During today's Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board meeting, board chairman Garcia revealed that the former Reedy Creek Improvement District paid $8 million a year for law enforcement services at Walt Disney World properties.
Garcia said, "Disney is not the only taxpayer in this district. We have other taxpayers, but $8 million was being used for law enforcement services exclusively on Disney properties. And that doesn't make any sense to me, and it doesn't make any sense to anybody on our team that's looked at it."
Garcia added, "It appears that there are a number of other naughty things that this old board did with district funds, and so we're going to look for further savings."
Speaking after passing a motion to begin the process of reducing property tax rates in the district contrary to expectations, Garcia repeated that Disney entered into agreements late in the process to take over utility services, leading the board to hire a rate-setting expert to ensure fair rates. Disney sued the board in federal court, prompting them to hire a national law firm. A board-hired former Supreme Court Justice deemed the agreements unlawful, leading the board to take legal action in state court. Due to all of these factors, the board anticipated increased expenses, including hiring lawyers, advisors, and experts. However, the CEO Glen Gilzean, discovered what he described as "wasteful spending," including Disney's use of the law enforcement paid by the district. Making use of these savings, the board managed to avoid increasing taxes and says it will run a financially efficient and transparent government agency.
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