I will date myself, but back in the 70s, there was a rumor that Bubble Yum bubble gum had spider eggs in it. My friends and I recognized it was a rumor and enjoyed the very popular gum despite the tall tales that a girl woke up with a spider web on her face and another kid was vomiting baby spiders. Life Savers, the company that created Bubble Yum, took out a full page ad in the New York Times which stated “Someone is telling very bad lies about a very good product” and then went on to dispel those lies. I feel I have to dispel some lies being spread about incorporation.
Your taxes will double. Not true, the State Legislature has final say in all tax matters within the State of Florida. If the Town were to propose a doubling of taxes, the State would say “no.” The Feasibility Study proposes just enough of a tax increase (0.6931 mills) to allow the Town to participate in State revenue sharing of taxes we already pay. The state collects gas taxes, cell phone taxes, internet service provider taxes, utility taxes and sales taxes and then reallocates those taxes to local municipalities. Since GGE is not a municipality, the County receives those taxes on our behalf and they determine how and where those tax dollars are spent across the entire Unincorporated Area. By incorporating, the Town would receive that revenue directly. That additional revenue can be used to improve cell, internet and cable services, improve local roads and swales and enhance community services out here in GGE.
Only the State can decide where something will be built in GGE, a Town cannot overrule the State in zoning matters. Again, not true. Zoning and Planning are local government functions. Since Golden Gate Estates is part of the unincorporated portion of Collier County, our local government is the County Commission. Once incorporated, the local council will have authority over all matters involving zoning and planning. The Town will have 2 years to draft and enact a comprehensive plan. A great start would be to utilize the Master Plan which was completely revised in 2019 and amended in 2021.
The 5 council members have already been chosen. This one defies logic. The 5 council members will be elected in a special election following the incorporation ballot. Any registered voter, who has resided in the Town of GGE for 2 years prior to the special election qualifying timeframe, can run for a seat. The Municipal Charter proposes campaign finance limits to ensure that any registered voter (and not just someone backed by big money) can run for office.
We will need to get our own police force, fire services, garbage collection, etc. after Incorporation. False. The General Fund funds the services of the 5 constitutional officers (Sheriff, Court Clerk, Tax Appraiser, Tax Collector and Supervisor of Elections), regional parks and libraries, landscaping, county roads and swales, all County-wide services, county personnel, Growth Management Capital Funds, etc. None of those will change after incorporation. Our Fire Districts are independent special districts and are funded separately through ad valorem funds (separate line on your tax bill). Garbage collection will continue with Waste Management, it is a separate item on the tax bill under non ad valorem funds. State statute prohibits cancelling the garbage collection contract. City of Naples, Everglades City and Marco Island all pay for Waste Management on their taxes as does everyone else in the County. The only change will be to the Unincorporated MSTD. The Town will no longer participate in that and will retain those dollars, add a little increase and be eligible to participate in State revenue sharing. State revenue sharing is key to incorporation and will provide the bulk of funds needed to run the Town.
Incorporation will add an additional layer of government bureaucracy. False. Incorporation would separate the roles of local governance vs. county-wide governance. The Town would handle local issues, such as zoning and planning, maintaining and improving local roads (with State gas tax revenue), community services, improving telecommunications (with State communication services tax revenue) utilizing a Government Lite model, which has proven to be successful in a number of recently incorporated areas of Florida. The County will continue to govern county-wide issues and provide the county-wide services outlined above.
What rumors have you heard that you’d like to dispel?