Florida Elections Are Over…Time To Make A Deal
Now that Florida elections are over, especially for governor, it is time to make a deal with Disney over the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
More than 50 years ago, Florida did make a deal with Disney to establish their own government to expedite the building of Disney World. In exchange, Florida and the Orlando area became a tourist juggernaut creating an economic powerhouse. Disney still paid local taxes to the counties where their property is located. What they received was the ability to tax themselves and issue government bonds for any improvements that were made going forward. Except for law enforcement, they act as any other municipality does with their own fire department and public works.
Because of this arrangement, Disney’s building projects, roads, and other infrastructure can proceed much faster that if they had to go through a county governmental review process. It is not as if they had shoddier building codes or waste treatment plants. What must be done is all mandated by state and federal regulations and laws.
That was all taken away when Governor DeSantis threw a hissy fit because Disney came out against his WOKE Act. Disney gave a gift to Ron because he could be seen as fighting the big bad liberal elites of media during his re-election bid. Disney should have taken credit for helping DeSantis’ reelection.
Now we have the governor and legislature done with the ballot box for a while. The Disney CEO at the time, Bob Chapek, has been replaced with the former CEO and Chapek mentor Robert Iger. Was Chapek’s ouster because of this? Probably not… there were many other reasons.
The 55-year-old deal between Disney and Florida now somehow needs to be resurrected with much face saving for the governor and his subservient legislature. If a deal is not made, the financial and legal repercussions will be huge. There are billions in Reedy District bonds that must be assumed by some entity, and I can bet it won’t be a “WOKE” corporation.
Forget about the state trying to portray this as treating all businesses the same. Legislators and lobbyists put that idea to rest every year during legislative session. Perhaps they should never have given the special district to Disney, but that ship sailed years ago. The entire central Florida area has gone from literally nothing to a megalopolis since the 1960s. Much of it sparked by Disney tourism.
The only question is how to restore the district without the politicians looking like they are backing down.
