Jim Rosica
There was a battle of arithmetic Wednesday between state senators and the head of the state’s economic development agency as he argued for millions in new funding.
Bill Johnson, president and CEO of Enterprise Florida, appeared before the Senate’s Commerce and Tourism committee.
It was his first appearance since Senate President Andy Gardiner took his agency to task in a memo saying it keeps asking for more money than it can spend in a given year.
But Johnson fumbled at key points under questioning, including how many new jobs his agency had helped to create and how much money it was actually using to lure companies to the Sunshine State.
He’s looking for $85 million from lawmakers for business incentives in 2016-17. Earlier this year, Johnson asked for $85 million in incentive funding, but only got $43 million.
State Sen. Nancy Detert, the Venice Republican who chairs the panel, told Johnson that Enterprise Florida – a public-private partnership – has “never spent more than $19 million in a year.” She’s also on the organization’s board of directors.
That was after Johnson warned his incentive funds would be in the red if he didn’t get more dollars.
After the meeting, he told reporters he needs to do a better job of getting on the same page with legislators.
“There should be no confusion on the numbers,” Johnson said. “The Senate numbers should match our numbers and we should be together on that.”
Most important to state efforts is the “quick action closing fund,” a pot of cash Gov. Rick Scott can draw up to $2 million from without legislative approval to entice businesses to the state.
Johnson told the committee he needs $31 million in that fund for the upcoming year, but quickly added, “I don’t have a crystal ball but I doubt all $31 million will be paid out.”
Sen. Jack Latvala immediately pounced, asking how many jobs were actually created because of that funding. The Clearwater Republican heads the Senate panel that writes the state budget for economic development, tourism and transportation.
Latvala never got a clear answer, but tried to be conciliatory.
“I believe it is better to work things out,” he said. “I want the rhetoric on this whole issue to be lowered … Let’s find a solution to economic development in this state.”
Johnson, only in the job for six months, has been at odds with lawmakers before.
In a June conference call, he called the lack of funding “shameful,” saying “there’s no need for (Enterprise Florida) to exist if we cannot garner the support of our Florida Legislature.” He apologized for those comments Wednesday.
In his memo, Gardiner said the agency was simply asking for more money than it was likely to dole out.
“A business would not set aside the total funds needed for a long-term investment years before the first payment is needed,” Gardiner explained in his memo. “Instead a business budgets to ensure that funding is available when needed.”
Detert added her own dig at the organization, asking why Enterprise Florida didn’t coordinate with Visit Florida, the state tourism concern, to do advertising.
She mentioned the recent tweak to Enterprise Florida’s logo, dropping a men’s tie from the “i” in Florida.
“Why are you reinventing the wheel?” Detert asked Johnson. “You’re on your second or third logo. They’re clearly doing it better than you.”
