Sun 'N Lake Taxes

In the Aug. 13 edition of Highlands Today, there was a serious error made in the reporting of the story concerning Sun 'n Lake, both in the article and its editorial. Mention was made about how our taxes would be higher if Highlands County took over the governing of Sun 'n Lake; nothing could be further from the truth.

Property owners in Sun 'n Lake pay property taxes to the county, just like any property within the county.

In fact, property taxes paid within Sun 'n Lake are much higher than much of the county due to property values being assessed on the high end. In addition, each property owner pays an additional Sun 'n Lake assessment of approximately $600 per year, over and above the county property taxes.

To add insult to injury, although Sun 'n Lake property owners pay full taxes to the county, Sun 'n Lake does not receive 100 percent of the services from the county.

For example, all streets within Sun 'n Lake are maintained by the district, with the exception of Sun 'n Lake Boulevard. Also, the district's assessment was just voted upon for an increase of 14 percent by the majority seat holders of the Board of Supervisors. Note that the landowners hold the majority seats.

A takeover by the county may be a harsh action, but the majority seat holders on the Sun 'n Lake Board of Supervisors have created, by their own arrogance and hostility, the acrimony that prevails in Sun 'n Lake.

Stan Paralikis
Sun 'n Lake
Sebring