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

[flynnibus]

None of that has jack all to do with discussions of gender identity in elementary school classrooms.

Neither does hurricane relief either... but Disney gets into that too.

Know why? They are are the employer of more than 70 thousand employees in Florida and a community anchor and more than just a company shipping product.... They are a nexus of literally thousands of Floridians and people working in Florida who want Disney to be more than just a paycheck.

 

[Lilofan]

So if you were a resident of Orange County, you would rather pay taxes on all Disney's roads and infrastructure?

I think Central FL ( toll happy ) loves getting money from locals and tourists
FL turnpike, 417 greenway, 528 Bee Line Expressway , Osceola Parkway , could be other roads ,

 

[CaptainAmerica]

So if you were a resident of Orange County, you would rather pay taxes on all Disney's roads and infrastructure?

I actually strongly object to the very idea of County government in the first place. I favor municipal control of most local functions except in extremely rural areas where the population isn't dense enough to support robust municipal government. That's what we do in New England, and it's why we have the best public schools in the country.

 

[mikejs78]

I think it's smart politics

It's poor politics. The more he does and the more he doubles down on the culture war stuff, the harder it is to pivot in the general.

 

[thomas998]

What exactly should Disney give up? The ability to add theme park facilities to theme parks? And what does that fix? Why shouldn’t the state stop?

The state shouldn't stop because right now you have one company that operates under a special setup which gives it an advantage over the other companies. If I were Universal or Seaworld I would hate to see Florida back off and allow Disney to maintain their advantage. Would you like it if the state you lived in gave your neighbor a lower tax rate for life?

 

[flynnibus]

That's what we do in New England, and it's why we have the best public schools in the country.

Do those schools teach you that schools are not managed by county or city level governments everywhere in the country? They should...

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It's poor politics. The more he does and the more he doubles down on the culture war stuff, the harder it is to pivot in the general.

We'll see. I think the Biden-Youngkin voters show otherwise.

 

[mikejs78]

The state shouldn't stop because right now you have one company that operates under a special setup which gives it an advantage over the other companies. If I were Universal or Seaworld I would hate to see Florida back off and allow Disney to maintain their advantage. Would you like it if the state you lived in gave your neighbor a lower tax rate for life?

As has been pointed out repeatedly, Disney pays more in taxes than Universal and Sea World. Try again.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Do those schools teach you that schools are not managed by county or city level governments everywhere in the country? They should...

Is/ought. I was asked what I think SHOULD be, not a description of what IS.

 

[mikejs78]

We'll see. I think the Biden-Youngkin voters show otherwise.

That was primarily driven by people who were done with COVID.

 

[DCBaker]

No direct comments from Disney so far, but it seems Disney has sent few bits of information to outlets for context to some of the statements made today. This is from a thread, so there are 2 Tweets in each box below.

 

[peter11435]

The state shouldn't stop because right now you have one company that operates under a special setup which gives it an advantage over the other companies. If I were Universal or Seaworld I would hate to see Florida back off and allow Disney to maintain their advantage. Would you like it if the state you lived in gave your neighbor a lower tax rate for life?

Disney pays higher taxes than universal or sea world precisely because of RCID.

 

[Lilofan]

No direct comments from Disney so far, but it seems Disney has sent few bits of information to outlets for context to some of the statements made today. This is from a thread, so there are 2 Tweets in each box below.

Would the WDW affordable housing plan be located near the Golden Oak homes price ranging from $5M to $30M?. Those homeowners may want a word about that plan.

 

[Chi84]

I have. Pages 202 and 203 are exactly what I'm talking about and it's what I don't like.

We're just quibbling over vocabulary. I don't care if you call it "welfare" or "benefits" or "perks" or "less red tape" or whatever term you want to use. The paper you shared uses the word "control." Whatever term we use, it was a sweetheart deal and a legislative carve-out and I don't like such arrangements as a matter of principle.

