TDT Tax Funds Debate
Whether it’s on something we buy, sell, or own, we all pay some form of taxes. There’s a tax that puts the primary financial burden on tourists visiting Florida rather than the people who live here. Money generated by the Tourist Development Tax, or TDT, comes from a tax on hotel stays and other short-term rentals. In Orange County, it’s 6% of every lodging bill, totaling more than 350 million dollars in revenue last year. According to the county government, Orange collects the largest share of TDT of any other county in Florida. There’s debate over where that money goes. When Orange County’s Tourist Development Tax was enacted in 1978 and approved by voters, the ordinance stated TDT could fund the convention center, tourism promotion, and sports facilities. Florida state law does not allow it to be used for schools, public safety and general government services in Orange County.
This week, Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan asked the Tourist Development Tax Sports Incentive Committee in Orange County for at least 10 million dollars. It’s to entice the Jacksonville Jaguars to play their home games at Camping World Stadium in Orlando during the 2027 NFL season while their home stadium an hour north of Palm Coast is renovated. Hogan told the task force that dollar amount could go up to 11 million if the Jags make the playoffs and play in the post season in Central Florida. Based on research they did looking at other NFL teams, third party data, and info from the Jaguars, Florida Citrus Sports put conservative estimates at some 20 million dollars coming back to the region in economic impact per game. The Tourist Development Tax Sports Incentive Committee granted the funding request to lure the Jaguars to Orlando. Ultimately, the Orange County Board of Commissioners approves TDT uses. On the NFL side, the Jags will make a decision in the coming weeks, and a formal vote is scheduled for the May NFL owners meeting.
In 2023, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings established a Tourist Development Tax Citizens Advisory Task Force to get more community input on how the money is used. Eric Gray, Executive Director of Christian Service Center for Central Florida, was appointed to serve on that citizens panel. He joins Engage to explain how he thinks TDT funds could be used to offset burdens shouldered by Central Florida residents.
Democratic State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith filed bills this legislative session focused on cutting TDT funding to Visit Orlando and loosening restrictions on how TDT can be spent. Senator Smith joins Engage to discuss his proposals to modernize the way government thinks about Tourist Development Tax spending.
We asked Visit Orlando to talk about the estimates for return on investment. They thanked us for reaching out and passed on our request for an interview.
Emergency Food Providers Dealt Blow by Funding Freeze
This week, our area’s largest emergency food provider found out a funding freeze could take millions of meals off the tables of Central Florida families. The Trump Administration froze funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation and suspended its orders for The Emergency Food Assistance Program. This includes tractor trailer loads of food. According to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, this impacts one of their most important sources of food. If the funding is not available next year, Second Harvest estimates 5.8 million meals will be lost. This will also impact their partner agencies. Jewish Family Services stocks their Pearlman Food Pantry in Winter Park with food they buy from Second Harvest at a reduced rate. Philip Flynn, President of Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando, joins Engage along with Greg Higgerson, Chief Development Officer at Second Harvest, to talk about the impact of these changes.
The New Romantics Shares the Love
There was a time a time when a mention of romance literature referred to a pulpy novel with an illustration of a Fabio-looking man gripping a wild-eyed buxom woman whose clothes always seemed to be torn. Those Harlequin romance books have evolved into sophisticated literature that looks at relationships through a 21st Century lens and recognizes fictional characters representative of the broad spectrum of humanity that is America today. That spectrum has spawned hundreds of subgenres within romance lit. There are books about romance with cowboys, hockey players, billionaires and vampires, and the entire range of the LGBTQIA+ environment. If you can imagine it, there is a romance book with that as a central theme.
No bookstore in Central Florida offers a selection of romance novels like Audubon Park’s The New Romantics. Owner Jane Rodriguez took her passion for romance novels to the next level by opening a brick-and-mortar bookstore in an age when Amazon and Barnes & Noble dominate the retail market. The gamble has paid off thus far as The New Romantics has developed a loyal customer base, and Rodriguez has emerged as a national leader in the romance lit retail industry. Engage visits The New Romantics to meet Rodriguez and learn more about this growing genre.
The romance genre will be celebrated this weekend at the Winter Park Library’s Romancing the Books Festival Saturday, March 29, 2025.
