Janelle Irwin Taylor
Florida TaxWatch has flagged nearly $17.4 million in budget turkeys benefitting the Tampa Bay region, specifically in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.
The items, highlighted because they bypassed the normal appropriations process, represent local projects ranging from educational institution enhancements to various infrastructure and expansion projects.
The largest appropriation flagged is in Pinellas County, $2.5 million for renovations to the Pinellas Science Center.
In all, Florida TaxWatch flagged 450 appropriations projects statewide worth nearly $855 million.
The organization identified budget turkeys based on several factors, including if it circumvents the review and selection process; items that did not appear in the final Senate or House budgets; didn’t adhere to typical rules for appropriations; items added through supplemental appropriation (sprinkle) lists; or appropriations from funding sources not appropriate to that expenditure.
The items are typically local. Florida TaxWatch notes that inclusion in its budget turkey list is not a referendum on the project’s merit, value or need — rather an indication that transparency and/or vetting were lacking.
“A relatively small number of member projects are statewide in scope or add additional funding to existing state programs,” the report notes.
“However, the vast majority of member projects are local projects. Many of those local projects are worthwhile, some perhaps even critical, and most are things local citizens would like to have in their communities. But the question remains: ‘Should the state be funding projects or programs that are truly local, especially projects that are more of a luxury than a necessity?’”
Here’s a rundown of the Tampa Bay area (excluding Manatee/Sarasota) projects that were included in this year’s budget turkey list:
— $1.5 million for the Pasco/Hernando Nursing and Allied Health Advancement Institute.
— $1.25 million for East Pasco cultural arts.
— $1.1 million for replacement of the boardwalk at St. Pete Willow March.
— $1 million for a manufacturing lab at St. Petersburg College.
— $1 million for the 55-acre Zephyr Park project.
— $1 million for renovations to the Palladium Theater.
— $1 million for the ARK Innovation at Pinellas County Schools.
— $1 million for the ReUp College and Credential workforce initiative.
— $1 million for expansion to the Ronald McDonald House at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
— $930,000 for the Pre-Apprenticeship Training and Hiring Program at Hillsborough County Schools.
— $820,000 for Ruth Eckerd Hall hurricane response and resilience.
— $750,000 for the preservation of testimonies and artifacts at the Florida Holocaust Museum.
— $750,000 for road improvements in Rainbow Village.
— $550,000 for security upgrades to Temple Beth-El.
— $500,000 for a bandshell at Perry Harvey Park in Tampa.
— $373,500 for a multiuse emergency operations and community policing complex in Kenneth City.
— $285,000 for various educational opportunities and enhancements to Zephyrhills Museum of Military History.
— $50,000 for a mobile library branch in New Port Richey.
To alleviate issues Florida TaxWatch identifies with budget turkeys, the group is calling for reform to rule changes governing appropriations in 2017, which Florida TaxWatch said succeeded in increasing transparency to the process, but failed to increase review or deliberation over member requests.
“And they did nothing to stem the rising tide of member projects,” Florida TaxWatch wrote in its 2024 report.
