Every home in Wild Heron carries an assessment from the Lake Powell Residential Golf Community Development District. It shows up on the Bay County property tax bill and is separate from POA dues or a golf membership. Bay County created the district in 2000 for the Wild Heron development northwest of Panama City Beach. Buyers usually think of a CDD charge as builder debt with an end date. In Wild Heron the debt does have an end date, and it's close. But for every single-family lot class, the debt is the smaller part of the bill. The larger part pays for the gate, the roads, the bridge, the ponds and the landscaping along Wild Heron Way. That part has no payoff date, and it went up this year.
So when you compare Wild Heron to other communities near Panama City Beach, the CDD number to plan around is the operating line. The bond line matters much less.
How the FY2027 bill splits by lot class
The district's FY2027 budget covers October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. It assigns every residential unit one of several assessment classes. Within single-family homes, every class carries the same operating charge, and condos carry a lower one. The debt service charge differs by class. The draft minutes of the September 2, 2026 hearing show the board voting unanimously to adopt the budget resolution and the resolution imposing the assessments. Those minutes were up for approval at the October 7 meeting.
| FY2027 class | Operating, net | Debt service | Total | Operating share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF 120' Reduced | $1,753.45 | $769.01 | $2,522.46 | about 70% |
| SF 85' Full | $1,753.45 | $1,089.37 | $2,842.82 | about 62% |
| SF 85' Reduced | $1,753.45 | $544.69 | $2,298.14 | about 76% |
| SF 65' Reduced | $1,753.45 | $417.04 | $2,170.49 | about 81% |
| SF 55' and 45' Full | $1,753.45 | $640.73 | $2,394.18 | about 73% |
| SF 45' Reduced | $1,753.45 | $320.37 | $2,073.82 | about 85% |
| Condo Full | $1,037.09 | $512.47 | $1,549.56 | about 67% |
| Condo Reduced | $1,037.09 | $256.54 | $1,293.63 | about 80% |
For single-family homes, the operating figure is a $1,744.23 General Fund base, minus a $57.49 credit, plus $66.71 for a separate Special Revenue Fund. The condo figure is a $1,380.00 base, minus a $393.43 credit, plus $50.52. The condo totals above are the sums of those components. The printed condo "Total" cells in the budget don't add up to those components, so if you're checking a condo bill, add the components yourself.
Every single-family total rose by $136.62 compared with the amended FY2026 figures, and none of that increase came from debt. Debt service stayed flat. The single-family General Fund base went from $1,616.83 to $1,744.23, a 7.9% increase.
The debt really is ending
The bond side is simple. In June 2025 the district issued $1,761,000 in Series 2025 Special Assessment Revenue Refunding Bonds at a fixed 5.00%, and that refinancing paid off the Series 2012 bonds in full. The district's 2025 audit shows the whole $1,761,000 outstanding as of September 30, 2025. When the board reviewed the refinancing at its May 7, 2025 meeting, the analysis estimated $366,100 in total savings.
Here is the principal schedule printed in the FY2027 budget:
- May 1, 2026: $215,000
- May 1, 2027: $227,000
- May 1, 2028: $238,000
- May 1, 2029: $250,000
- May 1, 2030: $263,000
- May 1, 2031: $277,000
- May 1, 2032: $291,000, the final payment
If the May 2026 payment was made on schedule, about $1,546,000 was left after it. A buyer closing this fall on an SF 85' Full lot would pay that lot's $1,089.37 debt line for the few tax years left before the bonds are retired. After that, the bill on that same lot shrinks to the operating figure, and the operating figure is the one that has been rising.
The district uses three debt classes: Full, Reduced and Pre-Paid. In the budget, each Full rate is roughly twice the matching Reduced rate, such as $1,089.37 against $544.69 for SF 85' lots, and Pre-Paid units show no debt service at all. None of the district documents we reviewed explain how a given lot ended up Full or Reduced. The only reliable way to know a lot's class is to read its own tax bill.
What the operating line pays for
The FY2027 General Fund budgets $1,055,142 in spending. The biggest pieces:
- Roadway and landscape services, $392,850. That includes a $300,000 Wild Heron Way landscape contract, $50,000 for bridge repairs and $25,000 for road repairs on Wild Heron Way.
