Apparently the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has just won a big battle against the Disney company, but some fear that the shot could backfire on him.
Following the passage in Florida of the so-called Don't Say Gay Act, and after a strike by its employees, Disney spoke out against the legislation and condemned the governor. DeSantis then called for a special session to remove Reedy Creek, the county over which Disney has its theme parks, the self-governing special district status. A measure that has stood since 1967.
In this way, as of June 2023, Reedy Creek would no longer be a district self-governed by Disney. It is about 10,000 hectares between Osceola and Orange counties, in the center of the peninsula, where the company built four theme parks, a water park and a sports complex, as well as two small villages for employees.
In order to afford the costs of maintaining this area, Disney charges taxes itself. It is estimated that they pay taxes of about $105 million a year. In addition, Disney pays property taxes for this area. Between 2015 and 2020, they paid $280 million in property taxes to the state of Florida.
If the special category of Reedy Creek is dissolved, then between Osceola and Orange counties they should take over providing cleaning, security and garbage collection services in Reedy Creek. In addition, the 105 million dollars that Disney self-pays per year would disappear, so that would fall on Florida taxpayers. The only obligation that the area has to Florida in that regard is property taxes, the rest should be covered without new income.
But there is a major potential problem for taxpayers that are bonds that Reedy Creek has that amount to at least $1 billion.
Right now, Reedy Creek has passive bonds of between $1 billion and $1.7 billion, according to the district's financial documents. Florida's statute states that if the special district is dissolved, those responsibilities are transferred to local governments, probably Orange and Osceola counties. According to the calculation made by a lawmaker in the Fort Lauderdale area, if this amount is confirmed, the debt for each inhabitant of these two counties would be at least $1,000.
If counties want to collect this debt from Disney, then they should create a new special tax zone, returning to a unique status such as that currently held by Reedy Creek.
The Democratic minority in Tallahassee, Florida's capital, has accused the governor of seeking to create headlines for a presidential contest, without giving too much thought to the consequences for the state of his actions.
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