The handpicked board passes a $188 million budget to oversee the entertainment company’s huge property in Florida and to continue a lawsuit — against Disney.
One member of the new board resigned after just three months. Nearly half a dozen key department heads quit or retired. The DeSantis ally hired to run the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District was told he couldn’t hold that position and still serve as head of the state ethics commission; he stuck with his new job and its $400,000 annual salary.
Then came the very public blowup over the board’s decision to eliminate a long-standing benefit that gave the district’s 400-plus workers annual passes to the Disney attractions — a perk that could be worth several thousand dollars. Firefighters and other employees responded with anger, even tears, saying they felt betrayed by the move.
Among the allocations for 2024 is $4.5 million for litigation. The board has already spent $1.9. million this year on lawyers — mostly to fight Disney in court — and members said they needed more money to pursue the legal battles.
Despite the district existing solely because of Disney, the new board members often seem to avoid referring to the company by name, instead calling it “our taxpaying partner.” Several acknowledged during the budget meeting their need to come up to speed on complicated issues that the former board handled for decades — including the electricity bills paid to a utility operated by Disney.
“I don’t know what the process is, because this is all new to us,” chairman Martin Garcia said following a consultant’s analysis of the utilities agreement.DeSantis has made his fight with Disney the centerpiece of his “war against woke.” The
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