- Security, $261,871. The district oversees the gate through an agreement with the POA.
- Lake and wetlands monitoring, $134,030. That includes $76,050 for prescribed burns and mechanical fuel reduction and $57,980 for an ecologist and operations management.
- Stormwater, $105,730. $78,000 of that is for system repairs.
- Professional and administrative costs, $138,931.
These costs don't go away once the community is finished. The minutes show the district spending on the same kinds of things again and again. In May 2025 the board ratified a $10,970 emergency asphalt repair north of the bridge and authorized up to $40,000 for more roadway work. In May 2026 it approved a $70,660 bridge repair, which was reported complete by August. On August 5, 2026 it approved St. Moritz Security Services for FY2027 security and a $53,179.20 contribution toward replacing the Wild Heron Way irrigation pump and controller.
The largest item still pending is a traffic signal at U.S. Highway 98 and Wild Heron Way. The October 7, 2026 agenda packet includes a draft agreement between the CDD and Sunnyside Development Group, LLC. It estimates construction at $900,000, split 50/50, with each party capped at $450,000. Under the draft, FDOT provides engineering and design at no charge, and construction money isn't due until the design is done and both parties approve a contractor in writing. As of today the agreement is a draft on an agenda, not a signed contract.
Why this year's credit may not repeat
The FY2027 operating line includes a credit, and it's there because of one specific payment. In February 2026 the board voted 4–1 to adopt a new methodology for spreading operating costs. It assesses one golf course and no skeet range. The board also gave St. Joe 60 days to submit more data. At the May 6 meeting, staff said that no credit would go to homeowners unless St. Joe paid its assessment, which was due May 15. On June 3, staff reported that the $83,104 St. Joe off-roll assessment had been received and that the FY2027 General Fund credit from it was applied to all residential units.
On the golf side, the course's assessment line rose from $100,798.45 to $117,256.68 for FY2027, a 16.3% increase.
The credit takes $57.49 off each single-family bill and $393.43 off each condo bill. That's why the condo operating figure fell for FY2027 while the single-family figure rose. The documents we reviewed don't explain how the $83,104 was divided between the two. They also don't say whether a credit will appear in FY2028. Any future credit depends on a payment the district has to collect each year. The underlying base charge doesn't depend on that payment.
What to check on a specific Wild Heron address
You won't find this cost on an HOA estoppel, because it's a district charge on the tax bill. Bay County's Tax Collector explains that local governments certify non-ad valorem assessments, and the county collects them with property taxes. Notices normally go out on or before November 1. Payments get a 4% discount in November, 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February. Payments made on or after April 1 are delinquent.
Before you make an offer, we would pull:
- The parcel's most recent tax bill, to see its actual CDD line and whether it's Full, Reduced or Pre-Paid.
- The district's current budget, to see the operating figure for that unit type. The debt figure tells you less about the future.
- Recent board minutes and agendas on lakepowellcdd.net, for upcoming capital items like the traffic signal.
- The POA dues and any golf membership terms, which are billed separately from the district.
An elected Board of Supervisors governs the district. According to the May 2026 minutes, two seats were scheduled for election in November 2026.
FAQ
Is the CDD assessment the same as the Wild Heron POA fee? No. The CDD is a separate government district under Florida law, and its assessment is collected on the Bay County tax bill. The district handles security through an agreement with the POA, and the two share some costs, including a $17,850 irrigation agreement involving the POA and St. Joe.
Will a resale buyer see a CDD disclosure in the contract? Section 190.048 of the Florida Statutes requires a bold disclosure, placed right before the purchaser's signature, in the contract for the initial sale of a parcel or residential unit in a CDD. The required wording says the district's taxes and assessments are "in addition to county and other local governmental taxes and assessments." Many Wild Heron homes changed hands long after that first sale, so the tax bill is the most direct place to see the current charge.
When does the debt portion end? The Series 2025 principal schedule ends with a $291,000 payment on May 1, 2032. The operating portion has no scheduled end date.
Questions like these are ones we answer as we pull a specific Wild Heron address together, starting with the tax bill. If you're weighing a home here and want the CDD class, the operating trend and the pending board items laid out before you make an offer, Sean Casilli and The Real Experts Group can walk through it with you. Let's talk about your buying, selling, or investing goals.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
