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

[Isamar]

It’s been a topic of discussion here before. It definitely is something that is not off the table by any means.

The chairman of the board of CFTOD commented that, “
The following day, however, the city councils of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista surprisingly voted to raise property tax rates in order to continue paying the bills for security services used by Disney. The CFTOD board remains convinced that a multibillion-dollar corporation is more than able to cover this cost. This peculiar, though not wholly unexpected, development makes it that much more apparent why the new CFTOD board is essential as an independent and honest broker. Until the new board was appointed, Disney enjoyed undue influence over many businesses in the district. It further unduly influences city council members, who rent their homes from Disney.“

This is from the letter to the editor in the Orlando Sentinel by the head of the CFTOD Board.

Letters: Disney district chairman says company still holds too much sway here

Other letter-writers discussed how the Trump indictment is a Democratic distraction and the Democrats’ wariness of third parties.

www.orlandosentinel.com

In terms of how long the cities will continue to exist Is an interesting thought exercise.

1. A potential recommendation to dissolve the cities could potentially be included in a report to the legislature. As part of the Legislation, reauthorizing the district, the district is required to submit a report to the legislature on improvements to the district. It just so happens that the district authorized a contract with a professor at George Mason University to help with this report.

2. The residents of the municipality could theoretically vote to dissolve cities or (take this with a grain of salt because I’m not 100% sure of the specifics) the legislature could dissolve the cities.

3. There is a potential third way that could alter the dynamics of the cities, that I am not 100% sure on. All of the current residents of both cities rent the land from Disney. If there were district owned land in the cities that they(CFTOD) decided to build housing on, would those new residents gain voting rights on municipal elections in the cities if they were résumé for at least six months-year?

"Until the new board was appointed, Disney enjoyed undue influence over many businesses in the district."
Do they really not know that most of those businesses are leasing from Disney?

BTW, Thanks for the excerpt from the Sentinel. I hadn't seen it because it's paywalled.

 

[JoeCamel]

3. There is a potential third way that could alter the dynamics of the cities, that I am not 100% sure on. All of the current residents of both cities rent the land from Disney. If there were district owned land in the cities that they(CFTOD) decided to build housing on, would those new residents gain voting rights on municipal elections in the cities if they were résumé for at least six months-year?

Only if the district deeded those properties which would allow the owners to vote. They couldn't retain ownership

 

[lazyboy97o]

Only if the district deeded those properties which would allow the owners to vote. They couldn't retain ownership

The cities are normal cities. The people who reside within their borders are entitled to vote. There is no property ownership requirement. If the District is able to build their “desired” affordable housing in one or both of the cities then those residents would have a right to vote in the cities.

 

[JoeCamel]

The cities are normal cities. The people who reside within their borders are entitled to vote. There is no property ownership requirement. If the District is able to build their “desired” affordable housing in one or both of the cities then those residents would have a right to vote in the cities.

Learn something new every day, I would throw tea off a ship or something.

 

[flynnibus]

That would be interesting if that happened. During the meetings of the cities, they both said they were not reducing their mileage rate and were keeping the police contracts with OCSO, which put them at odds with the CFTOD.

not really - their taxing is separate from the district. The whole non-sense is because Garcia spoke out of line inferring changes were being made in the district, when it wasn't district spending in the first place.

 

[Rhinocerous]

Acting Fire Chief Ferrari initially began work at the District in 1996 as a 911 dispatcher, after 2 years of service, he left the District, only to come back as the Capitan of the 911 Communications center in 2001. He has worked his way through the ranks, and ultimately became Deputy Chief of Operations in 2016.

Was this a typo of “captain” or was his title actually “Capitan of the 911 Communications Center?” Because that would be a great title.

 

[flyakite]

Orlando Sentinel has an article exploring the claims of CFTOD saving taxpayers money. It’s behind the paywall right now. So here are highlights below:

