Party Network reports below and remember that when you are asked to vote for Adam Putnam in the future. Here is a link to Putnam's Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services webpage: http://www.myflorida.com/agency/1/ Here is a link to the Florida Senate Info page on HB-7117 http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2012/7117 Here is the link to two reports from the Tea Party Network representatives, or read the entire text below. http://theteapartynetwork.org/2012/06/meeting-with-commissioner-putnam-on-energy-bill-hb-7117/ =========================================================================== Report... 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 →

UN's Agenda 21 is Taking over Florida Public Lands in Lake County & Other Actions

Updated July 28 to add section at bottom on Agenda 21 foreign aid projects on DEVEX website. Tavares, FL - July 25, 2011 - The UN has an initiative called Agenda 21 which is really aimed at reducing property rights and increasing socialism around the world. Agenda 21 has affected Florida as well as Lake County. Keep on reading... But first, if you don't know much about Agenda 21, WATCH this 9-minute "Agenda 21 Video for Dummies" explaining it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzEEgtOFFlM&feature=youtu.be This article link below clearly explains one part, which is the encouragement of "wildlife" corridors which then prohibit access by humans. The article says now that 28% of Florida land is now taken up by such programs, and all of it funded with taxpayer money because no one challenged the concept. Recently, last year, two environmentalists on the Lake County Board (now no longer on the Board) pushed through modifications to the Lake County "comp plan" which laid out land usage plans, so that property rights were taken aways from owners by tactics such as limiting the size of roads in their area, which then controls traffic, which then reduces the value of land that could have been used for... Read more →

Channel 9 TV Quotes FiscalRangers in Report on Impact Fee Waivers by Lake County Governments

Tavares, FL - July 20, 2009 - Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. Here is a Channel 9 report by Bernt Petersen on the issue of the value of waiving impact fees by local Lake County Governments. They got me questioning the value of the waivers, and they have quotes from local officials and staff supporting the waivers. http://www.wftv.com/news/28601741/detail.html What this all comes down to is whether you believe developers of new homes and business buildings should contribute impact fees EARLY towards the roads, schools and other infrastructure growth needs caused by that construction. Or should there be no impact fees attached to new construction, and ALL existing taxpayers keep getting taxed via sales taxes, property taxes and fuel taxes to pay for additional infrastructure needed by residents of the newly constructed buildings. Keep in mind that "new Infrastructure" is not the same as maintenance costs on existing roads, etc. which SHOULD be paid by property taxes, fuel taxes and sales taxes. Developers don't want to pay for any of those upfront costs, they want you to pay for it. Read it and post a comment. The video clip would not work on my computer, but the text is there... 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 →

Why Don't the Chambers of Commerce Host Panels of Elected Officials to Answer Questions from the Public?

Here is an idea for an event that each of the local Lake County chambers could hold. It is an open meeting hosted by the Chambers to have the public ask direct questions of elected officials (as opposed to candidates). Right now, there is nothing like this in Lake County, but the one below is held by the Chamber of Commerce in Fountain Valley, CA where I used to live. They do it just for State and Federal officials, but I think the local one should include elected officials from County Government, the School Board and local cities. So what if it goes 3 hours - I think they would get a big crowd. Since Welton Cadwell hardly ever lets the public provide public input at County Commissioner meetings, maybe this type of meeting may provide an alternate version of transparency. How about it, Chambers? OR, what about the TEA Party or the local Republican Executive Committee (they are planning several for current candidates, but not incumbents who are not up for re-election) vj In the Local section of the OC Register, in the “Our Towns – Central” column, you find the following announcement. This is a fun annual event.... Read more →

Election for Florida State Agriculture Commissioner Heats Up Right in Lake County

The Orlando Sentinel blogger, Lauren Ritchie, posted a blog describing how one candidate for FL State Ag Commissioner, Congressman Adam Putnam, made a speech at a local Republican Women's Federation lunch (I was there), and also announced endorsements from three GOP groups. The article basically said the meeting and announcement was a slam to his opponent, local Lake County resident Carey Baker, who is currently a State Senator. READ her blog here (also added at the bottom of this posting). Also read the comments, which contained some more issues related to Baker. I wrote this response to Ritchie's column on her blog, but the Orlando Sentinel gave the following message, and would not accept my response: So, here is my response - I decided to stop waffling and come out against Baker - he doesn't do anything that supports local taxpayers...unless they are gun owners or have "Bull's Balls" hanging from their trailer hitch. Baker has also angered the volunteers who were trying to get more oversight and voter approval for the North Lake County Hospital tax district that costs local property owners 1-mill in taxes without ANY specific conditions on how the funds are to be spent by the... Read more →

Volusia County Taxpayers Start Local Government Tax Cap Reform Movement

For your info - regarding Volusia County citizens Tax Reform movement. After sitting in the recent Lake County Hospital District meeting where the Board refused to consider tax transparency advocate requests, I can see why this movement might come to Lake County. I was amazed at the smirks, and head shaking by the Board members and supporting consultants when asked to initiate an effort to allow flexible tax rates for the District, and they refused to consider a website or other means to provide full transparency on the spending. In my two years of attending Lake County School District Meetings, the Board there was very sensitive to voter comments, and spent time to educate them. But it was clear the Hospital District Board wasn't open to public concerns about excess taxes, and it will be interesting how the Board and the Hospitals react next. vj From: Margie [mailto:margie640@bellsouth.net] Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 10:54 AM To: Undisclosed-Recipient:; Subject: Volusia Tax Reform - Call To Action I hope you will join us, and thousands of other Floridians, in a grassroots campaign to place a cap on local government spending that is breakable only by voter approval. The cap would tie local... Read more →

