My predictions (speculation) are that the financial and tax implications of abolishing the Reedy Creek Improvement District will be a wash. And, that Disney will remain influential in Florida, but the influence will depend on politicians who are not as reliable as state laws. And, that Disney will remain very profitable in Florida.
No, they've been blatant that this is a retribution play.
And abusing what power exactly? They paid additional $135mil in taxes specifically for the Reedy Creek Improvement district that can't be placed by Orange/Osceola counties; they maintained infrastructure and made improvements quickly because they were giving themselves approval. Now there's going to be a massive transfer of debt from Disney/RCID to Orange and Osceola Counties, another $135mil of taxes that just goes away because the counties cannot legally place those taxes, and what was once quickly maintained infrastructure now goes to Orange and Osceola counties to maintain - which means longer times for resolving problems or implementing improvements. And at most, Disney will have to wait for approvals from the counties to expand or work on their parks.
This is a dumb, dumb move from the FL government all around: if it was a good idea to remove RCID, then just sell that. This is solely about retribution, which everyone should be decrying - because government retribution for protected speech is inherently a bad thing.
Good info from a local point of view. I was aware this was not the first in a long line of concerns. I was also aware at various times Florida considered dissolving or clipping RCID. It has always been a major competitive advantage of Disney over other entertainment companies. But to be fair, like the mining towns and RR towns and oil boom towns and GM/Ford in Detroit, Disney can say of Orlando “we built this city” and not be wrong. Not totally wrong. It may be time for the apron strings to be cut. It just seems a very politicized and overhyped issue to do it on.
Is "Some employees might transition from RCID or Disney to Orange County" supposed to be "Some debts/taxes might transition from RCID or Disney to Orange Count"?
Thank you for the comment. I wrote about Golden Oaks in a previous post. I am aware that Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista are Disney communities. Without RCID, they are part of Orange (or Osceola) County. They will likely become unincorporated if they’re not already. Disney will have less control of who lives in those communities except that it owns almost all the land. It will have less control over who can buy from existing owners in the future.
Taxes paid to RCID can no longer be collected by Orange and Osceola counties. That is the purpose of a special tax district. I’ve dealt with the issue in Georgia which has similar legal processes. In Florida’s case the autonomy granted to RCID was extreme but that was necessary since the surrounding counties at the time had nowhere near the resources Disney required or finances Disney possessed. The taxes paid to RCID *cannot* go to the counties. The counties must assess taxes to all residents and businesses. Disney paid taxes to itself to relieve the burden from the counties. Those taxes will not be paid to the counties in the future.
When the counties restructure the bonds and hotel room taxes it will hurt taxpayers to the tune of about $2,000/family per year in Orange County. The county cannot provide infrastructure services to Disney at the level Disney expects and only have Disney pay for it. Either Disney public roads will have potholes or taxpayers will pay for Disney to have higher quality roads. I don’t know about liquor licensing. Not sure if that was part of RCID authority but I’ll check into it.
Giving Disney an advantage against Universal or Seaworld isn’t fair and I don’t think Disney deserves it. But in the surrounding counties (outside Orlando proper) Disney is in a symbiotic relationship with many of the hotels, restaurants and small attractions. Passing on enormous Disney infrastructure costs to them will hurt them and make a WDW trip less affordable for many families.
Disney does have a competitive advantage from RCID. No question. They are more nimble and able to build without restrictions. They would Esther have RCID for that reason. But that doesn’t mean not having RCID is better for Florida taxpayers or Disney park goers in the short and medium term. It’s not better.
Politically, Disney and its employees will be more engaged in the culture war not let, I believe. The business motivation for staying out of the government’s way will be lost. However I do think Disney will claim its First Amendment right has been infringed and they will have a good case. We might find RCID is preserved by the courts.
Disney is Americas #1 tourist attraction. It’s not Disney’s #1 revenue generator or most profitable division. If the goal is to punish Disney, then mission accomplished. But at the same time it punishes everyone else.
My predictions (speculation) are that the financial and tax implications of abolishing the Reedy Creek Improvement District will be a wash. And, that Disney will remain influential in Florida, but the influence will depend on politicians who are not as reliable as state laws. And, that Disney will remain very profitable in Florida.