Paying on Both Sides - by Skyler Swisher

Florida’s tourism oversight district expects to rack up millions of dollars in legal expenses in the coming months as part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ battle with Disney, paying some of its top litigators $795 an hour.
The biggest taxpayer by far footing the district’s legal bill: Disney itself.
“It’s almost an additional way of punishing Disney by using their own money to sue,” said Richard Foglesong, a Rollins College professor who wrote the book “Married to the Mouse” on Disney World’s origins. “It really is kind of odd, atypical. That Disney is paying on both sides of the lawsuit.”
The DeSantis-controlled Central Florida Tourism Oversight District projects it will spend $4.5 million on litigation next budget year on top of nearly $2 million that has already been spent.
—
To pay its expenses, the district draws upon the tax revenue it collects — just as any other local govern- ment would. DeSantis and the district have been fighting Disney in both state and federal court.Democrats are blasting the new board’s financial decisions, which they say are politically motivated and steer money to conservative lawyers. “Anything they can do to make it harder on Disney is what their goal is,” said state Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando. “It is all political. Every single thing they are doing is political. ”Most recently, board members approved a $110,000 contract with Donald J. Kochan, a professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. Kochan, a member of the conservative Federalist Society, will conduct an economic and legal study of the district. In a tweet, state Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Or- lando, called that contract: “expensive, unnecessary and more grifting by the right.” Gilzean, a DeSantis ally, is earning $400,000 a year to lead the district, $45,000 more than his predecessor.
—
The district’s legal team includes lawyers from the politically connected Washington, D.C., firm, Cooper & Kirk. That firm has defended some of DeSantis’ other culture war priorities, including the STOP Woke Act that seeks to regulate discussions in universities and public schools on the nation’s racial history. Cooper & Kirk’s roster of lawyers includes Adam Laxalt, a friend of DeSantis and his roommate during Naval officer training. Earlier this year, Laxalt was named chairman of Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting DeSantis’ presidential run. The district also hired Lawson Huck Gonzalez, a firm launched earlier this year by a trio of politically plugged-in Florida lawyers. Founders include Alan Lawson, a former state Supreme Court justice. Attorney Paul Huck Jr. is the husband of Barbara Lagoa, whom DeSantis named to the state Supreme Court in 2019. That same year President Donald Trump nominated Lagoa to serve on 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Lagoa was a U.S. Supreme Court finalist after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Attorney Jason Gonzalez’s legal resume includes stints as general counsel for the Republican Party of Florida and the Florida governor from 2008-09.

 

[mikejs78]

Disney Changes Gears in Suits Against DeSantis and Allies

Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, have been sparring for more than a year over a special tax district that encompasses Disney World.

www.nytimes.com

By Brooks Barnes​

Sept. 1, 2023Updated 2:44 p.m. ET​

​

After a setback, Disney has changed its legal strategy in Florida, where the company is battling Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies in court for control over Disney World’s growth plan.​

​

Disney is not, however, heeding Mr. DeSantis’s recent call to “drop the lawsuit.” Instead, on Friday it pushed back on two fronts — narrowing the scope of its federal case to focus on the charge that Mr. DeSantis and his allies violated its First Amendment rights, and threatening new suits to gain access to public records.​

​

Disney and Mr. DeSantis, who is running for president, have been sparring for more than a year over a special tax district that encompasses Disney World. Angered over Disney’s criticism of a Florida education law, Mr. DeSantis took over the tax district, appointing a new board and ending the company’s long-held ability to self-govern its 25,000-acre resort as if it were a county. Before the takeover took effect, however, Disney signed contracts to lock in development plans — worth some $17 billion over the next decade.​

​

An effort by Mr. DeSantis and his allies to void the contracts resulted in dueling lawsuits, with Disney suing Mr. DeSantis and the tax district in federal court and the new appointees returning fire in state court.​

​

The state judge, Margaret Schreiber, dealt Disney an early setback in July. She denied its motion to dismiss the countersuit ruling that Disney could not shut down the state case and focus on the overlapping federal one. She also refused to put the state case on hold until the federal lawsuit was decided.​

​

On Aug. 14, Mr. DeSantis told CNBC that Disney should drop the federal lawsuit. “They’re going to lose,” he said. “Let’s move forward.”​

​

Rather than retreating, Disney is changing gears — essentially conceding that it will have to simultaneously wage two court battles.​

​

On Friday, the company filed a motion to amend its multipart federal complaint, which is pending before Judge Allen Winsor in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee. The amendment would remove parts of the complaint specifically related to the validity of the development contracts — which is what the state case covers — while leaving intact Disney’s core accusation that Mr. DeSantis and his allies violated the company’s First Amendment rights with “a targeted campaign of government retaliation.”​

​

Mr. DeSantis moved to take over the Disney World tax district after Disney criticized the Parental Rights in Education law, which opponents labeled “Don’t Say Gay” and which prohibits classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity for students through the third grade. The DeSantis administration later expanded the ban through Grade 12.​

​

Disney’s motion said it was seeking to amend the federal complaint “in order to spare the inefficiency of litigating contract validity simultaneously in two forums.”​

​

Later on Friday, Judge Winsor denied Disney’s motion to amend the complaint, citing a procedural flaw. Rules require the company to first confer with the defendants about an amendment, the judge said. If there is an objection, Disney may then refile the motion. If there is no objection, no motion is necessary for the amendment.​

​

Disney also disclosed on Friday that Mr. DeSantis and six state entities had not complied with public records requests made in May by the company’s lawyers as part of the discovery process in the court cases. This week, Disney sent letters to the governor’s office and the other state entities, saying that the company would sue each under Florida’s public records act unless the requested materials were made available by Sept. 6.​

​

“It has now been nearly four months since our request, and we have yet to receive any of the requested records or any substantive response asserting valid exemptions,” Adam Losey, an Orlando lawyer working for Disney, wrote in the letters, one of which was viewed by The New York Times.​

​

Disney has requested “all documents and communications, including but not limited to text messages, Signal messages and WhatsApp messages on any devices” with the keywords “Disney” or “mouse,” among many others, according to the letter.​

​

A spokesman for the governor’s office had no immediate comment.​

Can anyone get a copy of the motion? From reading media reports, it sounds like Disney is refining its 1A argument, and I'd be curious to see what that looks like.

