WildBlue's November tax bills carry a third CDD line this year. It sits under the operating assessment and the Series 2019 debt service, and it is labeled for the 2026 bonds. Those bonds fund lake-bank restoration, mainly the failed retaining wall along the community's recreational lake, with a smaller share for the stormwater lake banks. On the smallest homesites, the total CDD charge went from $2,723.44 in fiscal 2026 to $4,119.93 in fiscal 2027.
In the adopted budget, the bond lines scale with lot width. The 2026 bonds run to 2056 and fund less than half of the recreational lake's shoreline work.
The bill, line by line
The board adopted the fiscal 2027 budget and assessments at its August 6, 2026 meeting, through Resolutions 2026-14 and 2026-15. In the adopted FY2027 budget, the operations and maintenance assessment is $1,338.05 per home. The budget also lists two debt lines, both of which scale with the width of the lot.
| Lot width | Homes | FY2026 total | FY2027 total | Change | New 2026 bond line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52' | 99 | $2,723.44 | $4,119.93 | +$1,396.49 | $1,268.80 |
| 66' | 99 | $3,130.79 | $4,868.89 | +$1,738.10 | $1,610.41 |
| 72' | 58 | $3,305.37 | $5,189.87 | +$1,884.50 | $1,756.81 |
| 75' | 269 | $3,392.66 | $5,350.36 | +$1,957.70 | $1,830.01 |
| 85' | 102 | $3,683.62 | $5,885.32 | +$2,201.70 | $2,074.01 |
| 102' | 34 | $4,178.25 | $6,794.75 | +$2,616.50 | $2,488.81 |
| 140' | 12 | $5,283.91 | $8,827.61 | +$3,543.70 | $3,416.01 |
Each row's change equals $127.69 of higher operating cost plus the new bond line. The new bonds did not replace the old ones. The Series 2019 bonds, with about $20.71 million outstanding when the 2026 bonds were offered, still carry their own payment. The two series are separate pledges of equal standing. The 2026 bond figures are grossed up to include the early-payment discount, which is currently 4%.
Lot width and shoreline
The district's March 2026 project update says all WildBlue residents share the cost of the retaining wall, whether or not a home sits on the lake. The same update explains why the bill falls on owners. The wall was not insured. The district applied for $30 million in post-Ian recovery funding, but the lake was classified as recreational and no federal or state grant was awarded.
In the adopted budget, the bond line is $1,830.01 for a 75-foot homesite and $3,416.01 for a 140-foot homesite, whether interior or lakefront. In this assessment, the lake is shared infrastructure and paid for like a road.
The district's July 14, 2026 notice says docks will no longer meet a wall edge. Existing steel piles may stay and landings go back where they were. A new ramp, typically 6 to 8 feet long, will run from the landing to the grass. It can be longer where the rock revetment extends slightly into the CDD easement. The district treats docks as private property. A lakefront buyer may also pay for a ramp.
A bond that pays for less than half the wall
The district's phasing map splits the lake bank into four segments. Status for the first two comes from the district's September 24 town hall.
- Phase 1A: 3,444.20 feet, reported complete at the September 24, 2026 town hall
- Phase 1B: 10,299.62 feet, underway as of that town hall
- Phase 2: 14,518.61 feet, in design
- Phase 3: 5,775.80 feet, in design
Phase 1 runs along the north shore, north and northeast of the Amenity Center. Together, 1A and 1B come to about 13,744 feet. Phases 2 and 3 add about 20,294 feet. The engineer's $16,100,700 estimate for the 2026 project puts $11,502,000 toward the recreational lake bank, for Phase 1 only. The $17,050,000 in Series 2026 bonds pays for roughly 40% of the mapped shoreline.
According to the August 6 minutes, Phases 2 and 3 were still being designed, and the district's construction liaison expected to go out to bid by year-end once plans arrived. The bond offering says the district may issue more series for the rest of the project. The district's published records through early October give no cost figure or adopted financing for Phases 2 and 3.
Timing for the current work depends on which meeting you read. At the September 24 town hall, the district put overall completion in March or April 2027. Draft minutes from the September 3 board meeting, published in the October 1 agenda packet, refer to remedial work concluding in February 2027.
The parts of the bill that can still move
Three open items could move the number a buyer inherits, in either direction.
The lawsuit. The district engineer's report in the June 4, 2026 board agenda identifies the wall litigation as Kurth v. Lennar Homes, LLC et al., Lee County Case No. 2024-CA-1775. Draft minutes from September 3 say the judge set trial for September 2027, ordered mediation to conclude by late May 2027 and non-binding arbitration in July 2027, and said the date cannot move. The offering memorandum says any proceeds may, at the district's option, redeem Series 2026 bonds or fund more project costs. That is a possibility, not a scheduled credit to owners. The district paid its litigation counsel a little over $415,000 in fiscal 2026.
The line of credit. On September 3, the board approved Resolution 2026-17, according to the same draft minutes. It authorizes a taxable line of credit of up to $2,000,000 from Gulf Coast Business Bank, repayable from operation and maintenance assessments. District staff said most of it would offset project fees. Because it is paid from operations, it would show up in the O&M line, not in either bond line.
The term. The adopted amortization schedule runs the 2026 bonds to a final payment on May 1, 2056. Coupons step from 4.45% to 5.35% in 2037 and to 5.75% in 2047.
The principal behind the bond line
The principal figures range from $17,785.00 on a 52-foot lot to $47,882.69 on a 140-foot lot, with $25,651.44 on the 75-foot lots that make up the largest group.
Frequently asked questions
Does a lakefront home pay more toward the wall? The district's adopted budget sets the assessment by lot width, and the district says all residents share the cost regardless of lake frontage.
Will the 7-Eleven parcel settlement lower assessments? The August 2026 mediated settlement agreement on the WildBlue Boulevard commercial parcel calls for a $325,000 payment from the developer to the district once specified permits are approved. It settles a separate dispute over drainage and the commercial site, and the agreement does not designate the payment for the wall.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm the assessment and prepayment details for your own parcel with the district and the right professional.
If you are weighing a WildBlue home this season, or getting ready to list one, Casey Lyons can help. Schedule a Free Consultation.
