Turkey list: Florida TaxWatch flags more than $410M in water projects

Florida TaxWatch spotlighted $854.6 million in so-called “Budget Turkeys” in its annual Budget Turkey Watch Report, and a large chunk of those projects in this year’s budget were related to water resources.

The organization labeled 281 water projects as turkeys, totaling more than $410 million — nearly half the total for all budget turkeys. The organization also identified two additional projects focused on agricultural promotion and education facilities, each for $1 million.

In releasing its annual list, Florida TaxWatch noted it is not commenting on any particular project’s value or need. Indeed, its report noted that the state “has rightly been making large investments in the protection and restoration of our state’s water resources.”

“The Legislature has created numerous grant and other financial assistance programs to help local governments secure funding for water protection and restoration projects. The programs are administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and projects are evaluated by the agency using established criteria and priorities (usually in statute),” reads the report, released Wednesday.

“Competitive grant programs help ensure that the best projects are awarded funding under a coordinated, statewide framework and promote state goals and priorities. Many programs also consider the relative ability of local communities to fund all or part of the projects themselves.”

But TaxWatch noted that the 281 member-requested water projects flagged “did not go through any of these assistance programs.” That was enough to land them on the list.

The organization is flagging these “turkeys” as potential vetoes for Gov. Ron DeSantis when he receives the $117.5 billion Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget.

Several of the biggest-ticket water items identified on the turkey list are for eight figures. All were backed by Republicans.

The largest project is the Naples Gulf of Mexico Stormwater Improvement Project, which netted $25 million in the budget. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo supported that funding request in the Senate, while Rep. Bob Rommel backed the House version.

But both requests only asked for $10 million. The ask aimed to improve the quality of stormwater discharges into the Gulf of Mexico, help protect against floods, improve the shoreline habitat and help local governments deal with increasingly strong storms.

Another project, totaling $12.7 million, is the Hendry County Port LaBelle Utility System (PLUS) wastewater treatment plant expansion. Passidomo also backed that funding request in the Senate, with Rep. Lauren Melo behind the House version.

Lawmakers asked for $38 million, only getting about one-third of that total. The project would expand plant capacity at the PLUS Wastewater Treatment Plant, which lawmakers said was needed due to population growth in Hendry County.

The TaxWatch list also flagged $10.65 million for an Indiantown reverse osmosis water treatment plant, $10.13 million for a Flagler County septic to sewer conversions and water treatment expansion and $10 million for the Lykes Turkey Branch water storage and treatment.

Sen. Gayle Harrell and Rep. John Snyder pushed for the Indiantown project, asking for $25 million originally. The project would upgrade the water distribution system, according to the funding request.

Sen. Travis Hutson and Rep. Ryan Chamberlin supported the Flagler County item, pushing for $20.26 million — about double what the project received in the budget. The funding request states that the project would “allow for extra capacity and new connections to move current businesses and home communities from septic to sewer and provide connections to water.

“It will also encourage new commercial and residential growth along the US 1 corridor in Flagler County, which will help to diversify the tax base and reduce the tax burden to residents and allow for more affordable or workforce housing,” the request continued.

And the $10 million Lykes Turkey Branch project got support from Sen. Erin Grall and Rep. Kaylee Tuck. The proposal asked for a whopping $50 million originally to “create more water storage and treatment in the Lake Okeechobee and Caloosahatchee basins.”

“This will provide significant nutrient removal, reduce discharge to the Caloosahatchee with high nutrient levels, and provide a clean source of water to supplement dry season flows to the Caloosahatchee River,” the request reads.

As for the agricultural turkeys, Sen. Ben Albritton and Tuck backed $7.5 million for a Hardee County climate controlled fair facility. The budget only allotted $1 million for the project, which would help improve the fairgrounds to promote tourism and agricultural education, according to the funding request.

Another project at the South Florida AgriCenter and Emergency Shelter netted $1 million in this year’s budget. This project was backed by Sen. Lori Berman and Rep. Jervonte Edwards, both Democrats. The lawmakers requested $2 million during Session to help expand the area to serve as a special needs emergency shelter.