Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill that would dissolve the special Reedy Creek Improvement District. According to WESH 2, Reedy Creek is reassuring their investors on Florida’s pledge to fulfill the terms of any agreement made with bond holders.
What’s Happening:
- The Florida Senate and House both passed the bill last week and as expected, DeSantis signed it into law.
- Assuming the bill is not repealed or fought in court, the Reedy Creek Improvement District along with other special districts approved before 1968 would be dissolved effective June 1st, 2023.
- Reedy Creek investors clearly had a lot of questions, and the special district reassured them that Florida has pledged to fulfill the terms of any agreement made with bond holders.
- A document acquired by WESH 2 reads as follows:
"Pursuant to the requirements and limitations of Florida’s Uniform Special District Accountability Act, which provides, among other things, that unless otherwise provided by law, the dissolution of a special district government shall transfer title to all of its property to the local general purpose government, which shall also assume all indebtedness of the preexisting special district," the document reads. "In light of the State of Florida’s pledge to the District’s bondholders, Reedy Creek expects to explore its options while continuing its present operations, including levying and collecting its ad valorem taxes and collecting its utility revenues, paying debt service on its ad valorem tax bonds and utility revenue bonds, complying with its bond covenants and operating and maintaining its properties."
- Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said that dissolving Reedy Creek and absorbing that Disney property would likely strain Orange and Osceola county budgets.
- The fiscal impact analysis from the state is unclear. It reads, "residents and businesses may experience a change in services previously provided by the special district and related assessments and taxes imposed."
- DeSantis' office released a statement Friday saying it does not expect any tax increases for any residents from this new law:
"In the near future, we will propose additional legislation to authorize additional special districts in a manner that ensures transparency and an even playing field under the law."