The Florida House of Representatives voted Thursday to disband the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which has allowed Disney to function as its own government since the 1960s.
Gov. Ron DeSantis first introduced the idea of dissolving the district after Disney CEO Bob Chapek publicly opposed the “Parental Rights in Education” or “Don’t Say Gay” law.
WMFE’s Danielle Prieur spoke with Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph about the financial implications of such a decision for the Central Florida area.
Interview highlights
On what the vote means for the county
"So Orange County is suddenly responsible for all the fires, you know, all the ambulance services, all the road maintenance, wastewater, all of that comes to Orange County."
On how much money will be lost
"Reedy Creek brings in about $105 million in general revenue through property taxes every year. And then they collect another $58 million in bond debt payments. So about $163 million of liability every single year."
On who will pay the difference
"So every citizen in Orange County could be looking at a huge tax increase to cover the dissolution of Reedy Creek. I mean, if you look at how much Orange County brings in versus how much Reedy Creek in order to cover all of that, I mean, you could be talking to a 20% property tax increase."
