Officials are ready to dip into working capital to limit water and garbage costs in villages

North Sumter County Utility District Board signals it will dip into working capital in the coming financial year rather than passing on steep increases to residents of service-served villages water and garbage.

NSCUDD oversees three major utilities in The Villages:

• The North Sumter Utility (NSU) provides drinking water and wastewater services while Villages Water Conservation Authority (VWCA) provides irrigation services. They serve residents of Community Development Districts 5, 6, 7, 8 and part of 9. It also serves commercial customers in Lake Sumter Landing.
• Central Sumter Utility serves rresidential customers located in Community Development Districts 9, 10 and 11 as well as commercial customers in Brownwood providing water and sanitation services. NSCUDD acquired CSU from the developer in 2019.

• The Sumter Sanitation Fund which provides garbage service at CDDs 1-11, as well as Lake Sumter Landing and Brownwood.
On Friday afternoon, board members considered the budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year for the first time.

NSCUDD board chairman Dominic Berardi said it was important to be sensitive to residents struggling with inflation.

“The cost of everything seems to be going up,” Berardi said.

The board will take a closer look at the budget at the June meeting. The board will likely approve the budget in July.