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What is The Vero
Lake Estates MSBU?
This page
was written by the previous administration.
Simply put an
MSBU
(Municipal Services
Benefits Unit) is a method for a group that is defined
geographically, such as VLE, to accumulate money to pay
for services and projects the county does not otherwise
supply. An MSBU is actually a self-imposed tax. We ask
the county to tax us and set up a fund for projects in
VLE only.
Some things included in this category
would be drainage improvements, street paving, street
lights, and also matching funds for projects where only
some of the money is available from the county or other
funding sources.
In other types of developments and in
newer subdivisions these projects are either completed
by the developer and included in the price for each lot
or a mandatory property owners association
is put in place by the developer. The mandatory
association board of directors then has the power to
assess dues as they see fit and make special assessments
to pay for projects and ongoing costs.
In 1980’s the VLE residents
realized that the development of VLE was stalled and the
developer would never complete the subdivision with
paved streets, decent drainage and streetlights. They
formed the Vero Lake Estates Property Owners Assoc. (VLEPO)
and asked the county to set up the
MSBU. At that time it
was $ 15.00 per year for drainage and streets. Later it
was raised to $ 17.00 per year to add funding for
streetlights and then to the current $ 19.00 per year.
At one time, in the early 1990’s the
VLEPO voted to request that the county commission
increase the contribution to $50.00 for 5 years. This
increase was to accumulate funds more quickly to pay for
the paving of our currently paved streets. When that
paving project was finished the rate was returned to the
previous level.
So what does this mean to the average
property owner in VLE? What have we gotten for our
self-imposed taxes so far? As of now all of our
streetlights and their operation and maintenance have
come from
MSBU
funds. All of our currently paved streets
have come from
MSBU funds and along with county, state
and federal grant money, Phase I of the drainage
improvement project has been paid by MSBU funds.
To
see MSBU projects for VLE
click here.
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