Gov. Ron DeSantis stayed true to his prediction of vetoing half a billion dollars from the Florida budget that begins Tuesday, including $8.5 million earmarked for Alachua County projects.
DeSantis signed the budget Monday, with less than a day before the new fiscal year. The governor said the budget, finished after an “extensive” legislative session, mirrored the bottom line and priorities he outlined in his proposed budget released in February.
Line-item vetoes killed $576 million in projects. These were projects the Florida Legislature wanted to fund. Alachua County was slated to get more than $230 million, but the majority of that went to UF, Santa Fe College and state departments. Allocations for city, county and community projects totaled around $26 million.
For Alachua County, the following projects were vetoed:
- City of Newberry Electric System Resiliency Project: $350,000
- High Springs police station: $250,000
- City of Alachua Wastewater Treatment Facility Expansion: $225,000
- Dance Alive National Ballet Center for the Arts: $475,000
- Gainesville Southwest Public Safety Services Center: $1,170,500
- Girl Scouts of Gateway Council Camp Kateri Capital Project: $400,000
- City of High Springs North-West Alachua County Utility Improvements: $250,000
- Alachua County Jail – Capital Efficiency Analysis: $225,000
- Save Florida Waters, Inc. Northern Springs Restoration Project: $250,000
- Department of Agriculture’s Doyle Conner Building (Gainesville) Renovation and Construction: $4.9 million
With the budget, DeSantis approved sales tax holidays and made some items sales-tax-free permanently.
A back-to-school sales tax holiday will happen every August and applies to clothing under $100, school supplies under $50, learning aids under $30 and personal computers under $1,500.
Event tickets, state park admissions, life jackets, sunscreen, bike helmets and insect repellent will be permanently exempt from sales tax “so families can enjoy all the outdoor fun Florida has to offer.”
The permanent exemptions also include disaster preparedness items like batteries, portable generators, tarps, gas cans, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
A “Second Amendment” sales tax holiday will occur this year from Sept. 8 through Dec. 31 and include bows, firearms, ammunition, tents, sleeping bags, camping stoves, fishing rods and reels, tackle boxes and bait and tackle.
DeSantis also signed off on the removal of the business rent tax, estimated to annually collect $904 million. Florida is currently the only state that levies this tax.
A press release from the governor’s office highlighted that Florida has reduced spending for the second year in a row while growing emergency reserves and paying off $830 million in an accelerated debt initiative.
He needs that money for his Alligator Alcatraz project.
I’m so proud of our alligators for helping us deter unwanted and illegal individuals to come to our United States. If you don’t want to come here and go through the appropriate process or have a criminal background then suffer the consequences whatever they may be at your own risk. I’m willing to pay for my family and communities safety period
Dont complain when your food runs out.many of them are greatcpeople working on farm all over florida not all of them are criminals . I guest you dont care about our own criminals running in our streets schools .take a good look at our local jail and prison in florida. Lets deport them also.
Take a look at the budget for the detention center. $450,000,000 for 3000 people. That’s $150,000 for EACH. Look at what you’ve paid in taxes over the last year and contemplate if that’s how you want your taxes used. And remember that almost none of them have actually been found guilty of anything – just accused.
I’m rather surprised that he cut the $350,000 for the City of Newberry; those folks are DeSantis’ people.
The other vetoes were, considering our governor, pretty predictable:
[Warning: the remainder of this comment is meant to be ironic]
e.g., wastewater treatment facilities don’t really need to be expanded; our springs really don’t need to be restored; Gainesville can do without a Public Safety Services Center, etc.. As for items that involve organizations such as Girl Scouts and Dance Alive: that’s just “fancy stuff,” not needed, if they want more money, they can just sell more cookies.
People need to wake up and vote the buffoons out of office.
True. But there are now 5,522,017 registered buffoons in Florida, far more than any other party and more than the NPAs. So the buffoons are in charge now and for the foreseeable future.
This is so very sad. We are losing our country to the “I could care less” crowd who have no empathy, conscience or soul.
Love the old photo they use of the governor. That’s my big brother behind him looking so serious after making his speech! lol
Alachua does not need $225K for wastewater anything. They just voted to spend over a half a million dollars on the worthless 30 by 60 foot Theater Park downtown. They obviously have plenty of money and can pay for their own sewer plant. The state does not need to subsidize them from their own bad decisions.
Since when do we use tax money for girl scouts?
Because children are important.
I am disappointed on many levels. My granddaughters are both in Girl Scouts and Camp Kateri definitely needs improvement. Also, the Dance Alive ballet company contributes many great performances to our community. But I guess DeSantis’s prison is more important than kids and culture…..please note the sarcasm here. ☹️
Alachua County has the 2nd High-tax counties in the states it’s used for impose greater financial burdens on residents and businesses.
Here are the main disadvantages to living or operating in one Higher Cost of Living, Business Disincentives, Outmigration of Resident, Depressed Property Values, Government Waste and Dependency, Reduced Investment and Economic Growth, Lower the property mileage and save are homes no slush fun spending.
Alachua County has tons of tax payers money pouring into the county with the way the BOCC spends it. 7 million for One fire station, 3 million for dilapidated motels and repair cost is 3 more million to make them operational for the homeless.
Don’t forget the 1.3 million only to start for spying big brother cameras for county vehicles and I’m only scratching the surface of the wasteful spending of the BOCC.
Meanwhile most home owners are doing what they can to pay their taxes , insurance and the mortgages payments taking 2nd jobs to cover the higher property taxes.