News Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
Why are they being "nice" to the property tax payer? No matter what they should determine what the district's costs are and set according to that with a small cushion for unbudgeted shortfalls. Setting what you force owners to pay based on feel good is a terrible way to run a district.
 

Unbanshee

Well-Known Member
Why are they being "nice" to the property tax payer? No matter what they should determine what the district's costs are and set according to that with a small cushion for unbudgeted shortfalls. Setting what you force owners to pay based on feel good is a terrible way to run a district.

The Blog Mickey article says that revenue will be increased other ways

 

Brian

Well-Known Member
turntables GIF
 

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
The Blog Mickey article says that revenue will be increased other ways

Right but what relation to the district's needs is any of that. They can forecast how much they will get and budget for their needs accordingly adjusting the income as needed. Picking a new number is being touted as a "favor" for the business in the area but does it cut services? Can it develop as needed? Don't know if you cut the tie between need vs supply and leave the wants for an extra if the surplus materializes.
It's all moot if tourism to the "world" crashes and the money train stops.
 

Figgy1

Well-Known Member
So the governor banged on about them “not paying their fair share” but now their taxes are being lowered? What is going on here?!
Is there any chance they're going to screw the budget up knowing they'll lose in court? If Disney wins taxes will probably go back to where they are making those paying more upset at Disney?
Trying to get the other tax payers n their side?
It's National Wine and Cheese Day and they started early?
 

drnilescrane

Well-Known Member
So the governor banged on about them “not paying their fair share” but now their taxes are being lowered? What is going on here?!
Maybe the best defense is an air of propriety 🤷‍♂️

i.e.
The woke [whomever we hate this week] are wrong, we've lowered taxes

(Meanwhile creating a slush fund out of the reserves that they are explicitly allowed to raid for legal expenses)

They've sent Ziegler off to look at shiny things, told Peri to shut up and Sasso bailed of his own accord.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Maybe the best defense is an air of propriety 🤷‍♂️

i.e.


(Meanwhile creating a slush fund out of the reserves that they are explicitly allowed to raid for legal expenses)

They've sent Ziegler off to look at shiny things, told Peri to shut up and Sasso bailed of his own accord.
This is exactly what I was thinking. This gives them something to crow about. They get to say they’re not targeting Disney or harming them. They get to talk about how they’re being responsible administrators and even lowering taxes. They’re helping the local businesses that were voiceless and oppressed by Disney. It’s a reboot that just so happens to coincide with another reboot.

On the other hand they’re also intending to spend more money. They’ve got the legal fees. They have the new administrator. The new fire department contract. The new comprehensive plan. They have new expenses that they previously claimed they didn’t know how they were going fund. So either they were lying then or they are lying now.
 

Chip Chipperson

Well-Known Member
I smell shenanigans and desperation.
Yep, it's just semantics to get good headlines while hoping nobody pays attention to the details. If the millage rate goes down but the total tax levy goes UP, then that's because assessed values went up. They're putting lipstick on a pig. No taxpayer ever celebrates seeing their tax bill go up - "But the RATE went down!" is nothing more than standard politician-speak to try to appease the people who don't read past the headline.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
Why are they being "nice" to the property tax payer? No matter what they should determine what the district's costs are and set according to that with a small cushion for unbudgeted shortfalls. Setting what you force owners to pay based on feel good is a terrible way to run a district.
It’s not “feel good” - its fiscal policy to set a tone of reducing expenses to reduce tax load. They set the tax rate based on what they want their revenue to be… as part of their budget process.

Where it really hits the road though if when you inspect the budget and see where the deltas will be.

Obviously the policy is not immune from political posturing as part of your public image of what kind of gov you are running. Thrifty? Extravagant? “Helping reduce tax burden”?

But all of it when talking about revenue comes with corresponding discussions on expenses.
 

Figgy1

Well-Known Member
Here's the segment that ran on WESH 2 this evening.


I feel that was a bit disingenuous at best. None of what they've shown was "shrouded in secrecy" Disney's mosquito control program has been touted by Disney as far back as I can remember and so has their water management. The only "new" thing is the faces being interviewed
IMHO the only thing they showed was how well RC was managed
 

Chip Chipperson

Well-Known Member
DVC annual dues could come out a little lower maybe
Unlikely. If you notice, even though the tax rate is dropping, the amount of taxes collected is increasing by a little more than $11 million. That's because assessed valuations have increased, allowing them to collect more while touting a lower rate so people are misled into thinking that tax bills went down. It's possible that some property values increased by a smaller % than others or stayed flat while others went up and those properties could see a small decrease or at least no increase in their property tax bill, but most properties will see an increase.
 

DCBaker

Premium Member
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District has issued a new press release ahead of the meeting.

"Today, District Administrator Glenton Gilzean presented the FY2024 budget to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board, which proposes significant cuts to the property tax rate. Specifically, the cut would reduce the current millage rate by nearly 7 percent without impacting core programs that serve the community. The rate cut is possible because of the elimination of government waste and abuse.

“We heard from constituents loud and clear at public meetings and while out and about in the community,” said Gilzean. “They do not want their tax rates to go up. We took their concerns to heart.” He added, “The district staff has worked diligently the past few months to find ways to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars while ensuring a world-class experience for the millions of people who travel to our district from around the world. We’re proud of the result.”

The millage rate is the amount of tax payable per dollar of the taxable assessed value of a property. One mill is equivalent to $1 in taxes due per $1,000 of taxable assessed property value. In FY2023, the millage rate was 13.9000. The district’s proposed millage rate for FY2024 is 12.9500, a 6.8% rate decrease. The district arrived at this rate with consideration to budget requirements and property assessments from the publicly elected tax appraisers of Orange and Osceola Counties.

Gilzean’s proposed budget also outlines priorities for the district: enhancing public safety, implementing governing best practices, and prioritizing spending. In addition, the budget would increase the district’s reserve fund to include line items such as dedicated emergency response.

Further, taxpayer dollars would no longer be used to fund the private use of the public police force for commercial benefit. Over the past several years, instead of using private security or hiring additional police officers, private entities have placed the financial burden on citizens by billing the district to police their property.

The board will vote today on the proposed millage rate. This will kick off the budget approval process, which requires two public hearings and a vote in September on a final budget that contains detailed line items."
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
There it is! The District contracts with the counties for law enforcement because the cities having their own police departments would be incredibly unpopular. Disney isn’t going to go without a police presence and that municipal police forces are essentially a non starter. Well played.

Also have to love that they’re literally “defund[ing] the police” and even calling it waste.
 

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