But Disney was planning to build a huge entertainment complex that required infrastructure local governments couldn’t handle or pay for with taxes. This deal allowed Disney to build there, and to build something significant enough to make the area a major tourist draw.

As the article points out, these deals were made to entice Disney to choose Florida. It could have gone elsewhere or built something much smaller.

Disney was proposing new building techniques, water management technologies, etc. that the counties didn’t have the personnel or financial resources to handle. Of course, they would need “control,” but not with the negative connotation you’re using. Without RCID the project wouldn’t have happened or would have been much smaller in scope.

 

[LAKid53]

We'll have to wait and see if anyone can pony up the receipts. Generally, notices as crucial as these are sent via Certified Mail so there is court-accepted proof of mailing. Otherwise, a sworn statement from the person/people responsible for the mailing, affirming they mailed them, would likely be the next best thing.

It was noticed in the Orlando Sentinel.

Is the governor and OCTOD Board alleging that the meeting in February wasn't properly noticed?

Chapter 120.565, F.S., requires that notices be published in the FAR & on the agency's website no less than 7 days prior to the meeting. Copies of the agenda and related materials will be provided upon request and a reasonable fee may be charged.

Many agencies keep a list of individuals to send documents to during rule making. We did at DEP. But nothing in state law REQUIRED us to send such documents if not requested in advance.

 

[Stripes]

It was noticed in the Orlando Sentinel.

Is the governor and OCTOD Board alleging that the meeting in February wasn't properly noticed?

Chapter 120.565, F.S., requires that notices be published in the FAR & on the agency's website no less than 7 days prior to the meeting. Copies of the agenda and related materials will be provided upon request and a reasonable fee may be charged.

Many agencies keep a list of individuals to send documents to during rule making. We did at DEP. But nothing in state law REQUIRED us to send such documents if not requested in advance.

“(2)(a) Notice of intent to consider a development agreement shall be advertised approximately 7 days before each public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation and readership in the county where the local government is located. Notice of intent to consider a development agreement shall also be mailed to all affected property owners before the first public hearing. The day, time, and place at which the second public hearing will be held shall be announced at the first public hearing.”

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

It sounds like the lawyers for the board are alleging that the bolded portion was not done appropriately, if at all.

 

[LAKid53]

The state shouldn't stop because right now you have one company that operates under a special setup which gives it an advantage over the other companies. If I were Universal or Seaworld I would hate to see Florida back off and allow Disney to maintain their advantage. Would you like it if the state you lived in gave your neighbor a lower tax rate for life?

Other than expedited permitting, what advantage does Disney have over Uni & SeaWorld? It is PAYING RCID for the services the District provides in the form of an assessment, i.e., tax. That's on top of what it pays Orange and Osceola Counties in property taxes. It is also paying OCSO to provide LE support. So whatever "advantage" you think TWDC is getting, it certainly isn't financial.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The state shouldn't stop because right now you have one company that operates under a special setup which gives it an advantage over the other companies. If I were Universal or Seaworld I would hate to see Florida back off and allow Disney to maintain their advantage. Would you like it if the state you lived in gave your neighbor a lower tax rate for life?

Could try using an example that is not a lie?

 

[lazyboy97o]

I actually strongly object to the very idea of County government in the first place. I favor municipal control of most local functions except in extremely rural areas where the population isn't dense enough to support robust municipal government. That's what we do in New England, and it's why we have the best public schools in the country.

Rural like a bunch of almost completely uninhabited swampland miles away from things like electrical service? Which municipality should have been so greatly expanded and why should those few residents have been forced to pay?

 

[mkt]

whatever "advantage" you think TWDC is getting, it certainly isn't financial.

The advantages were:

1- Set your own zoning rules
2- Expedited permitting.
3- Access to debt at municipal rates

All that Disney had to do was pay taxes to two entities: the counties and the district.

Oh, and Disney even pays separately for the police presence at WDW, even though it's within the relative counties.