I got a fast response from my old pal, Mary Mahoney of the Hillsborough County Budget Department this morning. She provided me with a complete listing of the communities, their budget amount and the fee or tax accessed each homeowner.
Jackie, if you are lurking, you might want to brush up on the current data provided by the county. All of the communities listed are a 'STD', or, 'Special Taxing District'. I think it would be of interest to compare our annual dues to these communites. One thing that is missing and in our defense of higher dues is the number of homes being assessed.
An STD is a little bit different than our organization. An STD has certain rules and regulations that must be followed througout the year. Also, every homeowner is assessed through the yearly tax bill. Not a coupon book.
Your annual tax or dues are taken from your escrow that is part of your mortgage. You don't have to do a thing, the mortgage company makes sure the tax is paid. The exception is when the home is paid off and you are responsible of course to write the check and make that payment.
I would favor our community becoming an STD. It would bring about a better organized budget as the county is the last one to approve it.
Okay, I've gotten off the subject a little. Sorry, but I just wanted to point out a few things.
If you haven't checked out the fees of the other communities in the county, do so now and be surprised. If you would divide their annual budget amount by the annual dues or tax, you will get the number of homes in that community.
