A Special District is governed by a Board of Supervisors which are elected initially by property owners in the District.  Once there are a sufficient number of residents living in the District, the Board will transition to an election process where qualified electors are represented on the Board.

District’s must comply with the same laws governing all other local government’s, and two of the most important ones are the Sunshine Law and the Public Records Law.  The Sunshine Law means all business is conducted in the “Sunshine,” all meetings are open to the public. The Public Records Law means that all records of the District are open and available for inspection.

The District complements the responsibilities of Community Homeowner’s Associations (HOAs). Many of the maintenance functions handled by these associations in other communities may be handled by the District. However, the associations have other responsibilities such as operating amenities and ensuring that deed restrictions and other quality standards are enforced.

The cost to operate a Special District is borne by those who benefit from its services. Property owners in the District are subject to a non-ad valorem assessment, which appears as a separate annual bill or on their annual property tax bill from the County Tax Collector and may consist of two parts—an annual assessment for operations and maintenance, which can fluctuate up and down from year to year based on the budget adopted for that fiscal year—and an annual capital assessment to repay bonds sold by the District to finance community infrastructure and facilities, which annual assessments are generally fixed for the term of the bonds. Because costs and services vary depending upon the individual Special District, specific fee information is available for each community.

The Special District makes it possible for a Community to offer the most desirable elements of a master-planned community. Residents enjoy high quality infrastructure facilities and services with the comfort and assurance of knowing that the standards of the community will be maintained long after the developer is gone. With a Special District in place, residents are assured of the ability to control quality and value for years to come.

The District is governed by its Board of Supervisors and a professional manager is employed to implement the policies of the Board.  The Board also retains the services of a professional attorney to guide the Board through the laws governing the District.

The District issues Special Assessment Revenue Bonds to finance community infrastructure. Generally, Special Districts assess each property owner a yearly capital  assessment to pay back those bonds.

In addition, to maintain the facilities of the community and administer the District, the Board of Supervisors conducts a public hearing each year at which it adopts an Operating and Maintenance budget. The finding of this budget is levied as an Operating and Maintenance assessment on your property by the Board of Supervisors. All residents pay for a share of the maintenance of the District improvements through this annual assessment.

Annual Assessments:

The annual operating and maintenance assessment amount is set annually by the Board of Supervisors.

The ongoing responsibilities of the District are to administer the District’s bonds and operate its community facilities and services for the benefit of the property owners. It is contemplated, pursuant to the terms of an agreement between the District and our Home Owners Association, that the Home Owners Association may operate and maintain certain “Areas of Common Responsibility “.

These may include the following systems and facilities of the District:

• Irrigation water facilities not owned by the franchise utility

• Wetlands, water management and drainage

• Certain common areas including conservation areas