That's a lot of moving parts. Speculating on the outcome is pretty iffy.
Good thread on the fiscal impacts:
https://twitter.com/NPapantonisWFTV/status/1517272880882585602?s=20&t=Vdci9mc3tSQediYHOOpvKw
Yep. Basically confirms what I saw. Except the Disney lawsuit if on the basis of First Amendment does have merit as David Thornton reported.
Agreed on the merits, especially with their Lt. Gov. stating that this was retribution for speech.
No, they've been blatant that this is a retribution play.
And abusing what power exactly? They paid additional $135mil in taxes specifically for the Reedy Creek Improvement district that can't be placed by Orange/Osceola counties; they maintained infrastructure and made improvements quickly because they were giving themselves approval. Now there's going to be a massive transfer of debt from Disney/RCID to Orange and Osceola Counties, another $135mil of taxes that just goes away because the counties cannot legally place those taxes, and what was once quickly maintained infrastructure now goes to Orange and Osceola counties to maintain - which means longer times for resolving problems or implementing improvements. And at most, Disney will have to wait for approvals from the counties to expand or work on their parks.
This is a dumb, dumb move from the FL government all around: if it was a good idea to remove RCID, then just sell that. This is solely about retribution, which everyone should be decrying - because government retribution for protected speech is inherently a bad thing.
Good info from a local point of view. I was aware this was not the first in a long line of concerns. I was also aware at various times Florida considered dissolving or clipping RCID. It has always been a major competitive advantage of Disney over other entertainment companies. But to be fair, like the mining towns and RR towns and oil boom towns and GM/Ford in Detroit, Disney can say of Orlando “we built this city” and not be wrong. Not totally wrong. It may be time for the apron strings to be cut. It just seems a very politicized and overhyped issue to do it on.
Is "Some employees might transition from RCID or Disney to Orange County" supposed to be "Some debts/taxes might transition from RCID or Disney to Orange Count"?
Thank you for the comment. I wrote about Golden Oaks in a previous post. I am aware that Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista are Disney communities. Without RCID, they are part of Orange (or Osceola) County. They will likely become unincorporated if they’re not already. Disney will have less control of who lives in those communities except that it owns almost all the land. It will have less control over who can buy from existing owners in the future.
Taxes paid to RCID can no longer be collected by Orange and Osceola counties. That is the purpose of a special tax district. I’ve dealt with the issue in Georgia which has similar legal processes. In Florida’s case the autonomy granted to RCID was extreme but that was necessary since the surrounding counties at the time had nowhere near the resources Disney required or finances Disney possessed. The taxes paid to RCID *cannot* go to the counties. The counties must assess taxes to all residents and businesses. Disney paid taxes to itself to relieve the burden from the counties. Those taxes will not be paid to the counties in the future.
When the counties restructure the bonds and hotel room taxes it will hurt taxpayers to the tune of about $2,000/family per year in Orange County. The county cannot provide infrastructure services to Disney at the level Disney expects and only have Disney pay for it. Either Disney public roads will have potholes or taxpayers will pay for Disney to have higher quality roads. I don’t know about liquor licensing. Not sure if that was part of RCID authority but I’ll check into it.
Giving Disney an advantage against Universal or Seaworld isn’t fair and I don’t think Disney deserves it. But in the surrounding counties (outside Orlando proper) Disney is in a symbiotic relationship with many of the hotels, restaurants and small attractions. Passing on enormous Disney infrastructure costs to them will hurt them and make a WDW trip less affordable for many families.
Disney does have a competitive advantage from RCID. No question. They are more nimble and able to build without restrictions. They would Esther have RCID for that reason. But that doesn’t mean not having RCID is better for Florida taxpayers or Disney park goers in the short and medium term. It’s not better.
Politically, Disney and its employees will be more engaged in the culture war not let, I believe. The business motivation for staying out of the government’s way will be lost. However I do think Disney will claim its First Amendment right has been infringed and they will have a good case. We might find RCID is preserved by the courts.
Disney is Americas #1 tourist attraction. It’s not Disney’s #1 revenue generator or most profitable division. If the goal is to punish Disney, then mission accomplished. But at the same time it punishes everyone else.