ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has proposed a new tack to utilizing tourist development tax dollars to fund many major projects — most notably, splitting the Orange County Convention Center’s previously approved expansion into two phases and leaving key projects half-funded or without any earmarked funds at all.
Photos: Tropical Storm Hilary impacts Southern California
In an Aug. 18 memo to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners, Demings suggests the board heed recommendations made a day earlier by Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond to be conservative on spending the lucrative hotel tax funds as it prepares for discussions at its Aug. 22 meeting. “While many of us, and especially those entities seeking funding, had hoped that the debt capacity amount would be much higher allowing us to meet all the current requests, the prudent decision is to work within the debt capacity amount provided by the comptroller and county staff in this initial decision phase,” he wrote.
Demings said his priority project is the Orange County Convention Center’s expansion, whose cost has ballooned from $605 million before the pandemic froze work to $825 million to $900 million — a nearly 49% increase. That project includes various new improvements to the North/South Concourse such as ballroom space and a multipurpose exhibition venue.
Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal’s website.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
This browser does not support the video element.