Comments about Florida Homeowner's Insurance

State Representative Alan Hays just sent out a newsletter to Lake County constituents, and on the front page focused two articles on two information websites related to Homeowner's insurance. Below is the letter I wrote to him. The legislature are scoundrels, along with Charlie Crist, for approving house insurance rates that increase fees to inland homeowners to subsidize the rates paid by coastal homeowners who have the highest risk of storm damage. ====================================== To Alan Hays at alan.hayes@myfloridahouse.gov The front page of your newsletter that was just sent out has two sections on “Ways You can save now on Homeowner’s Insurance premiums” but they both discriminate against owner’s of manufactured or mobile homes when there are some 1.4 million such homes in Florida. Why doesn’t the My Safe Florida Home inspection program cover manufactured homes, AND WHY DON’T THEY DISCLOSE THAT ON THEIR WEBSITE’S TOP PAGE? Why does the ShopandCompareRates.com website (that lists insurance companies ) only give examples for a block home and not manufactured homes. As an experienced corporate auditor, I think this website is a joke, and you should not portray it as being that useful, since it doesn’t cover other types of homes, and doesn’t include... Read more →

Florida Property Tax Cut Proposal to be on November Ballot

Amazingly, another tax cut proposal will be on the November ballot that could reduce property taxes up to 25% but increase sales taxes to offset the cuts. Local government agencies better start tightening their belts now! vj ======================================== from the Ft. Meyer News-Press at: http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080317/NEWS0120/80317038/1075 March 17, 2008 Property tax cut proposal to be in voters’ hands By Jim Ash news-press.com Tallahassee bureau TALLAHASSEE — Voters will decide in November whether they want to cut their property taxes by an average of 25 percent, and make up for the nearly $8 billion in lost government revenue with a penny sales tax increase and a combination of budget cuts and other state savings. The powerful Taxation and Budget Reform Commission voted 21-4 this afternoon to approve the measure by former Senate President John McKay over the objections of critics ranging from retailers to the Florida Catholic Conference, speaking on behalf of the poor. The vote was a personal victory for McKay, who was first rebuffed in the Legislature in 2003 and who has been pursuing it ever since. "The only opponents of this proposal are the special interests," McKay said. "The voters of Florida are going to make this decision. It's... Read more →

Lauren Ritchie on the upcoming Jan. 29 Property Tax Vote

Below is Orlando Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie's take on the upcoming Jan. 29 vote on Florida Amendment 1 on property tax changes which has four sections that confuse everyone. Recently, I attended a meeting of the League of Women Voter's in Lake County, which had a panel of elected officials and a lobbyist. Everyone agrees the ballot issue is confusing and fragmented, and then they separate into two camps: 1) Don't pass it because it will "cost" the local governments funds, and they will get the money through another alternative. (Have you seen the video on Channel 22 from the League of Cities - the guy says "government will always get there money" so the only result would be a tax shift.). Notice no press or official ever says "the taxpayer will save..." - instead they always say a vote will "cost" some agency. 2) If you are a residential owner, you will save a few hundred dollars, but there is a risk that a Federal lawsuit could be filed about increased differences between local home owners, and those from another state - which is a equal rights Federal issue. The best, fiery speaker was Ed Havill, who basically countered... Read more →

Conference of Mayors Forecasts 2008 $80-billion Florida Real Estate Value drop

I am including this article here because it discusses falling real estate prices, including Florida, and is from the Conference of Mayors. Falling Real Estate prices = lower property taxes which means less income for local governments, which is another reason to practice sound management in government. This article is similar to research appearing in Business Week. Next year will be worse than 2007. I lived through three of these real estate downturns in California, and this one will be worse because of all the flimsy sub-prime loans that are resetting thru mid-2008 to higher payments, plus all the speculative buyers that were in the market that can't carry the extra inventory. vj ==================================================== Nov. 27, 2007 - from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atgFG_y3hGqY&refer=home U.S. Mortgage Crisis Slams Property Values, State Tax Receipts By Michael B. Marois Enlarge Image/Details Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The worst U.S. housing recession in 16 years will drive down property values by $1.2 trillion next year and slash tax revenue by more than $6.6 billion, according to a report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. California, the hardest-hit state, will suffer a $630.6 billion decrease in property values that will cut property tax revenue to local governments by almost... Read more →

Florida Tax Watch Issues New Report on FL Property Tax Problems

This website focuses on improving resource management of Lake County, Florida local government spending. Tax issues are a concern because if government resources are not professionally managed, then there is pressure to increase taxes to offset the resulting inefficiencies. ALSO, see the links at the bottom of this post. vj from the Orlando Business Journal http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2006/12/18/daily4.html Report: Crisis looming for state's property tax system Orlando Business Journal - 10:05 AM EST Monday Florida's property tax system faces a crisis due to rising levies and local government spending that exceeds the taxpayers' ability to pay, a new report released by Florida TaxWatch finds. Dominic M. Calabro, president and CEO of the nonprofit, nonpartisan government watchdog group, notes that his organization has seen a big increase in the volume of calls and e-mails from upset taxpayers, who believe the property tax system is "unfair and unaffordable." The report partially blames the state's Save Our Homes amendment to the state constitution. Since it took effect in 1995, it has limited annual increases in homesteaded property to 3 percent or the increase in inflation, whichever is less, Florida TaxWatch says. The report says that while holding down taxes for many homeowners, the amendment has... Read more →