COURTESY : The Orlando Sentinel
Published August 29, 2003 
By Lisa Emmerich 

LADY LAKE -- Rising costs and bond debt mean residents in The Villages will pay as much as $48 more a year in amenities fees.

Starting in October, about 18,000 households will see an increase in their amenities fees on the anniversaries of their home purchases, said Pete Wahl, administrator of the Village Center Community Development District. It will be the first increase since 1999 and will bring the monthly fee from the current maximum of $105 a month to $109.

Many residents pay less than the maximum but still will see some increase.

The amenities fees are the district's main source ofmoney to repay bond debt, which it incurs when it purchases recreational facilities from The Villages' developer. But Wahl said bond debt is not the only reason costs are rising.

"We have a general increase in costs," he said. "We have tried to mitigate the increase as much as we can. We have to face the fact that things cost more now than they did in 1998."

But some Villages residents say a budget increase is not fair. With overall maintenance and administration costs dropping from $13.7 million to $13.4 million, some residents blame the growing budget -- and their rising amenities fees -- on what they call an unjustifiedincrease in bond debt. The proposed budget shows bond debt service rising from $11.8 million to more than $13 million.

"It doesn't appear that the fee increase is justified," said Joe Gorman, president of the Villages Property Owners Association. "The fee increase that is coming along is due to debt service -- make no bones about it."

Although the budget shows maintenance and administration costs dropping slightly, Wahl said several large one-time expenses, such as a library renovation, included in last year's maintenance and administration budget contributed to the decrease in that portion of the budget this year. But day-to-day costs for such things as salaries and maintaining golf courses are rising, according to a budget to be considered today by the Village Center Community Development District board.

Many members of the property owners association, however, said they were told that amenities fees would not go up when they purchased property in The Villages.

"I didn't realize that because of the way community development districts work, I was going to be obligated to pay a bond debt," Gorman said. "I remember thinking about my house and my lot when I got here, and I thought, 'Oh, they're asking for a lot of money,' but I looked around at the free golf courses and swimming pools and thought, 'Because that's here, I don't mind paying more.' But the golf courses and pools aren't free."