From Dan Lobeck:
Wednesday, July 8, after 1:30 pm
Public hearing on final adoption of a Fiscal Neutrality Methodology, to determine what developers have to pay for the impacts of Sarasota 2050 developments.
The Methodology, or more properly a mythology as it is based on fanciful fiction, is specifically designed to minimize what developers must pay and make sure that growth does not pay its own way.
It was developed in exclusive consultation with developer representatives, despite requests for inclusion by public interest advocates, and the results reflect that.
The Methodology ensures that 2050 developers pay nothing toward County operating expenses, even if serving their remote Villages costs more, such as for fire, emergency and law enforcement services. It does that by adopting a "per capita" analysis which simply compares the average costs and taxes per County resident and then applies that to the residents in the Village. Of course, simple math requires that the figures will exactly match, so the developer pays nothing extra.
Even worse, the Methodology allows Sarasota 2050 developers to count impact fees as sufficient for impacts on County, state and federal roads (even though there are no impact fees for federal roads or state funding) and for law enforcement, fire and emergency management, justice, general government, libraries and parks and recreation, unless the County staff "negotiates" for a developer to pay something more. This is despite the fact that impact fees are demonstrably inadequate to make growth pay its own way, leading to shortfalls in needed funding for facilities.
These proposals are a breach of the public trust. Concerned citizens should let their voices be heard.
Dan Lobeck
Join Control Growth Now
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