maintenance fees for 2015

[DenLo]

Remember that BLT didn't have a front desk and now they have 3-4 people standing around all day!
. . . . .

Good point, plus there are Bell Services CMs assigned to BLT as well or at least it seems like someone is always there when we drive up.

 

[MountainMouse]

Good point, plus there are Bell Services CMs assigned to BLT as well or at least it seems like someone is always there when we drive up.

Would the costs for the new desk workers get split with CRT? I know they are at BLT, but I would guess that the cost for all workers with "shared services" is split based upon the number of guests.

 

[disneynutz]

Would the costs for the new desk workers get split with CRT? I know they are at BLT, but I would guess that the cost for all workers with "shared services" is split based upon the number of guests.

We don't know how the shared costs are determined. By guest, by number of rooms, by square footage?

Bill

 

[MountainMouse]

We don't know how the shared costs are determined. By guest, by number of rooms, by square footage? Bill

Aren't there services where the cost is split by number of guests? Thought I read that on here somewhere.

 

[skier_pete]

Geez, you guys are complaining about the cost of the nightly movies? Yeah, I'm sure cutting those out would save us all about $ 0.000023 per point.


Forest for the trees, kids.

 

[brelyt]

No kidding. These costs are so irrelevant. From what I see, the biggest increase is because of taxes. If you want to do something about that, vote, otherwise enjoy your vacation.

 

[dsnydaddy]

No kidding. These costs are so irrelevant. From what I see, the biggest increase is because of taxes. If you want to do something about that, vote, otherwise enjoy your vacation.

Since I'm a Californian and can't vote in FL elections... I guess I'll go on vacation.

 

[supersnoop]

No kidding. These costs are so irrelevant. From what I see, the biggest increase is because of taxes. If you want to do something about that, vote, otherwise enjoy your vacation.

Exactly! We can always complain about excessive spending and suggest ways to cut costs, but when it comes to taxes, there's not really anything we can do.

 

[skier_pete]

That does beg the question - why DO the taxes go up so much? Is it assessed value and for whatever reason (strong economy) they assessed much higher than in the past? Just curious.

 

[disneynutz]

Looking at Disney's tax bills, I can't understand how they are assessed.

It is clear that Disney as a taxing unit receives 50% of the tax revenue back so our dues pay DVC, DVC pays the county tax assessor and the county pays Disney related entities, the city of bay lake and the ready creek improvement district.

Bill

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Exactly! We can always complain about excessive spending and suggest ways to cut costs, but when it comes to taxes, there's not really anything we can do.

Tax bills can certainly be contested and perhaps Disney should. But that might not be the best press for them and since DVC owners get to pay a good chunk of it - and that will happen at more resorts if Disney continues to convert rooms - then they have little to no incentive to do that.

 

[disneynutz]

Tax bills can certainly be contested and perhaps Disney should. But that might not be the best press for them and since DVC owners get to pay a good chunk of it - and that will happen at more resorts if Disney continues to convert rooms - then they have little to no incentive to do that.

Disney has a tax group that works to reduce taxes but as I posted, 50% of the property taxes that they pay are paid to Disney created and run entities, RCID and the city of Bay Lake.

Bill

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I don't know the process in FL but generally a taxing authority will have some say in rates established, even if they are just given allocated a portion of the tax revenue. In NV a smaller district would apply for a certain percentage and that didn't often change much but had nothing to do with establishing property values since there were other tax revenue tax means for collecting revenue to cover expenses. It's an interesting twist I hadn't thought about before and seems like a bit of a conflict of interests. We did not tax our own revenue generating facilities to say the least and with Disney having their own district and operating facilities it's an interesting set up.

 

[disneynutz]

I don't know the process in FL but generally a taxing authority will have some say in rates established, even if they are just given allocated a portion of the tax revenue. In NV a smaller district would apply for a certain percentage and that didn't often change much but had nothing to do with establishing property values since there were other tax revenue tax means for collecting revenue to cover expenses. It's an interesting twist I hadn't thought about before and seems like a bit of a conflict of interests. We did not tax our own revenue generating facilities to say the least and with Disney having their own district and operating facilities it's an interesting set up.

The more you know about Disney and other big businesses, the more interesting it gets. 47 people live in the taxing authority of Bay Lake. They are Disney employees and their families.

Another taxing authority is the City of Lake Buena Vista which has a population of 10.

Bill

 

[Lancer]

The cost of caring for the animals is projected to be slightly less in 2015 than it was in 2014 so it is not the cause of the dues increase at AKV. The property tax accounts for most of the increase:

Ah yes, this may be true. But doesn't it sound better when you tell people that you have Giraffe and Zebra to feed. How many people can say that?

 

[Docmom]

Ah yes, this may be true. But doesn't it sound better when you tell people that you have Giraffe and Zebra to feed. How many people can say that?

LOL! Brilliant! I'll have to start using that line.

 

[skier_pete]

Ah yes, this may be true. But doesn't it sound better when you tell people that you have Giraffe and Zebra to feed. How many people can say that?

I do agree that's one of the cool things about owning at AKV. We pay to take care of the animals!!! It's such a small amount of the cost (like 35 cents a point) too, that I really don't feel like I mind the "extra" that the other DVC resorts don't have.

That should be a DVC member perk, let us feed the animals the food we bought! That would definitely be worth my $56 in Kudu chow.

 

[luckyman_apd]

The thing is, with all things DVC, is that I did plan for this. I expect at minimum a $0.25 raise in dues a year. I haven't been far off since I purchased. Anything less than that is a bonus, but I expect it so it's not a shock. If next year it goes up $0.50.....then I'll be highly irritated. It's something I budget for.

I know there is another thread somewhere (maybe budget board) but ever since we purchased....we put all our bills (everything we paid out of pocket anyway) like cable, electric, gas, restaurants.....on one credit card that we pay off. The reward points we get typically cover 50% or more of our dues each year....so if you think about something like this (and don't rack up credit card debt with it) you can basically pay some of your dues with found money. We only own 125 points...but this year I'm on pace to cover 66% of my dues this year with rewards ...and this is BEFORE we start shopping for Xmas.

 

[disneynutz]

The thing is, with all things DVC, is that I did plan for this. I expect at minimum a $0.25 raise in dues a year. I haven't been far off since I purchased. Anything less than that is a bonus, but I expect it so it's not a shock. If next year it goes up $0.50.....then I'll be highly irritated. It's something I budget for.

I know there is another thread somewhere (maybe budget board) but ever since we purchased....we put all our bills (everything we paid out of pocket anyway) like cable, electric, gas, restaurants.....on one credit card that we pay off. The reward points we get typically cover 50% or more of our dues each year....so if you think about something like this (and don't rack up credit card debt with it) you can basically pay some of your dues with found money. We only own 125 points...but this year I'm on pace to cover 66% of my dues this year with rewards ...and this is BEFORE we start shopping for Xmas.

Pay your dues with the right credit card and you can get even more points to pay your dues.

Bill

 

[apple9117]

In 2015, the budget line item for Animal Programs is actually going down compared to 2014. It was $0.3435 per point in 2014, and is budgeted for $0.3284 for 2015.

Ad Valorem Taxes seems to account for most of the increase in AKV's 2015 maintenance fees. Taxes are increasing 12.7%. If taxes had remained constant, AKV would have only had an increase of 2.88% from $5.9748 to $6.147.

Appreciate the assessment! Sad to see the high increase for AKV though