Before signing his final state budget as governor on Monday, Ron DeSantis vetoed $1.7 billion in spending out of the state budget, including $810 million in line-item vetoes.
Among the cuts were millions of dollars for projects and programs in Central Florida.
Notably, DeSantis did not veto $4 million in funding for the families of the Groveland Four, the four young black men who were wrongfully accused of raping a white woman in Lake County in 1949.
Floodwater drainage
Kissimmee lost out on half a million dollars that would have helped fix ”severe and repetitive flooding” for hundreds of residents, according to the city’s request.
An existing private drainage system for a north Kissimmee neighborhood has collapsed, and the city wants to replace it with a new public drainage system.
That money from the state would have paid for nearly half of the new construction costs.
New evidence room
DeSantis denied a $750,000 request for the Kissimmee Police Department to expand its evidence room. The existing facility has been prone to leaks that have compromised evidence, according to the department’s budget request.
Local funds would have covered the other 84% of the project cost.
Aquatic center
An upcoming project in St. Cloud was another casualty. The Osceola County school district had asked for $1 million to help fund an aquatic center at the new “AAA” High School. The proposed pool would host swim meets and swim lessons and recreation for the public.
DeSantis vetoed that money, which would have paid for 7% of the total project cost.
PACE
And he vetoed more than $8.8 million to expand the state’s Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, in Central Florida. That money would have paid for 550 new clients in programs in Orange, Brevard and Marion counties.
Other Florida counties lost out on money for new positions, too.
Other funding
The vetoes affecting Central Florida include the ones listed here, split up by county. All but one of these vetoes can be found on the Florida House’s Appropriations Project Requests or the Senate’s Local Funding Initiative Requests.
Brevard County
- Brevard County - Maemir/Martin/Fiske Area Drainage Improvements - Multi-Basin Study: $250,000
- Brevard County Zoo Indian River Lagoon Innovative Wastewater System and Education Hub: $2,500,000
- Brevard County Stadium and Cuddington Signal and Intersection Safety Improvements: $250,000
- City of Palm Bay - Police Department Sgt. Frank Tobar Regional Tactical Training Building: $450,000
- Palm Bay - Babcock Street Phase One Widening Improvement Project: $500,000
- Palm Bay Intelligent Transportation System Traffic Enhancement Project: $750,000
- Palm Bay - Protecting Utilities Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) Network: $1,685,400
- Titusville 911 Communications System Update: $176,336
- Titusville Expansion of Back-Up and Data Security: $184,000
- Melbourne Fire Department Training Center Facility Replacement: $400,000
Orange County
- Town of Eatonville Public Safety Building Needs Assessment and Pre-Design Study: $350,000
- Ocoee Alternative Water Supply Project: $375,000
- Windermere Chase Road and Main Street Intersection Improvements: $500,000
- Windermere Upgrade Roundabout, 6th Avenue and Main Street, Phase I: $784,000
- City of Maitland - Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System Security Enhancement: $250,000
- Samaritan Resource Center - East Orange Opportunity Pathway: $200,000
- Orlando Community & Youth Trust, Inc. Senior Connections: $200,000
Volusia County
- Orange City Police Department and Incident Command Center: $750,000
- Orange City Fire Station and Emergency Operations Center Hurricane Rated Facility Design: $450,000
- Eastern Central Florida Emergency Shelter Hardening: $1,000,000
- New Smyrna Beach Turnbull Creek Dredging: $400,000
- DeLand- Thompson Street Stormwater Pond Design: $150,000
- Grant funding to Volusia County Agriculture Center: $1,000,000
Osceola County
- Kissimmee Police Evidence Room Expansion Project: $750,000
- Kissimmee East City Drainage Canal Improvement Project: $500,000
- Osceola County - Waterlin Boulevard Interchange (HF 2639): $1,250,000
- St. Cloud Hopkins Park Community Center: $500,000
- School District of Osceola County High School Aquatic Center: $1,000,000
Lake County
- Lake County Fairgrounds & Sports Complex Utility Master Plan: $100,000
- Groveland Stormwater Master Plan: $225,000
- Lake County Judicial Center Expansion: $500,000
- Mount Dora Community Resource & Recreation Center Technology Lab: $400,000
Seminole County
- Oviedo Pedestrian Safety Improvements: $500,000
- Seminole County Advanced Metering Infrastructure: $1,000,000
