Disney4me Posted August 23, 2023 Report Posted August 23, 2023 2023 has been the year of ups, downs, and lots of changes for Disney, and even Orlando. Reedy Creek Improvement District Earlier this year, the Reedy Creek Improvement District underwent a lengthy battle with Florida Governor Ron Desantis, which resulted in the District being restructured to become the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The new District consisted of a Board of Supervisors hand-appointed by Governor Desantis himself. On August 23rd, 2023, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) conducted a board meeting in which the Board heard public comments from speakers and discussed recent changes, updates, and the future of the District. ©Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board Livestream There are a few interesting changes being made that impact more than just employees. The Board said that public safety is “paramount to district operation” and that they would be upgrading and expanding the use of security cameras across the property. There was also heavy talk of installing and repairing guardrails that could potentially change how parts of the roads look around the district. The Board also introduced Donald J Koshen, a professor who has been hired to advise them on “governance structure.” Koshen will examine the “highly irregular” structure of the Board. Walt Disney World Recently, the CTFTOD implemented the removal of a benefit in which Reedy Creek employees were able to enjoy free park admission to the Disney World theme parks. Employees within the District were reportedly told that their jobs and benefits would be safe when the district changed hands, which ended up not being the case. ©Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board Livestream The first speaker at the meeting was Pete Simon, a Reedy Creek firefighter. Simon stated that the removal of this benefit takes away the entire reason for applying to work within the District for many employees. Simon stated that all the District employees have witnessed and heard about are cuts. Many believe that the removal of employee benefits is the “first brick pulled in the dismantling of the district.” Reedy Creek Fire Department The next speaker, a Central Florida local, reiterated that a “pattern of lies and deceit” has been prevalent among the new District — that the promises made in the switch no longer stood. Board Member Martin Garcia responded that these ethics violations wouldn’t be an issue for this board. He also said that there would eventually be tax cuts for taxpayers, which, in this case, includes Disney. Debbie McDonald, a citizen of Osceola County, agreed that it was in spiteful nature to cut benefits. Walt Disney World Aaron Clark spoke next — another citizen who works for the Fire Department. He shared that his father worked as a firefighter for 26 years within the District and earned a lifetime pass to the Disney Parks. As a father of three small children, Clark shared that his goal was to be a Reedy Creek firefighter to be able to get free access to the parks to make memories for his children, just like his dad did. ©Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board Livestream Board Chair Martin Garcia stated that the old Reedy Creek Board was in negotiation for five years, and that the current board was only intact for six months before they came to a favorable conclusion — and that they’ve contacted legal counsel to understand the deal with employee benefits. As far as the recent benefit policy changes, Martin shared that the reasons the changes were necessary were because the policy discriminated against a business, it was inequitable with respect to employees, and it had the potential to endorse unlawful policy. ©Central Florida Tourism Oversight District The old policy had the board paying $2.5 million to Disney for employee park passes, which meant that it was a policy that was created in favor of one taxpayer in the district — exclusive to one business. Martin shared his opinion that this wasn’t fair, and stated that some employees with larger families got a larger benefit (like $3,000 spent on passes for a family as opposed to $1,000 spent on a single employee) and in some years, the Board was paying for passes that weren’t even being used. Annual Pass Instead of issuing park passes, Martin shared that the Board has upped gross wages by $1,425, to be “fair.” He continued by stating that if this number needs to be higher, then the Board will go higher. He reiterated that counsel has been sought to reevaluate this number. The Board later shared that $4.5 million was spent in litigation efforts. Reedy Creek “We are trying to equitably replace the policy we eliminated,” Martin stated. “Private companies cannot give gifts to government workers. These passes were free and that is unlawful.” The Board shared that they also eliminated more previously-authorized expenses such as annual passes, deep discounts on Disney merchandise and cruises, private golf, and soccer outings. Reedy Creek Well, it seems like there might be a lot more changes coming soon, both within the workforce and as far as urban planning goes. We’ll continue to keep you updated with more news and updates as we hear it, so make sure to follow along for more! Click here for more recent news regarding the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe! What do you think of the recent and future changes within the District? Let us know in the comments! The post Important CHANGES Hinted at for Disney World’s Reedy Creek District first appeared on the disney food blog.View the full article Quote
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