THE VILLAGES VENDETTA: How a Grassroots Revolt in the Iconic Retirement Community Ended With a 72-Year-Old Political Prisoner – By Ryan Grim (The Intercept) / Feb 5, 2023
HE TROUBLE BEGAN in 2019 when residents of The Villages were suddenly hit with a 25 percent hike in their property taxes. In the master-planned retirement community of 130,000 across Sumter, Lake, and Marion counties in central Florida, many are on fixed incomes. The math they had done in plotting out their golden years had not accounted for a massive jump in taxes.
If the new taxes were intended to cover new amenities or upgrades for the Villagers, perhaps a hike would be worth the sacrifice. But the money was instead destined to subsidize further sprawl south of The Villages, ultimately benefitting the entity known locally either as “the developer” or “the family,” which could then escape paying the fees associated with the impact of their development.
“This place has grown like crazy,” said Oren Miller, who would go on to run for a seat on the county commission. “The developers pay no impact fees for schools, for fire, for EMS, for police, for parks and recreation, for government buildings. The only impact fees they do pay are for roads, and they only pay 40 percent of the recommended amount.”
The developer is a spaghetti bowl of LLCs doing business collectively as The Villages, which is still owned by the Morse family, the offspring of Gary Morse, who founded the community in the 1980s. The family owns the robust local newspaper, The Villages Daily Sun; owns the radio station, which pipes Fox News and right-leaning updates through speakers in common areas and at pools; owns the glossy magazine; and also owns local politics.
CONTINUE > https://theintercept.com/2023/02/05/ron-desantis-florida-villages-oren-miller/
