Water management districts slash spending by $700 million
by Dara Kam | August 24th, 2011The state’s five water management districts have slashed their budgets by more than $700 million – about 40 percent – but Gov. Rick Scott, who initiated the cuts, wants more.
After the water management districts fired employees, cut benefits and put the brakes on land purchases, Scott still wants another $2.4 million in paycuts and benefit reductions.
Scott, however, signed off on the South Florida Water Management District’s $571 million budget – more than 47 percent than the current year’s – without asking for further cuts.
The agency saved more than $100 million by doing away with more than 270 jobs, cutting benefits, canceling contracts and grounding flight operations.
Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel Vinyard announced the cuts at a press conference this morning, flanked by representatives of each of the state’s five water management districts.
Gov. Rick Scott ordered the cuts to force the districts to focus on their “core mission resonsibilities” of water supply, flood protection, water quality and natural system protection, Vinyard said.
The revised budgets are a “critical first step in ensuring the water management districts focus on their core environmental mission,” he added.
The shrunken spending by the districts goes far beyond the $210 million in cuts lawmakers ordered through property tax reductions.
South Florida Water Management District executive director Melissa Meeker, who joined Vinyard this morning, said her agency remains committed to Everglades cleanup and other projects underway.
“You will not see a bump in the road from the South Water Management District,” she said.
But environmentalists complained that the cuts will undercut the state’s commitment to protecting Florida waters.
“The deep cuts to the state’s water management districts undermine years of progress in protecting Florida’s water resources,” Audubon of Florida executive director Eric Draper said in a statement.”The cuts serve only the purpose of allowing politicians to claim tax cuts. The agencies involved and the Governor are not being completely candid in telling the public how these cuts will affect water supply, environmental protection and Everglades restoration.”
Tags: Herschel Vinyard, Melissa Meeker, Rick Scott, South Florida Water Management District
August 24th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
Twenty years form now we will wonder why we didn’t buy the Glades farms and preserve our water supply. By that time it will be too late….
August 24th, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Skeletor is a scu_mbag who is out for revenge and to make himself and his friends rich.
August 24th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
What a shame it took years to finally have someone in office who didn’t play party politics and reduce their rediculous budget. Above avere salary and numerious free benefits had to stop.
August 24th, 2011 at 8:45 pm
But environmentalists complained that the cuts will undercut the state’s commitment to protecting Florida waters.
“The deep cuts to the state’s water management districts undermine years of progress in protecting Florida’s water resources,” Audubon of Florida executive director Eric Draper said in a statement.”The cuts serve only the purpose of allowing politicians to claim tax cuts.
August 24th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
Finally, someone had the political courage to get the bloated SFWMD budget back under some control!
Thank you Gov Scott!
Too bad more politicians don’t have the backbond to bring fiscal sanity back to government spending.
August 26th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
I think everyone is missing the REAL REASON of budget cuts:the water management districts AND the disbandment of the basin boards. Three cups of coffee a month per homeowner really is not a good enough reason to kill water reservoir storage drainage and pollution problems in Florida. Two things occurred that Rick Scott was not briefed about .
First is the incredible amount of money the EPA sends to Florida. Not only was this used for Everglades “restoration” but also the BART water management practices GRANTS to big and bigger billion dollar companies for upgrades to their water pollution equipment. That’s jobs we dont have in Florida, while Rick Scott and AG Bondi were screaming states’ rights, they didnt have their calculator out! That cost us jobs when the Obama administration gave us what we wanted and cut EPA’s budget to give grants to states.
Second, while Jeb Bush was so gracious to the new Governor about helpful hints (email revelations), Jeb should have told Rick Scott the truth about the business vs clean water struggles. Jeb knew, while allowing US Sugar to DOUBLE their Florida operation in 2005 that the “point source” Clean Water pollution violations would immediately create EPA challenges. Senator Dockery’s 2005 water bill she pursued for Jeb and got passed through the Florida Senate as the sponsor impeded the federal implementation dates for Florida’s clean water as per the Federal Clean water Act. And some of those same DEP employees have amnesia, what they are not telling Governor Scott about the manipulation and failures they have dumped in his lap from the Jeb Bush Governorship.
Which leads us to the finale. All the lawsuits and the end dates of federal compliance that Florida officials have been postponing by 2016, making Carol Wehle offer to pay for another “Mining pit reservoir”( that could not be used because of impaired water) were initiated to show a glimmer of movement from federal lawsuits’ perception of non-compliance.
In other words, Jeb was treading water and blowing smoke back at the federal government, while getting millions to do clean up in Florida, and allowing billion dollar companies to pollute Florida’s waterways. We are “shutting down” the water basins and impeding functional mobility of the Water management districts because THEY TEST FOR POLLUTION. And it’s hard to have the federal gov.t SUE YOU over noncompliance when NO ONE IS COLLECTING THE EVIDENCE. Get it now?!