Government
Reviewed 2026-08-16
How The Villages is actually governed: CDDs, the AAC, a three-county split, the Morse family's structural control, how to look up any home's bond balance, and how a resident actually participates and reports problems.
CDDs: The Primary Government Layer
Community Development Districts (CDDs) are special-purpose local governments under Florida Statutes Chapter 190. The Villages operates 25+ of them. Each residential CDD has a 5-member Board of Supervisors (BOS) that sets annual budgets, levies assessments, issues bonds, and contracts for services. CDDs govern: infrastructure maintenance (roads, utilities, stormwater), bond debt repayment, deed compliance, fire service in some areas, and recreation access. They do NOT govern: real estate transactions, law enforcement (handled by county sheriffs), hospitals, entertainment, or county-level property tax rates. The official resource for all district information is districtgov.org.
Sources: [Villages Community Development Districts (districtgov.org)] [The Villages (official developer site)] [The Villages 101]
The AAC: Resident Voice for Amenities North of CR 466
The Amenity Authority Committee (AAC) is an advisory body attached to the Village Center CDD (VCCDD). It was created following a 2008 class-action settlement between residents and the developer (per The Villages 101 government reference), giving residents elected representation over amenity spending in the original northern areas. The AAC covers amenity services north of County Road 466 only. It has one VCCDD representative plus one elected resident representative from each of five geographic areas. The AAC recommends annual amenity budgets, approves capital expenditures and major contract renewals, and sets recreation user fees — but all contracts and disbursements are executed by VCCDD, not the AAC directly. South of CR 466 is governed by the comparable Project Wide Advisory Committee (PWAC) under the Sumter Landing CDD (SLCDD). A third body, the Eastport Maintenance Advisory Committee (EMAC), handles the newest Eastport commercial district.
Sources: [The Villages 101]
The Three-County Split
The Villages spans three Florida counties, which means residents in different neighborhoods vote in different county elections, pay different county property tax millage rates, and use different county services. Lake County covers the original Orange Blossom Gardens / Lady Lake area — the oldest and smallest portion, including Spanish Springs. Sumter County contains the majority of The Villages, including Lake Sumter Landing, Brownwood, Sawgrass Grove, Eastport, and the newest southern expansion — Southern Oaks, Middleton, and all development south of State Road 44 (Districts 12–16, in and around Wildwood). Marion County covers a northern portion of the community, made up of residential District 4 (Briar Meadow, Calumet Grove, Chatham, Piedmont, Springdale, and Woodbury). When researching a specific property, identifying the county is essential for understanding tax rates, services, and which government entities have jurisdiction.
Sources: [Wikipedia] [Every Day Is A Vacation]
Developer Control: How the Morse Family Shaped the Structure
Harold Schwartz and his son H. Gary Morse pioneered the CDD financing model at The Villages starting in the early 1990s. Under Florida law, during a district's formation period the developer gets one vote per acre owned — meaning the developer controls board elections before significant resident population exists. The developer elects supervisors who may be employees or affiliates, and this mechanism allowed the Morse family to control CDD boards that issued hundreds of millions in tax-exempt municipal bonds funding infrastructure, utilities, and amenities across the community. Gary Morse died on October 29, 2014; control passed to his three children — Mark Morse, Jennifer Parr, and Tracy Morse — through the Holding Company of The Villages, Ltd. As of 2025, Villages-News.com reported ongoing resident concern that CDD supervisors 'rely too much on the advice they get from the Developer's VCCDD management staff,' with critics arguing the governmental structure 'is designed to serve the interests of the Developer.'
How to Look Up Any Home's Bond Balance
Every property in The Villages has a specific bond amortization schedule published by the district. To find it: (1) Go to districtgov.org and navigate to the Finance Department section. (2) Select your county (Marion, Sumter, or Lake), then your district number (1–16), then your unit. (3) Your Unit/Lot number (U/L number) appears on your Villages ID card and on your county property tax bill — it starts with the first letter of your county followed by unit and lot numbers. (4) The system returns a PDF amortization schedule showing original bond amount, interest rate, annual payment, and remaining balance. To request a formal payoff quote, call Bond Assessments and Payoff Customer Service at 352-751-3900. Note: the cut-off date to prepay before it appears on the current year's tax bill is typically in mid-July each year. (See Taxes & Fees for the same lookup with more detail.)
Sources: [Villages Community Development Districts (districtgov.org)] [Robyn Cavallaro (Villages Buyer Specialist)]
What CDDs Cannot Do
A common misconception is that CDDs function like a homeowners association with broad authority over community life. In practice, CDDs at The Villages do NOT control: the price or availability of homes for sale; law enforcement (each county's sheriff's office handles this); The Villages' entertainment venues, restaurants, or town square programming (managed by Morse-family entities); the charter schools; medical facilities; or cable/internet infrastructure. Residents seeking to change community rules, challenge developer decisions, or influence entertainment programming must work through separate channels — including direct petitions to the Morse-controlled developer entity or lobbying county commissioners.
Sources: [The Villages 101] [The Villages (official developer site)]
How residents actually participate (and report problems)
Even with the developer-tilted structure, there are real channels for residents. Because CDDs are Florida governments, all their business runs in the 'Sunshine' — board meetings and records are open to the public, and you can attend, watch, and give public comment. Each district posts its own meeting agendas and minutes under the 'Your District' section of districtgov.org; schedules vary by district (many boards meet on a set weekday every month or two at a local recreation center), so check your district's page for dates. To REPORT a deed-compliance or architectural issue (a neighbor's non-approved fence, an unpermitted modification, etc.), don't lobby a supervisor — Florida law actually bars Board members from discussing deed-compliance or architectural-review cases with residents. Instead contact the Community Standards Department directly at deedcompliance@districtgov.org; some districts even accept anonymous complaints. For PUBLIC RECORDS or formal questions, the District Clerk is the point of contact (District Clerk's office, reachable via districtgov.org). Practical takeaway for a buyer: your most effective levers are showing up to your district's public meetings, using Community Standards for deed issues, and — for anything a CDD doesn't control (see above) — your county commissioners.
Sources: [The Villages Community Development Districts] [The Villages Community Development Districts] [Villages Community Development Districts (districtgov.org)]