We are not your piggy bank
To the editor:
I would like to congratulate the folks that live in North 1 and the residents hooked up to the utilities system in Cape Coral for winning the prize. I would like to express my admiration for the skill the council, city manager and the Utilities and Public Works directors have demonstrated in the implementation of the North 1 Utilities Expansion Project.
The residents can officially be considered economic cannon fodder. Our citizens owe the city council a debt of gratitude for creating an economic liability of historic proportions. For this, we should be extremely grateful.
Some 5,400 of the lots in North 1 are unimproved? If 80% are off water the potential deficit is $150 million depending on how many will not pay $35,000 up front. I find it hard to believe that anyone will pay more than fair value. In the past lot values in assessment areas have tanked. If the city bonds the deficit for 20 years at 6.5% the shortfall explodes to $396 million. That would equate to $1,900 per person or $7,600 for a family of four for someone else’s assessments based on the current population of 205,000. One thing for sure — the tooth fairy will not be picking up the tab to cover this fiasco.
I don’t believe most people will pay $35,000 up front for an empty off-water lot that doesn’t have enough value to justify the expense. Making payments for 20 or 30 years totaling $90,000 to $124,000, with interest, isn’t feasible for a 2 or 3 parcel building site. Unimproved off-water lots in Port Charlotte and Lehigh are offered at around $20,000 on Zillow. That’s less than our assessment, so why would someone want to buy here?
How will the city make up for the lost tax revenue on defaulted lots? Why is the city extracting money from Transportation, Storm Water and Fiber Optic Utilities to supplement the utilities project? That’s $35 million of taxpayer funds coming from outside the assessment area and paid by the general public.
The residents in other expansion areas paid their utilities without outside funding. I remember the saying “I paid mine now you pay yours.” That evolves to “I paid mine and now the city is forcing me to pay yours.” Remember SW-4. SW-5, SW-6/7 and North 2 are still making payments on their own assessments. Why is everyone subject to paying for North 1? Where is all the money going? Lots of questions and not any answers.
The big question is, should the city be allowed to continue mishandling the utilities? It’s time that we consider a cooperative like Bonita Springs Utilities or a private entity to deliver sewer, water and irrigation. Over the decades the city has demonstrated it is incompetent when it comes to delivering utilities in a reasonable, cost-effective manner. We need a referendum in the next election to separate the utilities from the city. It is imperative that city be stopped from using the utilities to empty our bank accounts. What is North 3 going to cost — 50K, 60K or 75K? There is no end in sight and never has been.
John Sullivan
former mayor
Cape Coral