 

[DCBaker]

Can anyone get a copy of the motion? From reading media reports, it sounds like Disney is refining its 1A argument, and I'd be curious to see what that looks like.

I believe it is this one via Deadline.

https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/disney-desanstis-amended-complaint-sept-1-motion.pdf

 

[GrumpyFan]

Orlando Sentinel has an article exploring the claims of CFTOD saving taxpayers money. It’s behind the paywall right now. So here are highlights below:

Paying on Both Sides - by Skyler Swisher

Florida’s tourism oversight district expects to rack up millions of dollars in legal expenses in the coming months as part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ battle with Disney, paying some of its top litigators $795 an hour.
The biggest taxpayer by far footing the district’s legal bill: Disney itself.
“It’s almost an additional way of punishing Disney by using their own money to sue,” said Richard Foglesong, a Rollins College professor who wrote the book “Married to the Mouse” on Disney World’s origins. “It really is kind of odd, atypical. That Disney is paying on both sides of the lawsuit.”
The DeSantis-controlled Central Florida Tourism Oversight District projects it will spend $4.5 million on litigation next budget year on top of nearly $2 million that has already been spent.
—
To pay its expenses, the district draws upon the tax revenue it collects — just as any other local govern- ment would. DeSantis and the district have been fighting Disney in both state and federal court.Democrats are blasting the new board’s financial decisions, which they say are politically motivated and steer money to conservative lawyers. “Anything they can do to make it harder on Disney is what their goal is,” said state Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando. “It is all political. Every single thing they are doing is political. ”Most recently, board members approved a $110,000 contract with Donald J. Kochan, a professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. Kochan, a member of the conservative Federalist Society, will conduct an economic and legal study of the district. In a tweet, state Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Or- lando, called that contract: “expensive, unnecessary and more grifting by the right.” Gilzean, a DeSantis ally, is earning $400,000 a year to lead the district, $45,000 more than his predecessor.

I think I asked this before, but if Disney wins the suit, can they then file suit against the state to recoup some of the legal expenses they incurred because of it?

 

[Figgy1]

I think I asked this before, but if Disney wins the suit, can they then file suit against the state to recoup some of the legal expenses they incurred because of it?

Those are some of the damages they are seeking

 

[sedati]

I think I asked this before, but if Disney wins the suit, can they then file suit against the state to recoup some of the legal expenses they incurred because of it?

They should recoup in the form of a tax break the likes of which DeSantis accused them of already having.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Just stop.

Please tell me what I should stop -
Acknowledging that the formation of RCID was the best thing for both central Florida and TWDC.
Acknowledging that the removal of RCID was bad for both central Florida and TWDC.
Acknowledging that the previous administrations were smart enough to leave RCID alone.
Acknowledging that TWDC is super rich and powerful.
Acknowledging that (you know who) had no idea who he was messing with in TWDC

 

[flynnibus]

 

[RamblinWreck]

You know who is a piece of cr@p for starting this mess, but if its true TWDC is paying for BOTH sides of the fight, this company has really come off the rails.

Between these useless legal battles, their failing movie business, failing D+, the big Hulu bill pending, This company is throwing away money!!!

How long can they do this?

Of course they are paying for both sides of it.

The answer to how long they could do it is "indefinitely". It's really inexpensive for them, especially compared to the value of winning. Disney's operating budget is like 90 billion dollars per year. The lawsuits are a rounding error.

 

[Isamar]

I think I asked this before, but if Disney wins the suit, can they then file suit against the state to recoup some of the legal expenses they incurred because of it?

They’re seeking legal costs against the state as part of the case in federal court, but the state isn’t a party to the case in state court.

 

[afterabme]

As mentioned by someone before, the webpages for the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista are no longer accessible from the main RCID site.
It’s actually kind of hard to find links to their sites, besides knowing they are posted on these forums.

 

[Brian]

As mentioned by someone before, the webpages for the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista are no longer accessible from the main RCID site.
It’s actually kind of hard to find links to their sites, besides knowing they are posted on these forums.

From RCID.org homepage:

 

[flyakite]

Bay Lake City Council meeting is moved to 3:30pm and Lake Buena Vista City Council meeting is moved to 4pm. Both September 11th.

 

[Isamar]

This might be an additional meeting? The City of LBV had noticed a “regular” meeting on Sep.11 at 5:35 p.m. to address the budget, and that hasn’t changed on their website.

But I did find a Notice in the Orlando Sentinel of a “special session” on Sep.11 at 4 p.m to address such business as comes before them (no mention of the budget).