DeSantis, a Republican, told reporters Monday that it is fairer for other businesses if the state controls the area to improve Reedy Creek, the special area that since 1967 essentially allowed the Walt Disney Company to control the land around its properties. .
“The way forward is that Disney will not control its own government in Florida,” DeSantis said. “Disney will have to follow the same laws that every other company has to follow in Florida. They will pay their fair share of taxes.”
The remarks offered a first look at DeSantis’ plan for Reedy Creek after the governor and Republicans passed a new law last month to dissolve the county in a special session – a move that critics say is revenge for Disney speaking out against a new law in Florida which will limit what schools can teach about sexual orientation and gender identity. The fate of Disney, Florida’s largest employer, and the county’s existing debt remain unclear in the weeks following the controversial vote.
Democrats and local officials have suggested that local authorities and taxpayers in the surrounding counties of Osteola and Orange may be on the hook for this debt if Reedy Creek ceases to exist. This view was supported by Reedy Creek in a recent statement to its bondholders and an analysis of the state Senate, which concluded in April that the local government “takes over all the debt of the existing special area.”
But DeSantis has promised that local and state taxpayers will not have to pay for Reedy Creek’s outstanding debt, which officials say is about $ 1 billion. He said the government is likely to collect more taxes once Disney’s special status is lifted after it becomes more equal to other theme parks operating in Florida.
“It is more likely that the state will just take control and make sure we are able to enforce the law and make sure we collect taxes,” he said.
DeSantis did not provide details on how the state will take control of Reedy Creek. In Florida, the governor appoints board members who oversee many of the state’s special areas. Prior to this new law, Reedy Creek’s board members were people who owned properties within the area – mostly people with links to Disney.
The plan for Reedy Creek and Disney is unlikely to be finalized before the November election, DeSantis said, because he wants input from future legislative leaders. The new law, which will dissolve Reedy Creek, will not take effect until June 2023.
But DeSantis was adamant that he did not believe that the management of Reedy Creek and its government responsibilities – including the management of the fire department, water systems, roads and building inspectors for Disney properties – should fall to local authorities.
“First, it would be a money cow for them if they had Disney,” DeSantis said. “But I’m worried that they would use this as a pretext to raise people’s taxes when they want to do it anyway, and then they’ll try to blame Reedy Creek, so we won’t give them that opportunity.”
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