Phase II Lighting District

Currently there is an inequity between Phase 1 and Phase 2 with regard to how the electricity for the streetlights in Phase 2 are paid.

Some time in the past, the residents (basically Centex) of Phase 1 elected to form a lighting district, which is now managed by the county. This relieved the Homeowners Association from paying the electric bill for the streetlights. In turn, this cost is paid by the residents in their annual property taxes, which is approximately $60.00 per year per lot.

Recently the Board asked the County to try and form a similar lighting district in Phase 2. Letters were sent to the residents of Phase 2 requesting signatures to form this district. The resulting response met the requirements for forming a district. This passage means the Homeowners Association will no longer bear the responsibility for paying the electricity bill for the lights in Phase 2. It was projected to cost the Association $6,500.00 per year, which was the amount paid from the 2001 budget.

In simple terms, Phase 1 residents pay for streetlights in their property taxes and Association dues whereas Phase 2 resident only pay for street lights in the Association dues. The net result is Phase 1 is paying for part of Phase 2 streetlights.

A Special Assessment will be required to cover the cost from January to October of 2003. This will be included in the Phase 2 annual assessment for 2003. The Board decided that the community, as an incentive to form the district, would cover the cost for 2002.

Current Plan:

Now that the petition has met the approval requirement, it will be included in the street lighting ordinance going to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in December.  This ordinance creates the district effective October 1, 2003.  When the ordinance is presented to the BCC, it is done so during the 1:30 p.m. public hearings.  The next thing the property owners in Phase 2 will see is a letter from the County announcing the public hearing followed by advertisements in the newspaper.

During the same public hearing, the Department of Fiscal Services will be requesting approval from the BCC to adopt a resolution which gives Seminole County legal authority to add the assessments to the property tax bills.  In case you're watching the hearing on SGTV, you will be able to see it happen on TV!

In the Spring 2003, the County will be calculating the budget for the following fiscal year and will be determining the assessment amounts.  In August 2003, the property owners will receive their annual "Non-advalorem Notices" which detail the assessments to be included in the coming tax bill in November.  This is the second piece of information the property owners will receive in the mail.

Below is a timeline to summarize the above information:

• November 2002 - Notices of public hearing mailed to each property owner
• December 2002 - Public hearing held and ordinance presented to BCC to create the district
• March 2003 - Budget calculated and assessment amounts determined
• August 2003 - Non-advalorem Notices reflecting the proposed assessment mailed to each property owner
• September 2003 - BCC approves the budget
• October 2003 - Seminole County assumes the utility bills for the streetlights in the Glades Phase 2
• November 2003 - Property tax bills are mailed to each property owner

Please feel free to forward any outstanding petitions to Jennifer Bero.  Although the approval requirement has been met, we like to go to the public hearing with as much approval as possible so the BCC can properly determine community support.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Jennifer Bero.

Jennifer Bero ~ MSBU Analyst
Seminole County Government ~ Department of Fiscal Services
1101 East First Street ~ Sanford, FL 32771
(407) 665-7170 phone ~ (407) 665-7185 fax
jbero@co.seminole.fl.us