A battle over irrigation between Grand Paradiso HOA, West Villages Improvement District (WVID) and Mattamy Asset Management, has left homeowners infuriated and raises questions about how improvement districts work. Here in Florida, these communities can levy taxes. According to Florida Commerce, there are more than 2,000 special districts in Florida. Here are a couple of examples you've probably heard of starting with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District which is formerly known as Reedy Creek. It's 25,000 acres, that includes the land in and around Disney. There's also the Celebration Community Development District in Central Florida which is just under 1,000 acres. Here in the Tampa Bay area, there are ones like Bexley in Land O’ Lakes which is 938 acres in Pasco County and Fishhawk Ranch which is more than 2,500 acres in Hillsborough County. We also have several community redevelopment agencies like those in Clearwater, Sarasota, Tampa and Tarpon Springs. When one of these residential or business neighborhoods is created, board members are appointed to oversee it. “You have a governmental entity, OK, like a town, like a city, and, and they’re like a county that was, was tasked with all those things incident to the public's need-- you know, putting in roads, you know, firemen, police, all those type of things, right, and so those should be governed by folks by, they're elected by those that are in the district. Attorney Charles Gallagher said. The district has special powers under Florida law. These districts can handle things like water, sewer, wastewater and streetlights which can complement a homeowner's association. But those who oversee these districts are subject to state ethics and financial disclosure laws. “The people that you have that are running the improvement district are truly government elected officials that are working in terms of for the public and for the public good and public interest,” Gallagher said. He also adds if there are board members that are affiliated with the developer, that could be a conflict of interest. “The improvement districts are a creature of the Florida Constitution. So really it is-- there's an entitlement to them, yes, but it's all the more important that they serve the public interest and do things for the benefit of the public,” Gallagher said.