> I don't think a lot of people understand what Reedy Creek is or why its a controversy so here's a simple explanation from a long time Florida resident. When Disney first looked at breaking ground in Central Florida for a new theme park in the 1960s, the area was virtually uninhabited with the exception of some small rural farming communities, of which Reedy Creek was one. The counties of Orange and Osceola did not have the resources to provide all the infrastructure and services that Walt Disney World would need. So Disney offered to provide all those services under the provision that they be the sole administrator over them since neither county that Walt Disney World sprawls into had the resources to do so. So the Florida Legislature came up with the Reedy Creek Improvement District which functions as a semi-independent municipality under the administration of the Walt Disney Corporation.
> There are legal provisions in the law that specify the scope of this district, how this district is managed and how it may be dissolved; all of which Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature just violated with the bill they proposed and passed. Disney knows this, the Florida Legislature knows this, odds are this will be fought in court and won by Disney and thrown out as unconstitutional because the state just violated their own law. Plus, Reedy Creek is a municipality with Florida citizens residing in it and any change to their district would have to be approved by those voters, approval the State of Florida did not get or even ask for.
> Additionally, the biggest benefit to Walt Disney Corp is that managing their own municipality allowed them to bypass red tape in typical county zoning and permitting. However, at this point Walt Disney basically owns both Orange and Osceola county and should they be forced to take over administration of Reedy Creek odds are they will create special provisions for Walt Disney Corp. However, both Orange and Osceola would have to absorb any debts the Reedy Creek Improvement District currently holds, which is about 2 billion dollars in bond debt which will have to be immediately reimbursed to the bond holds if the district is dissolved. That, along with the infrastructure costs to maintaining Reedy Creek which would also be passed along to the counties which amount to a tax assessment being levied against every resident in Orange county by about 4000 per year. If Osceola assumes the debt, it would be even higher because that county has a smaller population. The 2 counties will have to sort out who is responsible for what since Walt Disney World sprawls across both counties.
> Disney would face a higher tax liability, however, the Florida Legislature passed a law several years ago that limits the amount that counties could raise their property taxes to no more than 10% per year. That would not be enough to cover Reedy Creek's bond debt even with Disney included. Basically Florida would be taking over 2 billion in debt off Disney's books and dropping it on to the Florida taxpayers in central Florida. Disney would also have the added benefit of no longer need to pay for the expense of maintaining the district (fire services, police, medical, sewage, roads, etc) which will also fall onto the Florida taxpayer. All of these savings disney stands to gain more than offsets whatever small tax increase they would pay due to the cap.
> Basically this entire stunt is doomed to fail. Its a political game that will go nowhere.
Source: https://old.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/u8ap8q/florida_st...